AdvancedLive strengthens fire protection at University of West London

Over the past three years, the University of West London has undertaken a significant investment programme to upgrade its fire protection infrastructure. This process has included systematically replacing legacy systems with next generation MxPro 5 panels from Advanced, ensuring consistency across six campuses in West London and Oxford.

Most recently, Ruskin College – now part of the University of West London – underwent a “seamless” upgrade across its historic Oxford estate, which includes five main buildings. One of them, The Rookery, was initially constructed back in 1913.

Despite the complexity involved when it came to integrating newer extensions like The Callaghan Library, the project was completed without disruption thanks to the “adaptability and flexibility” of the MxPro 5 platform.

With more than 27 Advanced panels installed across education, office and residential buildings, the University of West London has now connected three of its main campuses to AdvancedLive, with plans afoot to extend the platform still further. Using map-based views, facilities teams and security personnel gain a real-time overview of the fire system estate, in turn enabling faster incident response and more efficient day-to-day management.

Intuitive dashboard

For a large and dispersed organisation like the University of West London, the ability to locate alarms or faults quickly across complex buildings has been transformational. AdvancedLive’s intuitive dashboard and remote access capabilities allow fire isolations, enablements and weekly testing procedures to be managed digitally, thereby eliminating unnecessary site visits and reducing both costs and carbon footprint.

The system configuration reflects the unique requirements of each campus. The St Mary’s Road Campus operates 13 panels. Apollo Fire Detectors’ REACH wireless devices are deployed within library pods and coincidence detection programmed across third party systems.

The Ruskin College Campus features six panels. Each building is configured with bespoke ‘cause-and-effect’ strategies and all report to central security points.

Further, Paragon House integrates four panels with phased evacuation and delays across its 12-storey tower block.

Additional campuses, including Cavendish & Century and the Drama Studio London, benefit from tailored programming for linked buildings and theatre operations respectively. In every case, AdvancedLive provides a unified management interface for system status, alarms, faults and disablements.

Extremely positive

Jason Bennett, division manager at Alarm Communication Limited (the company responsible for leading on the installation), said: “From both an administration and engineering perspective, AdvancedLive has been extremely positive. The live system view and detailed log make daily management much simpler, while remote access means that the facilities team members can react quickly and efficiently to any issue. The installation process was straightforward, while Advanced’s support throughout was excellent.”

Salvy Vittozzi, regional sales manager at Advanced, stated: “The University of West London is a great example of how AdvancedLive can transform fire system oversight across a complex estate. By combining the proven reliability of the MxPro 5 panels with the real-time visibility of AdvancedLive, the University of West London now benefits from a solution that’s not only robust today, but also scalable for the future. It’s fantastic to see how this investment is already saving time, reducing unnecessary travel and strengthening fire safety management as a whole.”

Looking ahead, the University of West London plans to expand AdvancedLive connectivity to the remainder of its estate, ensuring consistent oversight and centralised control across all locations.

*Further information is available online at www.advancedco.com