Case Study: Adra utilising advanced Aico Gateway technology

Adra, one of the largest Registered Social Landlords in North Wales, have deployed Aico’s ground-breaking SmartLINK Gateway to provide a solution-focused approach to tenant safety and management of the Fire and Carbon Monoxide (CO) detection within their housing stock.

Adra Housing Association look after over 6,000 social housing homes and provide services to over 14,000 customers in Gwynedd. Adra strives to provide quality homes and services, making a positive difference to people and the community.

To provide an insight into operations and asset management of some of their housing stock, Adra have been collaborating with Aico on IoT (Internet of Things) technologies, the applications and benefits. Resulting from extensive discussions into these progressive technologies with Aico Regional Specification Manager (RSM) Dan Thomas, Adra have installed Aico Ei1000G SmartLINK Gateways into a new-build block in Bangor city centre. The Gateway meets the requirements of Adra, providing a cost-effective solution that can give a potential Return on Investment to them by reducing unnecessary call-outs. The installation of the new SmartLINK Gateway was recommended to provide real-time data insight into the Fire and CO alarm systems, reporting events such as alarm head removals, Fire and CO alerts.

Each of the properties have now been fitted with Aico’s technologically advanced 3000 Series: Optical Smoke Alarms, Multi-Sensor Fire Alarms, Multi-Sensor Heat & CO Alarms and Ei1000G SmartLINK Gateways, giving Adra a proactive approach to fault-finding, defining any trends in alarm activations and maintenance requirements, while drastically minimising the issue of property access. In addition, the alarm systems are linked back to the block’s Sprinkler System via flow switches, to give audible warning in each dwelling of a sprinkler activation.

The Ei1000G SmartLINK Gateway utilises Aico’s next generation of wireless technology to interface the SmartLINK Gateway with all Aico alarms, assuring easy installation and reliable connection. This allows full visibility of connected RF systems via an online, cloud based SmartLINK portal system.  By having this information in real-time, it enables an effective, reactive approach, resulting in safer homes, whilst potentially saving on call-outs by investigating and reacting to issues in-house in the first instance.

Aico RSM Dan Thomas provided comprehensive support to Adra, from initial discussions on the use of these technologies as a solution for the housing provider, to delivering the award-winning Aico Expert Installer training to various teams within the organisation, ensuring a holistic and informed approach to resident safety.

Dan comments of the project “It’s always a pleasure working with the team at Adra and this project has been no different. The SmartLINK Gateway is the perfect choice for this project, it meets the requirements and provides Adra with real-time, actionable insight – a key component for them to deliver quality service and keep tenant safety at the forefront. I was present at the set-up stage and it was great to see how simple and easy it was for the team to do the install; how user-friendly the App and the Cloud Portal are to navigate and identify potential issues.

It’s important that these insights are there to aid any RSL to reduce the number of call-outs to a property, when it could simply be a phone call to instruct the tenant to replace the alarm if removed, and also to educate them on the importance of maintaining their own alarm system. It has been an enjoyable and educational journey for both Adra and myself, and it has been fantastic to help them to create a safer environment for their tenants and to reduce potential callout issues.”

Gareth Roberts, Assets Compliance Manager for Adra feels the use of the Gateway will provide a wealth of benefits to both residents and the housing association. He comments “Over the past few years, we have experienced difficulty accessing some properties to test our smoke alarms. Following a discussion with Dan Thomas from Aico, we were made aware of a new system which allowed us to monitor the system from our computer. I’ve always had an excellent experience with Aico products and was really impressed with what was being offered. The SmartLINK Gateway would allow us to fully monitor each detector ensuring that as a landlord we could provide assurance that the detectors are always in working order.” Following some additional training from Aico RSM Dan Thomas and a live demonstration of the system after installation within the properties, the SmartLINK system is now fully operational. Gareth goes on to say “The system is fully set up and providing us valuable information which allows us to resolve any issues quickly. The system is set up for email alerts to be sent out which identifies an activation, fault or even a head removal. This allows us to contact the tenant to highlight the issue without them picking up the phone to notify us.

I am really impressed with the SmartLINK Gateway and will be looking to install in more properties in the future. From a compliance perspective, it gives us the confidence that the equipment installed is in full working order and helps us achieve a high level of fire safety for our tenants.”

Aico and Adra are continuing their collaboration and the housing provider is seeking to deploy the SmartLINK Gateway across their housing stock.