A new alliance between one of Australia’s most innovative building safety equipment providers and one of the nation’s biggest building operational technology service providers, will cut carbon emissions and eWaste, and eliminate ongoing costs.
The alliance – between Safety Path, a division of the SmarterLite Group, and Grosvenor Engineering Group (Grosvenor) – will see people and property owners benefit from reliable life-saving exit signs, with each sign saving up to 150 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions per annum for every sign that is installed.
Grosvenor manages the technical operational technology equipment and systems of more than 12,000 commercial buildings.
Building owners will save more than $150 per exit sign per annum over the 30 year life of the product. With many medium size buildings having over 100 exit signs, their owners will be closer to carbon neutrality and reduced eWaste, and achieve annual savings of $15,000 per hundred signs. Some major corporates are responsible for thousands of exit signs and will save many millions of dollars by converting to Safety Path signs.
The Safety Path exit signs use photoluminescent technology which stores light and emits it in an emergency. The signs don’t need an electrical connection, meaning – unlike electric signs – they can’t fail because of a faulty component or when power is disrupted.
Nicholas Lianos, CEO at Grosvenor Engineering Group said:
“In our continuing quest to support customers with the latest most environmentally friendly building technology innovations, Grosvenor will be offering the Safety Path product range to our client base due to its superior performance, enhanced sustainability capability and lowest total cost of ownership.”
“Safety Path manufactures and distributes the world’s safest, most efficient and smartest exit sign. There is no power, carbon emissions, batteries or e-Waste and it has an estimated 30 years of useful life with a warranty of 12 years.”
He added, “Grosvenor’s clients will benefit from much lower costs and headache-free critical infrastructure compliance. Using Safety Path’s technology reduces the burden of compliance.”
Cutting fixed costs is crucial for building owners who are facing COVID-19-inflicted changes in work patterns.
Gus Carfi, Executive Chairman at Safety Path parent company SmarterLite said:
“Safety Path photoluminescent signs are already installed in more than 60 Bunnings stores across Australia, as well as shopping centres, industrial plants and office buildings.
“Instead of complex electric exit signs that include parts that fail regularly, such as light globes, batteries and electrical components, Safety Path technology stores light in a thin photoluminescent wafer. With nothing electrical to fail, millions of building occupants are safer and compliance is simpler and cheaper.”
Mr Carfi, 30-year veteran of Visy Industries and former International Chief Operating Officer for the late billionaire paper-recycler Richard Pratt and later Anthony Pratt, said:
“Our data shows that clients can expect expenditure cuts of an average $150 per annum per sign, including cutting maintenance costs and the cost of regularly replacing electric exit signs.
“Carbon reductions of 1.6 tonnes over the life of each one of our signs will be achieved. This equates to saving industry hundreds of millions of dollars and is great news for the environment.”
“CEO’s, CFO’s and COO’s are often not aware of just how big their fleet of electric exit signs really is and, hence the associated ‘secret’ costs when comparing product lifecycles – the true measure of economic performance.”
“The cost of installing Safety Path exit signs is comparable to traditional electric exit signs, so the monetary savings begin from day one.”
Mr Carfi said electric exit signs carry a big burden, both for clients and the environment:
“Old tech electric signs are short-lived, requiring a whole range of systems and regulations to keep building occupants safe. That ultimately costs the environment, business and the community.
“Old-tech electric exit signs are built using out-dated technology that is prone to failure, require regular inspections, regular maintenance, regular replacement and generate tonnes of needless waste.”
“There are also complex and expensive computer systems to monitor electric exit signs, to report when they have failed. Safety Path signs don’t need those systems.”
“We’re pleased to support Grosvenor Engineering Group to enable their clients to reduce their fixed costs, improve safety and deliver their sustainability goals.
“Grosvenor clients can sleep better at night knowing that thousands of people in their buildings are safer and that the building infrastructure is more sustainable.”
