The Transformation of Fire Protection and Fire Safety, with Shane Ray

What You Will Learn:

• Shane’s role as the president of the National Fire Sprinkler Association
• What influenced the consolidation of suppliers, contractors, and manufacturers in the fire protection industry
• How technology has played a role in the evolution of the fire protection industry
• What the future holds for fire protection equipment based on current trends
• How the NFSA is utilizing data and analytics to identify new opportunities for improvement

As president of the NFSA and a former fire marshall in South Carolina, Shane Ray has dedicated his life to fire safety. Prior to coming into his role at the National Fire Sprinkler Association, Shane served as a firefighter for most of his career. He familiarized himself with a handful of different fire protection device and equipment manufacturers that were used both in the field and in the structures themselves. But when it comes to fire protection in the building materials industry, the NFSA is down to just four major players: Tyco, Globe, Reliable, and Viking.

M&As and Consolidation in Fire Safety

Every member of the National Fire Sprinkler Association is devoted to fire protection and saving lives. And while the mergers, acquisitions, and overall consolidation of the equipment manufacturers has resulted in fewer brands, they are leveraging each others strengths to build higher quality components and make the equipment better. We have seen this trend many times in the building materials industry, but in this case, it comes from a combined interest of preventing and suppressing fires.

The Future of Fire Protection and Fire Safety

If you are in the building materials industry, you understand that evolution sparks a grow-or-die mentality. But sometimes it’s a matter of niching down to drive new trends that serve the greater good. The same holds true in fire protection, and tech is another factor that has come into play. Most of the modern sprinkler systems are incorporating more and more electronic components, smart technology, and IoT, so it is creating new opportunities for the NFSA to collect data and determine where they are performing and where they need improvement. To learn more about the transformation of the fire protection industry, listen to the latest episode of GWP’s Constructing Brands.