EMR's Peter Kilgannon takes gold at Scottish athletics meet

EMR’s Peter Kilgannon takes gold at Scottish athletics meet

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Peter Kilgannon, currently assisting EMR to migrate its ISO 9001 and 14001 to 2015 standards, took the gold medal in the 800m at an athletics meet between the Irish and Scottish Universities Athletics Associations.

The meet took place at Grangemouth Stadium in Falkirk, Scotland on 26th May last and a total of 65 athletes travelled to the meet.

Peter, a UCD engineering student took top honours in the 800m in a time of 1.56.20 in windy conditions.

It is the fifth year of the event. Peter’s win helped the Irish team keep an unbeaten record against the Scottish team, coming away as the overall champions.

Well done, Peter.  We’re all very proud of you in EMR.

EMR completes network infrastructure upgrades at 9 windfarms across the UK and Ireland

EMR completes network infrastructure upgrades at 18 windfarms across the UK and Ireland

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EMR completes network infrastructure upgrades at 9 windfarms across the UK and Ireland

Leading telecommunications and SCADA network supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced the completion of network infrastructure upgrades at 18 windfarms across the UK and Ireland.  The projects were carried out for Greencoat UK Wind, a FTSE-250 listed renewable infrastructure fund, invested in operating UK wind farms.

The service provided by EMR involves auditing and upgrading windfarm communications infrastructure to ensure that Greencoat has full visibility and control over its assets in the field.

“I have confidence in EMR as a trusted partner,” said Javier Serrano, asset manager with Greencoat UK Wind. “We’re an investment house, not an IT company and so we have to rely on a network of trusted partners who are our eyes and ears on IT issues. Our success is based on EMR’s ability to understand our needs and the agility to execute on those needs,” he said.

Greencoat’s asset portfolio currently consists of 29 windfarms ranging from sites such as Slieve Divena in Co Tyrone to Maerdy in Wales, capable of generating hundreds of Megawatts of power output every day.

The scale of communications upgrade required varies from site to site with the largest project completed at Screggagh in Co Tyrone, as Alan Feenan, sales director with EMR Integrated Solutions explains.

“At Screggagh, we replaced the entire telecoms infrastructure including microwave links, firewall technology which provides protection and monitoring capability, WAN routers and SIP telephony.  We liaise directly with Greencoat’s customers, primarily Northern Ireland Electricity and SONI, ensuring that their SCADA systems can see their windfarms on the power grid,” he said.

EMR also provides a monitoring and management escalation service if problems occur.  With remote monitoring capability, outages can be escalated to the appropriate service provider for swift resolution.

As an active, long-term investor Greencoat’s portfolio continues to grow and the company is committed to further building its asset base into 2018.  Its most recent acquisition in November 2017, involved the purchase of an 80% stake in five wind farms from EDF Energy Renewables (“EDF ER”) for a total consideration of £98 million bringing its net generating capacity to 694MW.

EMR’s service expansion to the UK continues apace, and follows the completion of a custom-built, energy management system for demand-side aggregator, Powerhouse Generation in Northern Ireland.

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ESB Networks chooses EMR for major refresh of digital mobile radio network

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Leading telemetry and mobile communications provider, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced it has signed a three-year framework contract with ESB Telecoms Services for the refresh of a digital mobile radio (DMR) network.

Under the terms of the deal, EMR will supply, install, commission and maintain a mission-critical Tier III DMR network for ESB Generation and Wholesale Markets, allowing robust, reliable radio communications between the company’s 23 power stations. Over 400 handsets have been deployed to-date.

Commenting on the deal, Paul Friel, operations manager for ESB Telecoms Services said:

“I want us to be proactive rather than reactive in managing our radio networks and that’s what we’ve achieved with EMR through this contract.  We’ve moved to a fully integrated and managed system for everything from operations to evacuation and person location.  That’s innovation, that’s clever,” he said.

The network refresh, based on Motorola digital radio technology, was initially driven by an operational requirement for reliable, high performance inter-station communications, from hydro-electric power stations such as Inniscarra in Cork and Erne in Donegal to the hydro control centre in Turlough Hill, Co Wicklow.  It will now be extended to all power stations nationwide.

