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How Kenexis Effigy™ supports safer, smarter Fire & Gas design for Canadian energy facilities
In many Canadian oil & gas facilities, fixed gas and flame detector layouts are still based on “what we’ve always done” – spacing tables, rules of thumb, and incremental tweaks after incidents or near misses. That approach is increasingly hard to defend when you’re facing internal risk reviews, insurers, and regulators who expect quantitative proof that your Fire & Gas System (FGS) will actually see the hazards you care about.
That’s where Fire & Gas Mapping and Kenexis Effigy™ come in – and where Westech Industrial can help support your projects across Canada.
What is Fire & Gas Mapping?
Fire & Gas Mapping is the process of quantitatively evaluating detector coverage instead of just placing devices by experience or catalog recommendations. The goal is to answer three simple but critical questions:
- Where should detectors be installed?
- Why do they need to be there?
- How many detectors are needed to achieve an acceptable level of protection?
Rather than guessing, Fire & Gas Mapping uses a 3D model of your facility plus detector performance data to calculate what fraction of credible fires or gas releases would actually be detected (and by how many detectors), in line with the performance-based methodology in ISA TR84.00.07.
For Canadian operators, that means you can show engineering, management, and auditors that your FGS design is quantitative, repeatable and defensible, not just “best judgment”.
Why Fire & Gas Mapping Matters in Canadian Oil & Gas
Upstream and midstream facilities in Canada – oil sands, gas plants, fractionation, terminals, and LNG – are particularly challenging for Fire & Gas design:
- Complex structures with dense piping racks, modules, and congested process areas.
- Multiple hazard types: pool fires, jet fires, vapor cloud releases, H₂S, flammable gas, and toxic service.
- Brownfield expansions that add new risk to an old detector layout that was never designed for today’s configuration.
Traditional layout methods struggle in that environment. You can “over-instrument” to be safe, but that drives cost, adds maintenance burden, and doesn’t guarantee true coverage. Or you can under-instrument, leaving blind spots that only show up after an incident.
Fire & Gas Mapping with Effigy is about finding the right detectors in the right locations, and being able to prove it.
Inside Kenexis Effigy™: Engineered Coverage, Not Just Pretty Graphics
Effigy™ is Kenexis’ dedicated Fire & Gas Mapping software, developed by engineers who design Fire & Gas Systems and perform risk assessments every day.
Key capabilities include:
- Geographic and scenario-based coverage
Effigy can calculate coverage by geography (what fraction of an area or volume is detectable) or by scenarios (what fraction of defined fire/gas hazards are seen by the detectors). This directly aligns with ISA TR84.00.07 performance-based design methods. - Multiple detector technologies in one model
The software supports fire, flammable gas, toxic gas, ultrasonic and gas cloud imaging detectors, with performance data and sensitivity settings built into its equipment database. - 3D CAD import and 3D analysis
Effigy can import 3D CAD/mesh models or build models from geometric primitives, then calculate coverage in full 3D, accounting for equipment, structures and obstructions in the field of view. Results are shown as colour-coded coverage maps and tables that operations and management can understand. - Patented plume modeling
A key differentiator is Effigy’s plume fire model, which represents fires as volumetric plumes rather than infinitely small point sources. This produces more realistic coverage calculations in dense process areas where small-bore piping and structural steel can otherwise make models overly conservative. - Web-based, multi-user platform
Effigy runs as an enterprise web application, allowing engineering teams, consultants and asset owners to collaborate on the same model securely from different locations.
Under the hood, Effigy is performing high-fidelity engineering calculations, not just drawing rays and shadows. The graphics sit on top of solid physics and detector modeling, giving you coverage numbers that can stand up to scrutiny.
Where Canadian Operators See the Value
For Canadian energy facilities, Kenexis Effigy and performance-based Fire & Gas Mapping can support a wide range of activities:
- New projects and expansions
Build a detector layout that is aligned with risk, consequence and coverage targets from day one, instead of retrofitting detectors after startup. - Brownfield rationalization
Evaluate your existing detector layout and identify blind spots, redundant devices and optimization opportunities, especially in units that have grown organically over decades. - Standards, insurance and ESG expectations
Demonstrate that your FGS design follows recognized guidance (ISA TR84.00.07) and uses a quantitative method consistent with modern process-safety expectations. This supports internal safety cases, insurer reviews, and corporate ESG messaging. - Lifecycle management and MOC
As you replace detectors, add new equipment, or change process conditions, the same model can be updated to ensure that coverage targets remain met over the life of the plant.
The end result is a Fire & Gas System design that is more effective and often more cost-efficient – enough detector coverage where you need it, and less guesswork everywhere else.
Westech Industrial + Kenexis: Bringing Effigy to the Canadian Market
Westech Industrial is proud to support Kenexis Effigy™ in Canada as part of our broader Fire & Gas and safety offering. For Canadian oil & gas operators, that combination matters:
- Effigy provides the quantitative mapping and engineering platform.
- Kenexis brings global expertise in Fire & Gas and functional safety.
- Westech connects the analysis to real-world hardware and projects – from flame and gas detectors to panels, annunciation and custom fabrication – and supports you locally through the full project lifecycle.
Whether you want to:
- Run a one-off Fire & Gas Mapping study for a high-risk unit,
- Build a standard methodology for future expansions, or
- Explore how Effigy could fit into your corporate process safety toolbox,
Westech can help you navigate the options and connect you with the right combination of software, engineering expertise and field-proven equipment.
Ready to Take Fire & Gas Design Beyond Rule-of-Thumb?
If you’re responsible for safety systems in a Canadian oil & gas facility and you’re still relying on detector spacing tables and legacy layouts, Fire & Gas Mapping with Kenexis Effigy is a practical way to move to a quantitative, defensible, and optimized approach.
To learn more about Effigy and Fire & Gas Mapping services through Westech Industrial, or to discuss a potential project, contact your local Westech office at 1-800-912-9262 or visit our website at https://westech-ind.com to connect with our Fire & Gas team.
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