Just in time for the busy festive period, vehicles used by UK fire, rescue and emergency services will be equipped with the latest IoT technologies.
UK manufacturer of fire and special vehicles, Emergency One, has announced that it is connecting its vehicles’ on-board computer consoles to Vodafone’s dedicated, 4G-enabled IoT network to help keep them working at all times.
The Emergency One console, known as e1Fleet, is also able to relay essential onboard diagnostic information across Vodafone’s nationwide IoT network directly from the vehicle cab to fleet management and to Emergency One.
Producing around 150 vehicles per year, 82 percent of which are all UK fire and rescue services, the service will allow the company, as well as fire and rescue teams to remotely check vehicles to check it is running smoothly, avoiding breakdowns at crucial times or costly repairs caused by exacerbating faults.
The new system will also enable central command and fleet engineers to better track the location of individual vehicles, which is vital in remote areas or situations where numerous engines are on route to an incident.
Elliot Boyce, Project manager, Emergency One said: “Teaming up with Vodafone, we are proud of our innovative e1Fleet Telematics System which is used by a number of fire and rescue services around the UK.
“Our system has proved successful in allowing us to continually monitor the fire vehicles and provide a quick response to any issues that may arise. It assists the fire and rescue services with the crucial tasks that they perform all year round.”
The system is expected to save fire and rescue teams significant cost maintenance charges over the life of the engines and speed up incident response times.
The speed of travel and fuel consumption can also be monitored constantly to ensure all fire engines are running at their optimum level.
Ivo Rook, Group director Internet of Things, Vodafone said: “At a time of the year when accidental house fires unfortunately increase, we are delighted to be working with Emergency One to improve the efficiency and reliability of fire and rescue vehicles up and down the country to help people have a safe and happy Christmas.”
