IDIS and Galeco Communications NHS project shortlisted for 2020 Safety and Health Excellence Awards

A cutting-edge project undertaken by video surveillance specialist IDIS and Galeco Communications designed to improve protection for vulnerable adolescents and children with mental health conditions has been shortlisted for the 2020 Safety and Health Excellence (SHE) Awards.

The project involved a 150-plus camera system being installed in stages across nine weeks to create what is one of the UK’s safest secure treatment centres for young people with complex care needs, thereby reducing the risk of physical harm to staff, patients and visitors alike.

The Bluebird House project has been selected out of more than 200 entries for this year’s SHE Awards, and is now confirmed as a finalist in the Best Health and Safety Project category. The winners will be announced in September.

Galeco engineers installed 110 IDIS 12 MP IR Super Fisheye cameras as well as upwards of 50 separate 5 MP IR bullet and 31x zoom IR PTZ cameras connected to 32-channel NVRs. All benefit from true plug-and-play set-up, minimising disturbance to patients.

Deployed across three secure wards and two high-level care units, the Super Fisheye models provide comprehensive coverage that’s much more affordably for the end user than the alternative of using three or more fixed lens cameras. Advanced video capture delivers HD scene coverage and allows staff to de-warp in live view as well as playback.

The 5 MP bullet cameras were deployed by Galeco engineers around the building exteriors. At the perimeter, 31x zoom IR PTZ cameras provide clear night-time image capture at distances of up to 200 metres. Each camera is set to perform virtual guard tours periodically during the day and also at night.

Featuring automatic object detection capability, these cameras recognise and automatically track objects, people or cars, alerting CCTV operators to suspicious activity and ensuring that potentially important evidence is always recorded.

Patient privacy requirements

To meet patient privacy requirements, access to live and recorded footage – and the use of specific video tools – is limited to staff according to their location and role. Individuals can only view and review footage from their own area of responsibility at one of the four designated monitoring stations.

The end result of the project has been improved safety standards and care provision, with clinicians and senior administrators now able to use the new video review tools for training, case review and incident investigations.

“At a time when our fantastic NHS staff are in everyone’s thoughts, we’re grateful that we’ve been able to make a contribution towards keeping doctors, care workers, patients and everyone who works with them safe,” enthused Ali Copland, managing director of Galeco Communications.

The project further demonstrates the value of team working and the application of smart technology to improve outcomes.

James Min, managing director at IDIS Europe, concluded: “Together, Galeco Communications and IDIS have shown what can be achieved at such a complex site in sensitive circumstances by adopting a genuine partnership approach.”

Kentec wins Innovation Award for Taktis fire panel

Kentec, one of the leading manufacturers of life-critical control systems, has won the Fire Innovation of the Year Award at the second national Safety and Health Excellence Awards for its next generation Taktis 16L analogue addressable fire panel.

The Fire Innovation of the Year Award celebrates products or services that demonstrate genuine innovation and differentiation to other products in the marketplace. Products must have been launched after January 2017 and boast independent fire testing to support performance claims.

Beating ten other nominated fire products and services, the Taktis 16L extends the standard Taktis fire panel to 16 detection loops to provide up to 144 zone indications. It supports more than 2,000 detection devices and can network up to 128 panels, making it ideal for the largest sites such as schools, hospitals and retail applications.

Kevin Swann, managing director at Kentec, stated: “We’re thrilled that Taktis has been recognised with this prestigious award that’s considered an important industry accolade. The Taktis 16L has been built with both the end user and installer in mind. As a truly open protocol panel it offers installers and their customers maximum flexibility in system design, site customisation and in the third party devices that they specify.”

Swann added: “It also protects legacy installations, enabling the extension and replacement of Syncro network systems using the Taktis bridge functionality, not to mention future investment since the panel is future-proofed with a highly impressive roadmap of additional functions, features and integration possibilities.”

This latest win follows on from the company’s Manufacturing Innovation Award at the 2018 Made in the South East Awards.

Advanced receives coveted Safety and Health Excellence Award from BSIF for quality of customer service

Global fire safety systems developer Advanced has been awarded the Highly Commended for Service Excellence trophy at the annual Safety and Health Excellence (SHE) Awards 2018, recently held at the NEC in Birmingham.

The company received the commendation in the British Service Industry Federation (BSIF) Customer Service Award category on the back of its technical support and Advanced 360. This online portal gives customers free access (during the lifetime of their products) to a range of services including training, technical manuals and sales and marketing support.

Paul Duffy, technical support manager at Advanced who accepted the award, said: “To receive the Highly Commended Award for Service Excellence is a huge achievement and great recognition for the work of our customer services team. We’re committed to making it as easy as possible for our customers to gain the support and information they need when they need it. Advanced 360 helps in achieving this and is constantly evolving to meet our customers’ needs.”

The SHE Awards were organised by Western Business Exhibitions in conjunction with the BSIF. The BSIF Customer Service Award recognises companies operating in the fields of Health and Safety which offer exceptional and innovative service solutions. Winners were chosen based on the number of votes cast by customers who were asked to rate their suppliers’ service quality.

Paul Duffy

Advanced develops and manufactures intelligent fire safety systems, from single panel installations through to large, multi-site networks. Products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging and false alarm management solutions.