Amthal Fire & Security - Experts & Thought Leaders

Amthal has launched Protecting What’s Precious, a new campaign designed to support nursery providers in exploring CCTV installation within caring environments in a thoughtful, balanced and responsible way. Recognizing the sensitive nature of early years settings, the campaign aims to help nurseries navigate conversations around CCTV as part of a wider safeguarding framework. Wider safeguarding framework Through careful guidance, tailored support and responsible system design, Amthal will support providers to consider how CCTV may complement existing safeguarding arrangements where appropriate, while recognizing that every setting has different operational needs and priorities. Says Jamie Allam, CEO of Amthal Group Companies: “Creating safe environments where children can learn, develop and thrive remains at the heart of nursery provision. Parents place enormous trust in early years professionals every day, and nursery teams work tirelessly to create spaces where children feel secure, supported and able to flourish.” Providing additional visibility “Conversations around CCTV in nursery environments must be approached with care, sensitivity and a clear understanding of safeguarding in practice. Our aim is simply to help nursery providers consider what is right for their setting, their staff and the families they support, recognizing that every environment is different.” Where CCTV is considered, Amthal will help nurseries integrate CCTV as one element of a broader safeguarding strategy. When introduced responsibly and supported by clear governance, it can provide additional visibility across a setting, helping leadership teams review incidents, maintain oversight of day-to-day operations and support accountability. Trusted technology partners The campaign also highlights the importance of privacy, transparency and compliance in any CCTV implementation. Considerations including camera placement, access permissions, data protection and the secure management of recorded footage are central to ensuring systems are introduced sensitively and responsibly within nursery settings. To support nursery providers effectively, Amthal works closely with trusted technology partners, including Dahua, to help ensure CCTV solutions are tailored appropriately, responsibly managed and aligned with the safeguarding and operational requirements of each setting. Jamie concluded: “At the centre of every conversation must be the wellbeing of children and the trust families place in nursery providers every day. Our role is to support settings with thoughtful guidance that complements the excellent safeguarding work already taking place, helping providers make informed decisions that are right for their environment, staff and families.”

Amthal has completed an upgrade of the access control infrastructure at Lion Health Care, supporting the medical practice with a fully integrated system designed to manage security across a complex, high traffic healthcare environment. Lion Health Care in Stourbridge is a large, multi-disciplinary medical practice providing a broad range of primary care services to the local community. With a high volume of patients, staff and visitors moving through the building each day, the site requires carefully managed access across clinical, administrative and restricted areas. Access control system The project involved the full replacement and enhancement of an existing access control system, incorporating a combination of updated readers, controllers and wireless handle sets. In total, more than 50 doors across the site were brought into the upgraded system, creating a unified and centrally managed platform that aligns with the operational and governance requirements of a busy medical practice. Says Jürgen Versluis, Finance and Data Manager, Information Governance Lead and Senior Information Risk Owner at Lion Health Care, Stourbridge: “Maintaining the security of our premises and the sensitive information we hold is a fundamental part of how we operate, so it was important any upgrade strengthened both control and day to day usability.” Busy healthcare environment “The new system gives us a far more effective way to manage access across the site, while still aligning with our governance responsibilities. Carrying out the work overnight was essential, as it meant there was no disruption to patient care, and the team showed a clear understanding of how to work within the demands of a busy healthcare environment.” Delivering the upgrade within a live healthcare environment required careful planning, with all installation and commissioning carried out of normal operating hours to avoid disruption to patients and clinical services. An Amthal team of four engineers worked overnight to complete the critical phases, ensuring the system was fully configured, tested and operational. Information governance standards The upgraded system provides improved control over access permissions, enabling staff to manage entry points with greater accuracy and accountability. The inclusion of wireless handle sets also reduced the need for extensive cabling, allowing for a more efficient installation process across existing doors while maintaining the integrity of the building. Throughout the project, attention was given to ensuring the system configuration aligned with information governance standards, supporting auditability and secure access management across clinical and administrative areas. The result is a scalable solution that can be adapted as the practice evolves, with the flexibility to accommodate future changes in staffing, access requirements or building use. David Williamson, Business Development Manager at Amthal Fire & Security, concluded: “This project reflects the importance of delivering technical upgrades in a way that respects the operational realities of healthcare environments. Working overnight allowed us to complete a complex installation without interrupting day to day services, while ensuring the system was fully functional and ready for immediate use. The outcome is a cohesive access control solution that provides clarity, control and reliability across the entire site.”

