North Wales Fire and Rescue Service - Station End System

Working directly with North Wales Fire and Rescue Service on its existing seven-year-contract, Telent has been supporting and maintaining its mobilisation solution across the 44 fire stations in North Wales. The support covers the Station End equipment manufactured by Multitone and integrated devices including Swissphone Digicom, that alert retained firefighters via radio pagers to mobilise for an emergency incident. Telent’s Station End system is activated by the central command and control system and seamlessly allows crews to swiftly respond to incidents by providing information, including the location and nature of the incident, so teams can make fast and informed decisions.

Telent provides preventative maintenance to service equipment and keep it in optimal condition, as well as providing first line support for the mobile data terminals in the fire appliances. The contract also includes an additional ten days per year of IT support, that is available for projects and proof of concepts, to support the Fire and Rescue Service’s staff and ensure they can fully utilise the technology at their disposal. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service is actively pursuing Cyber Essentials Plus IT security accreditation which requires a Windows upgrade on all platforms and Telent will therefore be handling this transition.

One tangible example of Telent’s success with NWFRS concerns the monthly reporting system that has been drastically improved. Telent has completely overhauled the way in which system performance is reported and how this appears in the monthly report. The new report system helped highlight trends and patterns in the data allowing Telent to solve problems more efficiently. As a direct result of this, Telent was able to identify and diagnose a problem with firefighters’ pager batteries and get this resolved. This opportunity created real value to the customer and provided a tangible benefit for all the retained firefighters who could now rely on their hardware thanks to Telent’s intervention.

Telent has subsequently been awarded a new seven-year-contract running up until 2028 thanks to the continued efforts and work. With the initial contract beginning in 2013, there have been opportunities to refresh technology and boost the overall impact for the station and its staff. NWFRS has historically had to allocate funding to prioritise frontline aspects of its operations but now it is looking ahead to further update and modernise the hardware and software. Telent has implemented changes and adaptations to ensure firefighters are always connected, even in the areas of the Welsh landscape that frequently presents barriers to signal such as in the valleys.

With Telent working hand-in-hand with North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, it has been able to identify trends and performance improvement opportunities, and implement them quickly and seamlessly. Telent’s extensive emergency services’ expertise makes it ideally placed to help the Fire and Rescue Service continue to keep its residents safe and protected.