On behalf of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), Amey’s Defence teams have successfully delivered a project to upgrade the fire alarm system and associated equipment in a fully operational 140 bed Single Living Accommodation (SLA) block at RMA Sandhurst, while part of the building was being used as a COVID-19 isolation block.
Due to the nature of the project, access to each of the 140 bedrooms was needed to install the new fire alarm system to the whole accommodation block while keeping the existing system operational. With a project timeline of just 16 weeks, Amey and supply chain partners, FBS Intelligent Engineering (iE) Ltd, replaced the fire panel, repeater panels, interfaces, 15 fire door sets and upgraded the emergency lighting. Modifications were also carried out to the heating system to accommodate better escape routes and upgrade the mechanical extraction to the kitchenettes and drying rooms.
Carl Shadrake, Amey’s Project Manager, said, “During all this work, the building was being used on numerous occasions as an isolation block for COVID-19 cases. As the teams worked on the fire system, parts of the building were gradually taken away, while others were handed back once the locations had been empty for 72 hours. This required a huge amount of planning and co-ordination from Amey, DIO, the military and especially our supplier chain partners FBS, who had to remain flexible, testing their character on many occasions often with instructions to down tools in as little as an hour.”
Despite all the challenges, the 16-week programme stood the test of time, with the system being commissioned and the old one stripped out as required. Communication between all parties remained a key part of the project, with FBS working tirelessly to keep the project on track and the end users fully informed, and as a result works were successfully delivered on time, to budget and to a great standard.
Lesley Allsopp, Manager SLIM Mess, RMA Sandhurst, added, “As the custodian of Slim Mess and I have been here for over 7 years, I would like to take this opportunity to say I have been very impressed with the workmanship of the contractors from your company and their conduct has been very professional. In some challenging situations they have dealt with this very swiftly”