The University of West London (UWL) has significantly enhanced its fire safety operations with the incorporation of AdvancedLive across multiple sites, offering improved system oversight and efficient management.
Over the last three years, UWL has invested heavily in upgrading its fire protection infrastructure by replacing legacy MxPro 4 and Kentec systems with the advanced MxPro 5 panels. This upgrade has been implemented consistently across six campuses in both West London and Oxford, improving the overall fire safety network.
Recently, Ruskin College, now part of UWL, successfully upgraded its fire protection systems across the historic Oxford campus. This undertaking included integrating newer constructions like the Callaghan Library with the existing buildings constructed as early as 1913, such as the Rookery, without any operational disruption, thanks to the adaptability of the MxPro 5 technology.
Currently, more than 27 Advanced panels are installed across UWL’s educational, office, and residential buildings. The institution has linked three of its primary campuses to AdvancedLive, with future plans to expand this platform further. This system provides map-based visualizations, which allow facilities and security teams real-time monitoring of their fire safety networks, promoting quicker response to incidents and more efficient management overall.
For an extensive and dispersed entity like UWL, quickly pinpointing alarms or faults within complex buildings has been a transformative improvement. The user-friendly dashboard and remote access features of AdvancedLive facilitate digital management of fire isolations, enablements, and weekly testing, reducing the need for on-site visits, and subsequently lowering both costs and carbon emissions.
The system is tailored to meet each campus’s unique needs. For instance, the St Mary’s Road Campus utilises 13 panels and Apollo REACH wireless devices, while Ruskin College’s six panels are customised with specific cause-and-effect strategies. Meanwhile, Paragon House integrates four panels featuring phased evacuations in its 12-storey structure.
Other campuses, such as Cavendish & Century and Drama Studio London, benefit from bespoke programming that caters to linked buildings and theatre operations, respectively.
AdvancedLive provides a consistent management interface for monitoring system status, alarms, faults, and disablements across the board. Jason Bennett, the Division Manager at Alarm Communication Limited overseeing the installation, emphasized the ease of management that AdvancedLive brings, stating its positive impact on both administrative and engineering fronts.
According to Salvy Vittozzi, Sales Manager for UK South East at Advanced, UWL’s implementation of AdvancedLive demonstrates the platform’s capability to enhance fire system oversight within complex establishments. By pairing the established reliability of MxPro 5 panels with the AdvancedLive’s live reporting and scalability, UWL benefits from a comprehensive solution that effectively saves time and reduces unnecessary travel, fortifying fire safety management in the process.
Looking forward, UWL intends to further integrate AdvancedLive across its remaining sites, aiming for uniform system oversight and centralized control. For universities and organizations with multiple locations, the combination of MxPro 5 and AdvancedLive offers a robust basis for efficient and sustainable fire safety management.
