CASE STUDY:
CCG’s new communications facilities with incident mode
IAV were commissioned to design and install communications facilities in CCG’s newly refurbished offices in Ely.
Background
Clinical Commissioning Group for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough (CCG) recently brought their Cambridge and Peterborough offices together to a new location in Ely. The offices, spreading across two floors, were totally refurbished and needed completely new communication systems designing and installing to CCG’s own requirements.
Comprising 9-10 small meeting rooms and two boardrooms, one upstairs and one down, meant that consideration needed to be given to the multiple purposes the rooms would be used for. The ground floor boardroom, for example, had a partition that meant it could be opened up to rest of the ground floor to make one large room for conference purposes.
CCG required the ability to connect with remote personnel off-site in other parts of the region and to be able to bring other agencies together when there is a major incident. The system needed to be easy to use with a plug and play approach for the smaller meeting rooms but a fully integrated system was needed for the boardrooms to enable linking them together and allowing for external connections.
IAV was commissioned for this project based on experience and ability to understand the client’s requirements while being able to supply a system that fitted their budget.
The Service
From initial consultation with CCG, IAV designed a system that would work in their new offices and importantly would be future proofed for additional requirements at a later date.
It was really important that IAV understood what CCG required from the outset not just for their ‘Standard Mode’ but also their ‘Incident Mode’ facility which had to be programmed bespoke for them. Consideration was given to the placement of drop down screens and monitors in order for the rooms to be used to their full capacity and to avoid glare from light pollution coming from the windows.
‘Incident Mode’ is only used in exceptional circumstances when there is a major incident in the region, for example having to close the M11 due to snow. Different agencies like Fire, Paramedics, Police etc all need to be able to work together to roll out their emergency plans and procedures. The boardroom becomes the main control room facilitating bringing all the agencies together.
‘Incident Mode’ allows both boardrooms to link together as well as connecting with agencies and individuals off-site. From a touch screen panel on the wall ‘Incident Mode’ can only be selected by certain designated personnel by using a password. When the system is operating in ‘Standard Mode’, ‘Incident Mode’ is greyed out and inaccessible which means there is no danger of it being activated unintentionally.
Working in partnership with office refurbishment specialists COEL and Avaint, who programmed the touch screen to operate the communication systems in the boardroom, IAV designed and installed a state-of-the-art solution.
The Implementation
The smaller meeting rooms have been set up with scalability. Each room has a wall mounted display and HDMI connection, the user simply hooks up their laptop and the screen will mirror its content.
Both boardrooms are networked together and each have Panasonic projectors, drop down screens, Creston control equipment and video conference equipment. The rooms are networked with Blu Stream AV over IP multi-cast systems which allows for scalability.
The wall mounted touch screen control panels activate the projectors, speakers and drop down screens. The audio system is synced to each of the drop down screens so that audio comes from the same direction as the screen that is being viewed.
The main communications system within both boardrooms is user friendly, and easy to use. The system is set in ‘Standard Mode’. Access to ‘Incident Mode’ is only accessible to key personnel using a unique password.
IAV have trained on-site staff how to use the system. Time out measures have been added in to avoid excessive clicking when trying to activate the conference system. The control panel will grey out once the projector and screen have been activated to allow time for the screen to drop.
Liaising with CCG’s in-house IT team, IAV have utilised Microsoft Teams to set up the boardroom systems.
The Outcomes
From an extensive wish list IAV designed and installed a system for CCG that is both scalable in order to add additional functionality at a later date, and that fits their current budget.
CCG are delighted with the level of service in coordinating and installing the communications system that they have been provided. IAV have created a hybrid environment which allows on- and off-site staff to work collaboratively.
If you a need a hybrid communications solution for staff returning to the office which enables connectivity with remote workers, then set up a free consultation with IAV to see what system can work for your requirements and budget.