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Reach
Issue 6 2014
Demonstrating capabilities in a crisis
A
irwave’s capabilities
were on show at the
National Resilience
event organised by the London
Utilities Sector panel and held at
Wellington Barracks, Westminster.
Airwave is a member of the
London Utilities Sector Panel, one
of several subgroups that comprise
the London Resilience Team. The
one-day event had two purposes:
to bring all utilities together to
demonstrate how they support
category one responders in the event
of a major incident; and to give the
utility companies the opportunity
to discuss that support with the
responders to ensure requirements
and expectations are met.
Category one responders include
the emergency services, the military,
local councils, and other agencies
charged with the preservation of life
and property.
During the rst part of the day, the
utilities gave formal presentations
on their capabilities. Airwave’s
session was led by Mark Jones,
Head of Business Continuity and
Emergency Planning.
This was followed by
demonstrations from the attending
utilities, including Thames
Water, the National Grid, BT, and
other organisations responsible
for maintaining the national
infrastructure in times of crisis.
The event was designed
primarily for rst responders from
London, but attracted interest from
around the country with more than
300 people attending.
Airwave’s Emergency Response
Vehicle (ERV) was central to our
demonstration on deploying
emergency communications,
and there was also a survey
vehicle on show.
“It’s important to have regular
contact and information exchange
with the agencies that rely on us.
The world is changing, and we
have to ensure that we are ready to
deliver exactly what is required in
order to minimise the impact of a
major event,” said Mark Jones.
“There was a good deal
of interest in our Emergency
Response Vehicles,” said
Andrew Chalk, Airwave National
Service Manager. “Effective
communications are critical to the
successful management of any
event, and the day gave us the
opportunity to show how Airwave
works with other key agencies to
support our rst line responders.”
Service. When in telephone contact
with a doctor, if a callback was
required, it was being made to the
paramedic’s personal mobile phone
instead. There is a ‘recorded line’
facility on the PABX, which users
can access to make calls, but there
is currently no capacity for a caller
to contact a paramedic directly.
We will therefore be introducing a
facility for our staff to give out a PIN
number that puts the doctor directly
through to that user’s Airwave radio.
This is a telephony service enabled
via the Airwave Service that we just
weren’t using. Now, all conversations
between Trust staff and doctors
concerning advice and decisions
regarding treatment and prescriptions
can be recorded for audit purposes.”
Paul Barton, Airwave’s Service
Relationship Manager for SWAST,
said: “It was a pleasure to meet all
the users – a group of enthusiastic,
forward-thinking people with great
questions and great suggestions.
What we couldn’t answer at the time
has formed an ongoing set of actions
for us to address.”
Within the Trust, Steve is working
through the feedback and issues
raised, and is planning to keep the
users updated via a dedicated section
of the Trust’s intranet.
Airwave’s Emergency Response Vehicle
(ERV) and survey vehicle show their
capabilities at the National Resilience event
