Alpha Fire Protection Limited: Measuring Climate & Dry Film Thickness

Based in Dublin, Ireland, Alpha Fire Protection Limited is a passive fire protection company with a large portfolio of projects ranging from large commercial constructions to industrial and residential buildings. The company’s full list of services include; producing fire protected structural steel work and fire barrier systems as well as testing dry film thickness.

Accuracy is key when ensuring a good fire rating for clients, that is why Alpha Fire Protection use the Elcometer 456 Dry Film Thickness Gauge for measuring the thickness of intumescent fire resistant coatings and the Elcometer 319 Dewpoint Meter to ensure that the coating is applied under the correct conditions.

Monitoring Climatic Conditions when Coating Steel Structures

After purchasing an Elcometer 319 Dewpoint Meter over three years ago, Alpha Fire Protection Limited use their gauge multiple times a day as a hand-held dewpoint meter to measure relative humidity, air temperature, surface temperature, dewpoint temperature, delta-T, wet bulb temperature and specific humidity. Monitoring these conditions ensures a successful application of the intumescent coating which is critical to the fire protection of the steel structures.

Kieran Thompson, Managing Director at Alpha Fire Protection Limited comments, “The Elcometer 319 Dew Point Meter is a great gauge, it provides accurate readings and is quick and easy to use.”

Measuring the Dry Film Thickness of Intumescent Coatings

Used by the company several times a week, the Elcometer 456 measures the dry film thickness of the intumescent coatings that Alpha Fire Protection Limited uses on structural steel.

After using the separate Model S gauge and a standard straight probe for over five years, the team at Alpha Fire Protection Limited believe the gauge’s ability to work quickly and produce accurate readings, its large internal memory and its Bluetooth® capability make the Elcometer 456 Coating Thickness Gauge stand out.

Kieran Thompson states that the Elcometer 456 Dry Film Thickness Gauge is “more user-friendly and accurate” than other dry film thickness gauges they have previously used, adding “it’s an excellent gauge and I wouldn’t use a different model”.

Real Time Collaboration for Multi-Site Projects

Although Alpha Fire Protection Limited is based in Dublin, they provide nationwide coverage, meaning that the team are often in different parts of the UK. The ElcoMaster® Data Management Software mobile app allows colleagues to share data and reports in real time, no matter where they are.

Kieran Thompson, says, “ElcoMaster® is great as we can access all of our jobs on mobile devices whilst on the road. It’s perfect for sharing inspection reports with colleagues when we are not together”.

Using ElcoMaster® on both PC and mobile, the team are able to import data to Excel, generate reports and to upload reports to a cloud. They believe the software is extremely useful in their day-to-day jobs, also commenting that it is “very intuitive and easy to navigate”.