Grainger Fire & Security - Experts & Thought Leaders

Liverpool's Unity Theatre, a champion of new writing, social justice, and community engagement, boasts a rich history intertwined with the building it calls home. Founded in 1983 by unemployed actors and writers, the company initially resided in a converted warehouse. By 2003, they found their permanent home on Hope Street – a former synagogue built in 1957. This unique space, once a place of worship seating 450 serves as a vibrant theatre and a living testament to a bygone era of radical theatre. Unity Theatre The name "Unity" itself reflects a legacy. It's a connection to a national movement that significantly impacted British theatre and politics. The story begins in the 1930s with the birth of Merseyside Left Theatre, which later became Merseyside Unity Theatre in 1944. Renowned for their experimental and politically charged productions, this company's final act was securing the Hope Place building and transforming the former synagogue into the thriving Unity Theatre visitors know. Unity Theatre thrives as a registered charity, producing a mix of professional and amateur productions while fostering community engagement through workshops and mentoring schemes. Challenge: emergency lighting system It also relies on specialist companies to help with some of the more complex upkeep of the building, such as fire safety An organization such as this relies heavily on the generosity of private benefactors and support from arts funding to keep the lights on and the doors open. It also relies on specialist companies to help with some of the more complex upkeep of the building, such as fire safety. Realizing that their emergency lighting system was rapidly aging, Technical Manager - Xenia Bayer knew this would be a massive project to undertake, and financially impossible with ever-tightening theatre budgets. FIREscape Nepto system This was when hope flickered back on. Xenia Bayer said, "While exploring options and regulations with the ABTT (Association of British Theatre Technicians), I stumbled upon a brochure by Hochiki detailing their newly launched FIREscape Nepto system." She adds, "It felt like a dream come true for our theatre. The features were perfect for this environment." Some of the key features of FIREscape Nepto which appealed to this theatrical mind were: Intelligent and Self-Sufficient: No more tedious lamp replacements or manual system checks. The system runs self-tests, stores reports, and alerts the owners to any maintenance needs. Energy Efficient: The low voltage system promised significant energy savings, a win for both budget and the environment. Adjustable Light Levels: This can be a game-changer for performance spaces. There is regulatory compliance for light levels, but also the ability to achieve complete "blackout" for scene changes and actor entrances/exits. FIREscape Nepto can offer both. a complete replacement system Xenia Bayer continues, "It seemed too good to be true. Reaching out to Hochiki, I hesitantly inquired about sponsorship possibilities, offering site visits for interested parties. Thankfully, after email exchanges and a site visit, Hochiki offered an incredible solution: a complete replacement system." The team at Hochiki worked closely with the installation company - Grainger Fire and Security, experts with over 40 years of experience in the industry. new to-the-market emergency lighting system Hochiki initially reached out to the company’s Managing Director (MD), David Wardman Hochiki initially reached out to the company’s Managing Director (MD), David Wardman, to ask if they would like to get involved in this local charitable project and they jumped at the chance. David Wardman said, "We’ve worked with Hochiki products for several years, always successfully, so the opportunity to work install this new to-the-market emergency lighting system as well as help keep this local hub of the community open was something we were keen to get involved in." easy to install Heading on the project - Will Taylor comments on the ease of installation, stating "Hochiki products are famously easy to install, and FIREscape Nepto was no different. The theatre is quite a large space and so we initially scoped 5 to 6 days for the installation plus commission." He adds, "In the end, it only took 4 days, plus a day for commissioning. We were also able to retrofit using a lot of the old cabling to save on waste, and the new system enabled us to fault find any issues with that old cable so we could replace it if needed." energy savings  Xenia Bayer continues, "The communication with both the Grainger team and Hochiki throughout has been brilliant, we were able to work around shows all the while ensuring everyone’s safety." She stated, "The new system is so much more aesthetically pleasing and saves so much space compared to the previous bulky system. The best outcome is that over the year, based on the old system running costs, we predict we’ll be able to save almost 40 times the energy which equates to just less than £900 in savings a year."  cost savings Xenia Bayer adds, "In our world that is an incredible amount of money which we will be able to plough back into the theatre and the many projects we run for our local and wider theatrical communities." Overjoyed and incredibly grateful, the Unity Theatre looks forward to welcoming artists, communities, and audiences under the safe and efficient glow of the FIREscape Nepto system. Transform day-to-day operations  Xenia Bayer concludes, "This new system won't just replace our old one – it will transform our day-to-day operations and ensure we can continue to shine a light on the arts for years to come, thanks to Hochiki – the show can go on."