Amthal has been awarded a planned maintenance contract to cover Barnet and Southgate College across all its three sites, to ensure a reliable, rapid response and coordinated approach for the benefit of staff, students and visitors. Barnet and Southgate College is a large further education provider operating across three main campuses in Barnet, Southgate and Colindale. The college supports a diverse student population across academic, vocational and technical programmes, with sites that include teaching blocks, workshops, specialist learning environments and high footfall communal areas. Core operational requirement Given the scale and movement of people across the estate, maintaining robust life safety and security systems is a core operational requirement. Amthal was selected to cover the college’s intruder alarm, fire alarm, Paxton access control and IP CCTV systems across all three sites. The scope of works includes routine maintenance, system monitoring and ongoing technical support to ensure all systems remain compliant, fully operational and aligned with the college’s safeguarding and estates strategy. Coordinated maintenance planning Pritesh Dattani, Soft Facilities Manager at Barnet and Southgate College said: “Managing life safety and security systems across three busy campuses requires a joined-up approach. We consolidated maintenance under a single provider to ensure consistent performance, improved visibility and reduced fragmentation across systems and sites.” “At this scale, reliability, fast fault response and coordinated maintenance planning are essential to minimize disruption to teaching and campus activity. Having Amthal in place gives us confidence that fire, intruder, access control and CCTV systems are managed within a consistent framework, supporting safeguarding and operational continuity across the college.” Varying access requirements The complexity of the estate is reflected in the scale of the systems in place. The intruder alarm infrastructure spans 800 circuits across 10 monitored panels, providing coverage across multiple buildings and departments with varying access requirements. The fire alarm system comprises 1,569 devices connected through 15 networked panels, designed to ensure early detection and coordinated response across densely occupied learning environments. Access control is managed through 483 Paxton controlled doors, supporting controlled movement across campuses while allowing operational flexibility for staff and students. In addition, 452 IP CCTV cameras provide visual coverage across key internal and external areas, supporting safeguarding, incident review and day to day site management. Maintaining overall system integrity Amthal is now also supporting installation works delivered through the college’s contractors, helping ensure new systems integrate effectively with existing infrastructure and maintain overall system integrity as the estate develops. David Williamson, Business Development Manager at Amthal Fire & Security, added: “This contract reflects the importance of maintaining fully integrated life safety and security systems across a large multi site education environment. Our focus is on ensuring all systems are maintained in a way that supports reliability, compliance and operational continuity across the college estate. By working closely with the college and their contractors we can help ensure both existing infrastructure and new installations continue to operate as a connected and dependable system across all three campuses.”

The UK Government has set out an ambitious ten-point plan, known as the green industrial revolution, with an aim “to forge ahead with eradicating its contribution to climate change by 2050.” This makes our government the first major economy to embrace such a legal obligation. Green recovery Acknowledging climate change and meeting net-zero is a demanding challenge especially for those affected by the pandemic. But the UK Government, with the launch of its aspiring strategy, is investing everything in its power to promote a ‘green recovery.’ Here, Reece Paprotny, Commercial Manager and Sustainability Champion at Amthal, highlights how the fire and security industry has an opportunity to use the current recovery period to explore its own sustainable journey and embrace the significance of environment, economic and social collaboration, transparency, and accountability. Employing sustainable technologies Pressure is mounting on construction to find ways to reduce emissions and help meet net-zero targets The perception is that COVID-19 presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to re-write the existing rulebook. This is riding on the significance of changing public support for more environmentally friendly living opportunities, with associated cost savings, efficiencies, and cleaner industries. Innovative sustainable technologies are the key to kickstart this route to success.  