HELPING THE FIRE SERVICE WORK SMARTER

This case study shows the important role that innovative technologies play in assisting the fire services of the UK.

DORSET & WILTSHIRE FIRE SERVICE

CASE STUDY 2016

Smarter Technologies provides solutions for the protection, tracking and

recovering of business assets within the United Kingdom and across the globe.

Our expansive portfolio of clients has given us the opportunity to reduce crime

statistics in numerous market sectors, giving both individuals and businesses

the chance to consolidate their activities and recover stolen assets. The long-

term benefits of our technologies, giving real time asset visibility, have allowed

our clients to better streamline their operations and automatically audit their

equipment. Our solution of better visibility invariably leads to better management.

INTRODUCTION

Smarter Technologies understands that the fire service faces a number of challenges in the modern world, balancing an increasing demand from the public on one hand with budget and resource constraints on the other.

Smarter Technologies’ Orion Data Network is an affordable option which can reduce operational costs while simultaneously improving the visibility and movement of personnel and inventory from a command perspective. At the same time, Orion constitutes a critical tool in protecting high-value assets.

We concluded that the perfect system for the fire service would need to meet the following requirements:

• Real-time alerts• Zonal coverage when attending an incident to give accurate positions and rank of personnel• Current asset location and monitoring• Multiple data transfer methods• Ability to recover stolen assets• Large area coverage• Logistics and auditing of appliances and assets

THE OVERVIEW

During the course of an unrelated conversation with third-party automist manufacturer Plumis, Smarter Technologies decided to investigate how the Orion Data Network could benefit the fire service.

Plumis were, at the time, supplying Dorset Fire Service (DFS) with portable misting units for vulnerable people. The notification system, alerting DFS to activation of the unit, used existing autodialler technology. Unfortunately, Plumis knew that this system came with reliability issues and asked Smarter Technologies to provide backup in the form of a communications channel.

THE PROBLEM

Smarter Technologies uses active, rather than passive, RFID technology on the Orion Data Network, which has many advantages over traditional technologies in the fields of asset visibility, monitoring and recovery.

• Sim Free: No ongoing monthly charges• Reduced Power Requirement: Tags last for 3 or more years• Multi-functional: Tags also check temperature, movement, shock impact and more• Recovery Ability: Easily switched from digital to analogue for better recovery capabilities• Remote Configuration: Tags receive messages from any location• Long Wave Spectrum: Unlike GPS, ‘sees’ through containers, buildings or barriers• Coverage: 1km - 10km per gateway

WHAT MAKES OUR ORION DATA NETWORK DIFFERENT? The Orion Data Network is an active Radio

Frequency Identification (RFID) system, working as a broadcast system which uses a central hub known as a gateway, and tags. Plugging the network into any existing Ethernet port will provide an instant ‘network of coverage’, and any tags within this coverage will speak to the always-listening network.

The tags are not gateway dependent so a customer’s tag in the Scottish Highlands will still be heard by an unrelated gateway in Cornwall. This means that tagged assets like thermal imaging cameras, individuals and the ‘jaws of life’ can be monitored in movements across the entire country, pinpointed to exactly where they are in a building.

More importantly, the tags can monitor and alert to the change in the state of any environment, integrated into existing hardware with the provision of an open or closed relay. In short, any changes in the environment boasting a tag will be detected and have an alert sent in real-time to the relevant parties. This includes the activation of a misting unit or smoke alarm, or something as simple as an asset leaving its designated area.

THE SMARTER SOLUTION

Smarter Technologies conducted initial testing by integrating our tags into the misting units and setting up an Orion gateway to provide the coverage. The concept was simple; when the misting unit was activated, the tag would send a command to the fire service via the Orion gateway. As the tags are independent of gateways, an alert will be triggered and sent in real-time to the fire service as long as the tag is in a coverage zone, notifying them of the need for immediate action.

The success of the testing stage led to a countywide rollout, and Smarter Technologies’ Orion Data Network was installed on every fire station within the Dorset and Wiltshire borders.

DFS, now merged with Wiltshire, have now got their own private data network which allows almost anything to be tagged, observed and monitored in almost limitless configurations. The current solutions have tags on smoke alarms and Personal Protection System (PPS) misting units, but fire helmets for personnel tracking are being trialled. There is even scope for use on the ‘jaws of life’ and thermal imaging cameras.

THE SMARTER IMPLEMENTATION The PPS also integrates

with Smarter Technologies’s Orion Data Network which, being SIM-free technology, increases reliability and adds a further layer of redundancy. Units deployed by the Dorset Fire & Rescue Service are connected in this way, a first for this kind of product.

Yusuf Muhammad – Design Director, Plumis

“

The system fulfils a need to protect vulnerable people and prevent unnecessary deaths and injury. It works quickly and efficiently, and the link-up to the Orion Data Network provides added peace of mind.

Seth Why – Head of Fire Safety, Dorset Fire & Rescue Service

“

The Orion gateway plugs easily into an existing Ethernet port:

• The gateway controls key access points• Operates on a low frequency radio signal• Long-range monitoring (500 meters + radius of each gateway)• GPS tags for near real-time tracking of vehicles and people• Non-GPS tags for tamper alerts and logistics solutions• Switch tags for smoke detectors and fire systems• Tags for monitoring temperature• Tag directly what is important to you and your business• Directional antennas for targeted localisation

HOW DOES THE ORION DATA NETWORK WORK?

t: 0330 223 5000 e: enquiries@smartertechnologies.com w: www smartertechnologies.com