130 Advanced fire alarm control panels have been chosen to protect one of the UK’s largest acute teaching hospitals. Selected for their performance, quality and ease of use, 96 intelligent addressable MxPro 5 fire alarm control panels and 34 custom AdSpecials panels will be installed at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, as part of a comprehensive upgrade. Wythenshawe Hospital As a center of clinical excellence, Wythenshawe Hospital, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, has over 5,500 staff providing district general hospital and specialist tertiary services to the local community and the wider population of the North West of England, so fire system reliability was a critical part of the specification. Manchester-based Grainger Fire & Security, responsible for the 18-month project, chose Advanced’s industry-renowned fire protection for its robustness, versatility and ease of installation in complex and critical sites. Installation of new network cable and BMS integration The system changeover to Advanced includes installation of new network cable across a live hospital The system changeover to Advanced will involve the installation of new network cable across a live hospital environment as well as BMS integration, and the introduction of a graphics package to provide visual representation of the fire system to end users. The 34 custom-engineered, 6-loop panels with 600 zonal LEDs included in the installation will be designed and manufactured by Advanced’s AdSpecials department. The network of Advanced panels will work with over 20,000 devices using Apollo and Hochiki protocol. In addition, a full design review of the hospital’s existing false alarm management strategy will take place to ensure that the new system is programmed to effectively reduce unwanted alarms. MxPro 5 fire alarm control panels installed Will Taylor, Service & Small Works Manager at Grainger Fire & Security, stated “As Wythenshawe is one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK, we needed a solution that offered superior programming and networking capabilities, ensuring the highest levels of protection across the site.” He adds, “As our preferred panel choice, we have recommended Advanced for a number of years. Its MxPro 5 panels are both easy to use and install and offer the features required to competently protect the hospital and its multiple buildings that each have individual cause and effect programming.” ipGateway fully interactive internet portal The upgrade to the system will also see the introduction of ipGateway, Advanced’s fully interactive internet portal that presents the user with a detailed description of the current status of the fire system. The ability to remotely interrogate the fire system is a valuable benefit for both the end user and Grainger Fire and Security, who will be able to pre-empt problems. Not only will this provide additional peace of mind for hospital users, it will also save time, money and inconvenience by reducing unnecessary service visits to site. Neil Parkin, Advanced’s Regional Sales Manager for the North, said “The cause and effect programming capabilities of our panels provide tangible benefits to customers when protecting large-scale sites such as hospitals, university campuses or airport terminals.” The cause and effect programming capabilities of our panels provide tangible benefits to customers" Neil adds, “Once the system at Wythenshawe Hospital is up and running, features such as AlarmCalm, our built-in false alarm management and reduction software, will work to radically reduce the number of unwanted alarms and the impact they have on patients and staff. It’s a pleasure to be able to support Grainger Fire & Security on this project, and I have complete confidence that our products will provide the dependable solution required.” Multiprotocol fire system solution MxPro 5 is the fire industry’s renowned multiprotocol fire system solution and was recently certified by FM Approvals to the EN 54 standard. It offers customers a choice of two panel ranges, four detector protocols and a completely open installer network, backed up by free training and support. MxPro panels can be used in single-loop, single-panel format or easily configured into high-speed networks of up to 200 panels covering huge areas. MxPro’s ease of installation and configuration, as well as its wide peripheral range, make it customizable to almost any application.

