Background
Based in north-west London Harrow College supports over 2,500 students over their two campuses Harrow on the Hill and Harrow Weald.
The challenges:
- Failing analogue two way radio system
- Mixed technologies, using multiple devices
- Frustrations around safety of staff
The solution:
- MOTOTRBO DP4800 two way radios
- Fire alarm handling
- Panic alarm buttons
- Telephone interconnect
The benefits:
- Teams are now connected using one device
- Emergencies can be raised and dealt with swiftly
- They have full reportability to support claims and staff training
Before the recent upgrade works to the operational communications at Harrow College, the security team, duty managers and first aiders communicated via an aged and failing mixture of analogue hand portable radios, pagers and desktop telephones, obliging staff to carry different devices for each users group.
Their systems were inefficient and unreliable.
Harrow College now has a modern, robust, and secure solution consisting of centrally located control units with new MOTOTRBO DP4800 hand portable radios. The system was configured with functions to address the particular needs of Harrow College to provide a high level of protection for staff and students:
- Firstly, Zonith Alarm Handling Software is linked directly into the College fire alarm system. Fire alerts are despatched via text message to the security staff’s two way radios and to the mobile phones of all ‘hard of hearing’ students, thereby alerting key staff members before the alarms sound and reducing the risk to the college’s most vulnerable students.
- Secondly, a network of panic buttons have been installed in areas of each campus of higher than normal vulnerability. This simple ‘silent alarm’ button provides staff with a sense of reassurance, knowing help is only a button press away. In the event of an emergency, text message alerts are despatched directly to the security staff radios, detailing the exact location of the incident.
- Finally, using Teldio’s Radio Bureaux Exchange software, the College’s existing desktop phone network has been connected to the new radio system, specifically to transmit emergency calls (although this can be extended to full functionality if required). Now, staff members on either campus can pick up any desktop phone to call the dedicated internal emergency number.
The combination of these three elements, allows instant, effective and reliable communication between the security team for command and control of any incident whilst routing all alarms and emergency calls directly to the appropriate people, all from one hand portable device.
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