Over the years, Calvin University has trusted Feyen Zylstra to work on campus to carry out some of their most critical life-safety projects, including the upgrade of their fire alarm system in the Hekman Library and Hiemenga Hall. The existing system was outdated and didn’t have capacity for extension, which was problematic since Calvin needed to meet new code requirements.

In one summer, our team replaced the existing fire alarm system and extended it to new portions of the building not previously covered. The team overcame a major challenge of keeping the old system fully functional while installing new cabling and devices in parallel with the existing lines. The system start up and monitoring was phased over a two week period with the new system coming on line and the old being taken out of service seamlessly, without interruption.

Calvin required both the hall and library to remain open for the duration of the project, so the team took special considerations to work strategically and efficiently, making sure to not disrupt building operations.