Nowhere can this be seen more than in the built environment, which currently contributes to 40% of the UK's carbon footprint. Pressure is mounting on construction to find ways to reduce emissions and help meet net-zero targets. This is through the entire life cycle of a building, to reduce their impact on the environment from planning stages, through build and demolition. Building the right environment By creating the right policy environment, incentives for innovation and infrastructure, the Government can encourage companies to seize the sustainable opportunities of new technologies and value chains linked to green sectors. They can accelerate the shift of current carbon-intensive economic and industrial structures onto greener trajectories, enabling the UK to meet global climate and development goals under the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Transparent working practices Each industry sector is expected to engage and pledge its support to achieve the significant deadlines. Every company can make a difference, even with small steps towards a sustainable future. So while elements such as safety and security represent just one component of building the right sustainable environment, it paves the way to opening up our sector to greater efficiencies, transparent working practices, and encourages collaborative use of resources. Sustainability in security The security sector has a significant opportunity to incorporate ‘going green’ into its practices In fact, the security sector has a significant opportunity to incorporate ‘going green’ into their processes, and practices. This is right from product lifecycles to more environmentally friendly work practices when it comes to maintenance and monitoring services. When integrating environmentally friendly practices, starts with the manufacturing and production of the wide variety of systems in operation for the security sector. And some certifications and guidelines can be achieved, such as the ISO 14000 which looks into eliminating hazardous materials being used which in turn will reduce carbon footprint.  Upgrading supply chain process Observing the complete supply chain and working with partners to reduce unnecessary travel, shipments, and transportation of products, can all contribute and create sustainable processes.  In the maintenance and monitoring of products, it is essential installers and security specialists consider their own environmental impacts. Simple changes such as switching company vehicles to electric options for site visits can make a significant difference to climate change and improving air quality. Presenting sustainable ways of disposing of products at the end of their natural lifecycle is key to change in our sector. This is especially in the security industry where many customers will need a complete overhaul of outdated solutions or need systems upgrading due to changing threat levels. Sustainable evolution Progress is being made, specifically in the fire and security industry, in its sustainable evolution. Businesses are trying to develop a reputation for “sustainability” or “good corporate citizenship.” And it has gone well beyond the theory to the practical, where companies recognize activities have an impact on the environment and are also reviewing the social and economic influences. Three pillars of sustainability In a recent interview, Inge Huijbrechts, the Global Senior Vice President for safety and security and Responsible Business at Radisson Hotel Groups sees her vision to combine safety, security, and sustainability. Inge focuses on three pillars, namely, Think People, Think Community, and Think Planet. Think People means that we “always care for the people in our hotels and our supply chain.” So, in outwards communications, safety and security were always part of the Think People focus area. Think Community is caring and contributing in a meaningful way to communities where we operate. Finally, Think Planet makes sure that “our footprint on the environment is as light as it can be in terms of energy, water, waste, and carbon, and making sure that we incorporate sustainability into our value proposition.” Moving forward Apprenticeship schemes are integral to ‘think people’ and have a role to play in the social impact on the security industry There are immediate actions that can be taken by companies in the security industry to support sustainable development, working right from within a company to supporting industry-wide initiatives. From a social perspective, at a foundation level, “Think People’ can see the Living Wage Foundation as an example of a commitment to a team.  This is for businesses that choose to go further and pay a real Living wage based on the cost of living, not just the Government minimum. Apprenticeship schemes are also integral to ‘think people’ and have a pivotal role to play on the social impact on the security industry.  It addresses the sector-wide issue of finding employees with the right mix of skills to collaborate and meet discerning consumer demands for increasingly smart security solutions for homes and businesses. Impact of the full lifecycle of products From an environmental view, or ‘think planet,’ we need to collectively look at all elements of our industry, with a desire to analyze the impact of ingredients used, supply chain, or manufacturing alone, and also consider the full lifecycle of our selected products from creation to end of life. As Jamie Allam, CEO Amthal summarises, “This is a long-term, sustainable investment in our people, our products, and our business based on our values.” “When put together, a social team which feels empowers and operates in environmental optimum working conditions is in a position to provide a great experience to our customers, creating an economic positive difference. It forms the basis of a sustainable sector vision for the security industry-wide to adopt.” Taking action Amthal is taking action based on the ready-made universally agreed UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Also known as Global Goals, these are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member states. This agenda is a plan of action for people, the planet, and prosperity. By being an early adopter, we believe we can engage with customers, partners, and suppliers on these issues and generate opportunities to innovate for mutual and industry sector benefit. Together, we can contribute to building a more sustainable security sector and future, and contribute to the UK Government’s green industrial revolution.