Potter Electric Signal Company And Advanced Business Communications Upgrade Licking County Courthouse’s Fire Protection System

Licking County, Ohio was formed in 1808, with its county seat located in Newark, which is 33 miles northeast of Columbus, Ohio. At the center of town, sits the Licking County Courthouse. The courthouse was constructed in 1878, and remains one of the town’s most prized historical possessions.

In recent years, it became evident that updates to the building’s fire security facilities were necessary. The previous system was an all-in-one fire and security system, which didn’t leave much to be desired, with regards to fire protection and safety capabilities.

Licking County Courthouse’s fire protection system upgrade

The contracted installer for the Licking County Courthouse’s fire protection system upgrade project was Advanced Business Communications. They recently chose to become a Potter Electric Signal Company (Potter) dealer, due to Potter’s high standard for quality, position in the marketplace, and easy to install equipment. It was because of these attributes that they felt confident, when placing the initial bid for the project.

Advanced Business Communication’s decision to become a Potter Electric Signal Company dealer paid off

Since, the Licking County Courthouse is a public agency, it was necessary that those in charge of choosing a new fire protection system for the building, receive quotes from multiple contractors. Advanced Business Communication’s decision to become a Potter Electric Signal Company dealer paid off, as they attribute a large part of their success, in getting the bid, to Potter’s straight-forward installation process.

“It’s great to be able to offer our customers, a high quality and reliable system that you don’t need to be a genius to install and operate,” said Shawn Shumaker, the Vice President (VP) of Operations and Sales at Advanced Business Communications.

Non-invasive installation process

Shaun Shumaker went on to discuss the positive impact that Potter’s 5 year warranty had on gaining the bid, so as to begin work on the Licking County Courthouse at the earliest. He said, “No one else in the industry can offer such a long warranty on their products and that is always a huge selling point for all of our customers.”

The wiring from the previous system was between 15 to 20 years old and needed to be replaced. Once the old wiring was removed, it was important that the installation process for the new system be very non-invasive, as to retain the historical integrity of the building.

Potter’s fire protection system is easy to set up

“We had to be strategic on how we installed everything, so it was very beneficial that Potter’s products were so easy to set up. When something is that simple to use, it takes away a lot of risks like drilling unnecessary holes, or having to rewire anything,” said Shaun Shumaker.

He adds, “The installation process went off without a hitch, and now the Licking County Courthouse is updated with brand new Potter fire protection equipment.”

Potter’s Facility Management Tool

The FMT sends me supervisory updates, so I know if there is too much dust on a smoke detector"

Potter Electric Signal Company’s Facility Management Tool (FMT) allows Licking County Safety Director, Michael Albanese, to monitor the panels in real time or to scroll through previous events, in order to understand, when and where an issue has occurred and why. It also helps Michael and his team to stay on top of opportunities, in order to perform effective preventative maintenance. He said, “The FMT sends me supervisory updates, so I know if there is too much dust on a smoke detector, or maybe some wiring connections have come loose.”

Michael Albanese also notes how important e-mail updates have been, due to the fact that the courthouse is often closed for weeks, at a time. He adds, “There have been a lot of renovations going on with the court house. That combined with the times when court is out of session means there are often long stretches of time, where no one is allowed on the premises. It’s nice to be able to receive updates on any temperature changes or alarm conditions, during those periods.”

Fire protection system installed for Licking County’s CSEA

Michael Albanese and his team have decided to incorporate a Potter system into the Licking County’s Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) as well. He looks forward to the new system getting easily integrated through the use of Potter’s Facility Management Tool, Michael adds, “It will be nice, once we have the other building updated, to be able to have control over everything from one location.”

Project highlights include:

• Facility Management Tool - A software package designed to provide service companies, property/facility managers and building owners, the tools and information, to more effectively manage up to 255 Potter PFC 6000 series fire alarm system installations, at a single location.
• Advanced Business Communications - With over a decade in the low voltage industry, Advanced Business Communications provides professional quality, sales, maintenance and service. They provide industrial and commercial telephone systems, fire alarms, security alarms, video surveillance, access control, fiber optics, networking, phone and data cabling solutions, all at very competitive prices.
• Potter Electric Signal Company - As an independent company, with a focus on tailored customer service, Potter Electric Signal Company earns its customer’s business, with superior innovation and continued dedication to life safety. They are known for designing and manufacturing high-quality life safety products for the market, in order to protect lives and property, while driving their corporate vision of excellence. They possess the confidence and competence to consistently exceed customers’ needs for every project, every time.