For the past 40 years, FPE Sontum has led the market suppling crucial firefighting systems and equipment to the global energy market. Managing Director Raymond Stokken explained how safety is promoted at FPE Sontum and offered insight into the latest investments, report by Imogen Ward.
NOmatter what, FPE Sontum prioritises the quality and safety of all its equipment. “We are one of the leading fire and safety system suppliers to the energy industry worldwide,” Managing Director Raymond Stokken said. “The main reason for our position is the integrity of our systems. Our products are a crucial part of the corporate social responsibility of our customers. So, we have never compromised on the quality of our safety equipment, and we have built a solid reputation on that.”
Divulging on the deluge
From hydrophores to deluge systems, Norwegian-based FPE Sontum manufactures a comprehensive range of firefighting equipment. With deluge systems being the most popular product on offer, these flagship products can be purchased as single or multivalve skids.
“We are renowned worldwide for our deluge systems and have successfully delivered more than 3,000 of these to our customers worldwide,” said Mr Stokken. “We estimate that our systems make up for 60 per cent of the installed base in the North Sea, along the Norwegian continental shelf. The reason for this popularity
is the quality of our products. The conditions in the North Sea are very harsh and challenging, and we have used this to influence our designs and material choices. We have continuously adapted the product, and we personally test all equipment in-house, and provide service and maintenance throughout the entire lifecycle.”
As part of the company’s dedication to providing the very best, it has created a standardised skid for the deluge line. Usually, these systems are custom-made to fit the dedicated space available – this can be costly for customers due to the bespoke nature of the build.
With a standardised skid, customers can benefit from significant savings; Mr Stokken offers some advice for any customer
looking to make a purchase: “This is something our customers have requested for years, and we are proud to be able to provide this option. If a customer would like a standardised skid, they will need to get us involved very early on.
“Usually, fire and safety products are covered and implemented quite late in our customers’ design and project process, at which point we have to create the product to fit in whatever space is left over. If this is the case, the product will have to be tailor-made for that space, and then all the savings from standardising are lost.”
Johan Sverdrup (the third largest oil field on the Norwegian continental shelf) is a great example of the impressive work that FPE Sontum can achieve: the company
was tasked with the mammoth job of designing, manufacturing and installing hundreds of fire and safety systems for Equinor and was hugely successful. As part of the FPE Sontum promise, system maintenance is also offered to ensure the equipment remains on top form for years to come.
FPE Sontum also manufactures:
Central foam systems • Sprinkler systems
Gaseous systems • Helideck systems
Dual agent hose reel units • Monitors
Hose reels • Hydrants
All of which have gone through rigorous testing at the company’s state-of-the-art test facility.
The number one source of safety
Safety is always a priority at FPE Sontum. The company has a well-grounded vision for zero accidents in the workplace, and a management inspection plan was implemented to really drive the message forward.
“We have had zero LTIs in the last four years, which is something we are really proud of,” said Mr Stokken. “The zeroaccident goal is a continued focus, and we have implemented safety awareness training – both online and in-house – and really stepped up our management inspection plan. Management is handson in every aspect of operations and everything that we do.
“We abide by the UN sustainability goal number three: health and wellbeing. That has become part of our business model, and if we didn’t commit to it, we would fail: it could cost us our customers, our contracts and our reputation. That’s how important safety is to FPE Sontum.”
This commitment to safety is also applied to all FPE systems. “We follow all the requirements, regulations and customer expectations very closely,” Mr Stokken explained. “If we were ever to lose track of those things, we would lose our competitive edge. Now more than ever, there is a huge
focus on ESG, transparency and corporate responsibility, and we take that seriously. We maintain close relationships with our customers – which is really beneficial as it helps us find common goals and solutions for any potential problem.
“Since Covid, we have been utilising Teams, which has opened up a whole new level of communication and work. Rather than sending an email, we can sit and discuss everything with the client faceto-face through our screens, and that’s a completely different dynamic.”
Solid sustainability ambitions
Sustainability is also an important factor for FPE Sontum. The company’s philosophy dictates that it will cause no harm to the environment. With this in mind, it has implemented several key processes to guarantee compliance:
“As part of our 2019 KPIs, we created a carbon reduction goal,” said Mr Stokken.
“We have set a 2023 GHG emission reduction target of 20 per cent compared to 2019 levels. So far, we have reduced travel as much as possible with Teams conferences and base locations in several cities that reduce commuting times.
“Last year, we also carbon compensated 100 per cent of our emissions through a carbon capture initiative by Trefadder, working with local farmers to plant trees as carbon compensation. This is the first commercial climate forest in Norway.”
Conventionally, fire-related products are painted red. As a result, these products require a paint maintenance programme to maintain the colouring. FPE Sontum works to influence our customers to purchase systems without the red colour coding.
“Our clients often request red-painted, or colour coded products, but this isn’t a necessity,” said Mr Stokken. “Non-painted stainless-steel is better for the environment and it doesn’t affect the functionality of the
device. As an added bonus, it also saves the customers money in the long run.
“It’s the same case with recertification of equipment. People don’t need to buy new extinguishers as often as they do now. For example, there are thousands of common extinguishers out there thatcan be perfectly well can be recertified for ten years. This is also beneficial for the client as this process often times will cost 20 per cent less than buying a brand-new product. Many then think that for only 20 per cent more they can buy brand-new, and choose to do so, but the old product then has to be transported and scrapped, which costs money, generates waste and in the long run is less sustainable. We are actively trying to encourage our customers in the direction of recertification and reuse.”
Mr Stokken concluded with a strong warning when it came to the importance of fire and safety equipment: “We really want to spread the message of integrity and safety. No one should ever compromise on these elements. They are an investment in social responsibility and reputation, and safety is absolutely not the area to skimp and save money.”