Selected for their performance, quality and ease of use, 96 intelligent addressable MxPro 5 fire alarm control panels and 34 custom AdSpecials panels will be installed at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, as part of a comprehensive upgrade. As a center of clinical excellence, Wythenshawe Hospital, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, has over 5,500 staff providing district general hospital and specialist tertiary services to the local community and the wider population of the North West of England, so fire system reliability was a critical part of the specification. Manchester-based Grainger Fire & Security, responsible for the 18-month project, chose Advanced’s fire protection for its robustness, versatility and ease of installation in complex and critical sites. BMS integration The system changeover to Advanced will involve the installation of new network cable across a live hospital environment as well as BMS integration, and the introduction of a graphics package to provide visual representation of the fire system to end users. The 34 custom-engineered, 6-loop panels with 600 zonal LEDs included in the installation will be designed and manufactured by Advanced’s AdSpecials department. The network of Advanced panels will work with over 20,000 devices using Apollo and Hochiki protocol. In addition, a full design review of the hospital’s existing false alarm management strategy will take place to ensure that the new system is programmed to effectively reduce unwanted alarms. Fully interactive internet portal The upgrade to the system will also see the introduction of ipGateway, Advanced’s fully interactive internet portal Will Taylor, Service & Small Works Manager at Grainger Fire & Security, said: “As Wythenshawe is one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK, we needed a solution that offered superior programming and networking capabilities, ensuring the highest levels of protection across the site.” “As our preferred panel choice, we have recommended Advanced for a number of years. Its MxPro 5 panels are both easy to use and install and offer the features required to competently protect the hospital and its multiple buildings that each have individual cause and effect programming.” The upgrade to the system will also see the introduction of ipGateway, Advanced’s fully interactive internet portal that presents the user with a detailed description of the current status of the fire system. Reducing unnecessary service visits The ability to remotely interrogate the fire system is a valuable benefit for both the end user and Grainger Fire and Security, who will be able to pre-empt problems. Not only will this provide additional peace of mind for hospital users, it will also save time, money and inconvenience by reducing unnecessary service visits to site. Neil Parkin, Advanced’s Regional Sales Manager for the North, said: “The cause and effect programming capabilities of our panels provide tangible benefits to customers when protecting large-scale sites such as hospitals, university campuses or airport terminals.” “Once the system at Wythenshawe Hospital is up and running, features such as AlarmCalm, our built-in false alarm management and reduction software, will work to radically reduce the number of unwanted alarms and the impact they have on patients and staff. It’s a pleasure to be able to support Grainger Fire & Security on this project, and I have complete confidence that our products will provide the dependable solution required.” Multiprotocol fire system solution MxPro panels can be used in single-loop, single-panel format or easily configured into high-speed networks MxPro 5 is the fire industry’s multiprotocol fire system solution and was recently certified by FM Approvals to the EN 54 standard. It offers customers a choice of two-panel ranges, four detector protocols and a completely open installer network, backed up by free training and support. MxPro panels can be used in single-loop, single-panel format or easily configured into high-speed networks of up to 200 panels covering huge areas. MxPro’s ease of installation and configuration, as well as its wide peripheral range, make it customizable to almost any application. Life-saving technology Advanced, owned by FTSE 100 Company Halma PLC, protects all manner of prestigious and high profile sites across the globe, from London’s Shard and the Berkeley Hotel to Abu Dhabi International Airport and the Hagia Sophia historic site in Turkey. Halma is a global group of life-saving technology companies with a clear purpose to grow a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day. Advanced is a provider in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. Advanced’s reputation for performance, quality and ease of use see its products specified in locations around the world, from single-panel installations to large, multi-site networks. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, multiprotocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging and false alarm management systems.