Cirrus wins telecare upgrade programme for Riviera Housing Trust

Cirrus, a leading independent national provider of telecare and security systems, has recently been awarded a telecare upgrade programme worth over £115,000 for Riviera Housing Trust.

A member of Sanctuary Group, Riviera Housing is committed to providing quality housing, excellent services and support to communities throughout the English Riviera towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham.

The Torbay-based housing association invited tenders through its procurement framework after deciding it wanted to improve its existing community/warden call alarm services. In particular, it was looking for a flexible telecare-enabled communication system that could work with open protocols backed up by first class customer service support. The solution Cirrus put forward will involve the upgrade of 11 schemes using Tynetec Advent XT, an alarm and communication system designed specifically for grouped housing schemes. The Advent XT also retains the alarm signalling capabilities of traditional warden call systems to ensure compatibility with existing Alarm Receiving Centre’s.

Lorraine Baillie- Riviera Housing's Supported Housing Manager commented: “A key concern for Riviera was working out which systems were going to be the best long-term investment, in terms of ease of maintenance, ongoing support and overall cost. The focus on open protocols was important for us as this means the manufacturers disclose the full technical details of their communication protocols allowing other manufacturers to produce compatible components. This creates the potential for freedom of choice in terms of products, installers and maintainers in the future.”

As well as a focus on cost-effectiveness, Riviera Housing was particularly impressed with Cirrus’ approach to environmental and sustainability issues, disposal, and its plans to re-use equipment where appropriate on other schemes not included within the tender.

Andy Davey, Head of Cirrus, said: “We are pleased to have been selected by Riviera Housing for this programme, particularly with their emphasis on value for money, open protocol standards and after care support. Our focus on investment in our people and providing independent advice to customers played a significant role in winning this contract.”