WDH, one of the UK’s largest housing associations which manages more than 31000 homes, has awarded Openview Security Solutions a major contract to install the latest security and fire protection systems for a pilot scheme at Low Cross Court, a high-rise building with thirty four dwellings. OpenView was awarded the contract after winning an open tender to the CCTV, door entry, access control, fire alarm, sprinklers, fire stopping and additional fire safety measures controlled by a full management and control system.
According to Daniel Boardman, WDH’s Property Compliance Manager: “We specified the use of the highest grade technologies with built-in future-proofing to ensure that maximum benefits were achieved over the longer term for our tenants. This pilot was an essential part of the programme to determine the suitability and feasibility of the different systems before rolling them out to the remaining high-rise buildings as part of our ongoing Strategic Improvement Programme. It will help in delivering our vision to create confident communities and improve the lives of local people.”
Cloud-based access control
WDH invited OpenView to tender after seeing how the company has enabled Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) to deploy a suite of smart living solutions across a city-wide IT infrastructure. The organisation wanted to find out if a similar system would work in Wakefield. It subsequently carried out a detailed evaluation of all the latest technology solutions and employed an independent consultant to develop the scope of works for the pilot scheme where the integrated systems would be thoroughly tested and evaluated.
The new system enables the rapid identification of incidents that require urgent action to be taken
OpenView ensured the full integration of all systems. They included 4K Avigilon CCTV, IP-based smart living solution, cloud-based access control from KMS and a Citrix-based web portal that provides online access to all installed systems. Fire protection measures include fire alarm, sprinklers, fire stopping and additional fire safety systems including automatic opening vents for the dispersal of smoke in the event of a fire and Part 6 automatic fire detection from AICO Smart Solutions. All systems are connected on a Cat6 IP network infrastructure.
Smart living solutions
The new system enables the rapid identification of incidents that require urgent action to be taken. For example, in the event of a fire in an individual dwelling, WDH operators can quickly identify the precise location and call the tenant to verify the situation before initiating an agreed sequence of events.
Andy Ward, Sales Director at OpenView, added: “Deploying state-of-the-art fire and security systems in high rise buildings is helping WDH to meet and exceed its obligations regarding the safety of tenants. The system not only offers the highest level of security, but also provides the organisation with the flexibility to add smart living solutions such as telecare services without any infrastructure upgrades.”
