The solution and result

Adam Denny, Asset and Planning Manager from Citizen, discusses their digital upgrade strategy and their experience with Appello. 

What were your reasons for upgrading your warden call?

We were aware of the impending digital switchover and knew we needed to upgrade various systems, as we had a mixture of legacy equipment and an inconsistency of equipment across our housing stock. We also had a lack of records on the specifics of our existing equipment, such as how old it was.

We wanted to be able to make an informed choice, so instead of going straight to a manufacturer, we used the TSA’s consultancy services to put together our specifications for procuring new careline systems. They also visited our sites so we could make sure we were replacing the systems that needed replacing.

Why did you choose Appello's digital warden call systems?

We had a suppliers' day in conjunction with the TSA where we looked at different system providers. From that we decided that we'd go ahead with Appello, as their offer and track record met our requirements. We also had some relatively new Appello installations at a couple of our other schemes, which helped with our decision – we knew it was working well there and both colleagues and the people living at the properties were happy with the kit.

We decided to go for Smart Living Solutions (Appello's market-leading digital warden call system) for our retirement living sites. These sites have a visiting scheme manager, so Smart Living Solutions allows colleagues to communicate remotely to check on everything when they are not on site. It also suits the more independent client group at these properties.

On these schemes it was also important to our customers to be able to use the video door entry function the Smart Living Solutions Product includes.

We then chose Smart Connect (Appello's entry-level digital warden call system) for our housing with care properties, which are staffed 24/7. We needed a simpler system due to the nature of this client group.

How have you found the installation process?

It's all gone well. There are thirteen schemes altogether, so we started with one site initially. The manager there has worked much more closely with the TSA and Appello to get the spec right. Then we rapidly rolled out the installations to the other sites.

We have one retirement living scheme that's a new build but, apart from that, the buildings are all 20-30 years old, with all the property investment challenges that come with that. But the team from Appello took that in their stride. They were also very customer-aware, which is really important – you need a contractor who is respectful of our customers’ needs while they're there.

The majority of sites are complete now. We have a few where we need to finish the install of some telecare devices at the properties with Smart Connect. It was a conscious decision to get the main system in and make sure that colleagues were familiar with that, and then we could go back and programme in the telecare devices to finish the project. We're aiming to have everything upgraded by the end of the year. We'll probably have some dispersed alarms as well but that's going to be a little bit further down the line.

What has your experience been with the digital warden call systems?

Anecdotally from the customers, everybody seems to be happy. Our colleagues also speak well of the system and get on well with it. We've had no issues at all with them using AppelloHQ (Appello's online management application). But we know that if we ever get stuck, we can just phone up the helpline and someone will talk us through it.

We've found the diagnostics and the monitoring in the background to be beneficial. The reassurance of knowing that most faults and issues can be fixed remotely is a great selling point. The video feature is another good benefit, where you can do screen capture for door entry and things like that.

Now we've got the systems in, we want to explore how we can use all the features of Smart Living Solutions in particular, so we can make sure we're using it to its fullest.

Would you recommend Appello?

Yes, I'd certainly recommend Appello. There's a good team managing the installations and it seems to be a good quality product.