Sage
Delighted by cost-effective alert system
When it came to replacing a slow and expensive message system, PageOne messaging left the competition standing. Alerting employees to potential incidents at a major Scottish gas terminal is quicker, easier and more cost-effective than ever. Operated by a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, the Scottish Area Gas Evacuation (SAGE) Terminal, 65km north of Aberdeen, receives and processes North Sea gas piped from offshore platforms. Under the old paging system it took security personnel up to 30 minutes to send out alerts to the duty manager and duty staff. The security staff then had to monitor responses by telephone to assess the employees’ estimated arrival times and to send out additional information – a process that was both time-consuming and a diversion from their principal security roles. Operational costs were high, due to the sheer volume of message traffic, plus the human resource cost. This manual process also made reporting and tracking of messages very difficult.
Weighing up the cost factor
In search of a replacement paging system, the company initially considered Inera Rapid Reach, but opted for PageOne after weighing up factors including cost and proven track record. “PageOne has enabled us to vastly increase efficiency with minimum cost in comparison to the alternative that was considered,” said SAGE’s Nick May. “The PageOne messaging system is an IT dream in that our only requirement was a PC with internet access. “Even in our highly secure environment, this proved very simple because of the way PageOne operates. The alternative would have involved expensive software and a rigorous compatibility test, adding to costs considerably.”
Alerts issued in seconds
Phil Burn, Safety, Health and Environment Advisor, added: “We are now able to effectively communicate alert messages to our on-call duty staff within seconds and then effectively monitor the response. Security staff know at a glance who is responding and by when and no longer need to answer any calls from on-call staff. “The audit trail the system creates is also useful, as all the information is available at the click of a button, detailing when the call went out and who responded when. It also details the full content of their reply, so we know how long individuals will take to arrive This ensures a full complement of the necessary staff at all times. Security can get on with the other duties an emergency brings.”
Scenario
- Legacy system was slow and expensive.
- PageOne messaging dramatically improved efficiency of transmitting alerts and tracking employee responses.
- The new system is highly cost-effective and frees up security staff to get on with other duties.
Cascading communications
PageOne messaging offers a secure means of communicating principally with the duty manager and through various cascading groups to the other on-call duty staff. It allows for easy transmission of group text messages to the duty staff teams who pick up the messages on their PageOne pagers and/or mobile phones. More recently the company has also upgraded to Emergency Grade Pagers which utilise a priority alert, emitting a loud, continuous SOS tone whilst displaying EMERGENCY CALL on the pager. This ensures emergency alerts are never missed and are clearly distinguishable from everyday messages. PageOne messaging also helps the manager to decide which back-up teams to deploy to best protect the safety of the plant. Messages are fully tracked and monitored so a detailed log of activity can be obtained easily and at no cost. The system has endless other applications, from generic updates, which deploy the group call application, to more targeted applications requesting certain individuals or teams to respond to specific problems.
One message, multiple recipients
Prior to taking up PageOne, security staff had to activate each individual pager in order to communicate the alert to the whole of the duty staff workforce. With the PageOne messaging system all the required information can be conveyed in a single message to different device types, which makes the new system much more efficient and simpler to operate. Nigel Gray, Sales Director of PageOne, said: “This application of our messaging system is typical of the way our emergency response related clients are revolutionising the way they communicate. The potential applications in business are endless and it is also currently used to communicate key messages to customers in a wide array of service industries.”
