9 February 2021 Keeping hospital systems up and running is just one of the many services Serco provide to companies around the world. In this instance, Serco carries out routine planned maintenance on fire alarm systems in an NHS hospital, ward by ward.
While the zone is disconnected for maintenance, the Howler GoLink system is used as a backup, to ensure there is a full fire alarm cover throughout the ward at all times.
The GoLink panel is set up adjacent to the fire alarm panel under maintenance, as that is where the engineer will be working, and an appropriate number of GoLink alarms mounted on FirePost trolleys are placed at strategic locations around the ward, in line with the advice of the NHS Trust Fire Safety Advisor. Full instructions for staff on what to do in the event of an emergency are detailed on the FirePoint backboard clip-frame, so they can be amended to suit each department as necessary.
Client Testimonial
“Serco Group provide Hard and Soft FM services to the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital. Serco use the Howler GoLink wireless fire alarm system to provide temporary fire alarm cover whilst the main fire alarm system is being maintained or worked on for other reasons. It has given our NHS Trust colleagues assurance that the emergency response team are alerted without delay should a fire be suspected. It is flexible and when correctly installed wireless communication is reliable, which was critical as the system is used inside the building and the many walls and other obstructions could otherwise cause problems.
We mostly use the Howler GoLink system when disabling a fire alarm zone for test and maintenance but have also found it useful during fire alarm panel replacement as the system size can be expanded to cope with the larger area affected. We are now introducing another Howler GoLink system with additional heat detectors to be used during extended building and refurbishment work and will be utilising the GoLink fault and alarm relays to send signals to the main hospital system, particularly useful as the refurbishment area will be unmanned overnight and at weekends.”
