University fire and security maintenance

Organisation type: University

Service value: £350,000pa PPM

Services: Fire, security and life safety systems installation and maintenance contract

Fire and Security Maintenance contract covering two large campuses and three outlining locations including teaching farms. 9C directors (in previous roles) were central to the tendering, mobilisation and delivery phases of the contract which totalled approximately £350k per annum PPM. Of that annual contract sum, approximately £150k was specifically for fire alarms which was delivered exclusively with direct labour.

A mixture of open, closed and managed protocol system types (ADT, Gent, Advanced, C-Tec, Kentec, Ziton, Conventional and Addressable Panels), the contract covered 300 buildings of varying age and size. A very busy location with daily footfall in the tens of thousands, including substantial 1800s heritage structures through to contemporary new builds.

Technical challenges aside, the contract required overcoming the complex network of stakeholders including various University administrative and teaching departments, NHS areas, police areas and 3rd party contractors. To thrive on this site, we engaged with key University people to build relationships across the organisations and at multiple levels. For example, Site Engineers engaged with janitorial and security teams, Contract Managers got to know Department and Facility Managers, Directors built relationships with the senior leadership teams of the various parties. This even led to the university utilising the directors knowledge and services in consultation over the integration of a major nine-figure new build project.

The day-to-day running of the contract was provided by a group of four directly employed engineers managed by a working supervisor. Local supplier outlets were engaged to provide fast delivery of required equipment and to provide manged storage space for critical spares. The direct team provided all Fire Alarm PPM and Emergency Call Out requests with subcontractors utilised for more specialist systems (e.g. Sprinklers, Suppression and Hydrants).

Extra over to the main contract, we were awarded and successfully completed more than 50 fire alarm system installations over a 3 year period including a 9 panel system at the Main Building, a £200k install to a large 1970s build and two active museums. Such was our engagement with the University, we were also invited to aid in the development of implementing the long-term plan to create a site-wide digital twin and during a testing 6 month period, stepped in to cover the full M&E service for a large portion of the main campus.

Reporting and management communication was a major driver for the success of this contract, the University team required data converted to multiple outputs to serve the various departments. Billing via application process and with materials on a cost plus basis, the monthly cycle involved the collation of all works to table format capturing costs and job status, with all materials evidenced with a supplier invoice. Additionally, an SLA monitoring table was provided detailing times / dates / SLA and the whether the job was a first time fix, or moved to a Work Arising remedial. To overcome this challenge, the CAFM system was adjusted to efficiently capture all required fields and generate Work Record Sheets, spreadsheets and materials invoices.

Contract Reports were issued monthly and quarterly meetings held with University Contract Leadership, Fire Managers and Procurement Department.