Many new features are being rolled out for the first time including Tier III trunking, which allows inter-station, radio communications via wide area links and an innovative person-location system, particularly critical for smaller power stations.  The system uses a series of wall-hung, wireless beacons, which record the radio’s signal as it passes and updates the mapping application at the location. If a user triggers an emergency alarm, they can be immediately located within the building.

“That’s lateral innovation where we’re using the radio system as a person-location system through a different technology,” said Mr Friel.  “We’re fully utilising the asset and it’s only been possible through the collaborative working relationship we have with the engineering team at EMR.  We share our problems with them and together we find a solution.  This approach has been very powerful for us,” he said.

Other technology ‘firsts’ include the deployment of a remote battery management solution, which allows ESB staff to ensure sufficient radio infrastructure power is available to all stations in the event of power outage.  In addition, work to integrate the radio network into ESB’s VoIP telephony system is well underway and this will see radio users connected to the voice network and able to make voice calls as they would with a mobile phone.

The selection of Motorola technology for the two-lot tender was a natural one according to Alan Feenan, sales director with EMR Integrated Solutions.

“ESB staff operate in the most demanding environment, where they’re exposed to damp, cold conditions for most of the year.  The Motorola portfolio of handsets and repeaters is extremely rugged and reliable.   Standardising on Motorola equipment also leveraged the ESB’s existing investment in their technology and end-to-end management of all DMR field assets is now a reality, thanks to deployment of centralised network management software at their telecoms operations centre,” he said.

Mr Feenan believes that this radio network is one of the most sophisticated and feature-rich currently in use across Ireland and the UK.

ENDS

Pictured above left to right are: Alan Feenan, sales director, EMR Integrated Solutions and Paul Friel, operations manager, ESB Telecoms Services 

Editor’s Notes:  Tier III digital mobile radio covers operation in frequency bands of 66–960 MHz. Tier III supports trunking or voice, data and short messaging allowing inter-station communications across wide area network links.  Tier III compliant products were launched in 2012.

LtoR: Jason Clarke, PRO, Boyne Fishermen's Rescue & Recovery, Mark Quinn, managing director, EMR Integrated Solutions and Eugene Brannigan, volunteer, Boyne Fishermen's Rescue & Recovery

New paging system for Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue improves communications flow for emergency call outs

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Dunboyne, Co Meath, Thursday, 7th December 2017:  Leading two-way radio and paging solutions provider, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced it has deployed a voice-activated paging system for Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue and Recovery.  Based on Swissphone s.QUAD paging technology, the high-performance, robust communication system triggers a combination of tone and voice paging to over 30 volunteers of the marine search and rescue organisation.

The ability to target individual groups such as the boat crew, vehicle crew and the emergency services with custom pages, helps to streamline communications amongst the team.  Significant improvements in paging coverage across the varied terrain of Drogheda and surrounding areas save valuable time in responding to emergency calls.

Commenting on the new system, Jason Clarke, public relations officer with Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue said.

“It’s vital that our volunteers get the page or else we can’t provide the service.  With our old system we had to despatch several pages and even then we were never sure if our volunteers had received the page.  With our new system, based on Swissphone paging technology, I can be confident that pages are received and acted upon immediately, saving precious minutes as we mobilise volunteers to respond to the emergency at hand.”

Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue offers a range of emergency services to the local community and beyond.  Its core service centres on an inshore rescue boat, which operates 24×7, 365 days a year, responding to any incidents on the River Boyne and along the coast at Clogherhead, Laytown and Bettystown. The group also provides a community first responder service and subsurface water search and recovery nationwide.

“We chose Swissphone paging technology as it has been specifically designed for emergency service applications,” said Mark Quinn, managing director with EMR Integrated Solutions.

“The pagers are robust, waterproof and very comfortable to wear.  A bright LED indicates when a page has been missed and device memory can save up to 16 minutes of voice messages.

“Moving from a UHF to a VHF system has also had a positive impact on coverage levels.  Rescuers must have complete confidence in the system as they need high-performance communications that won’t let them down,” he said.

The volunteers have responded well to the new technology as Mr Clarke explains.

“The crews are very happy with the new pagers as they sit flush with their belts.  They’re strong, robust and don’t damage easily.  They like the simple layout of the device with just four buttons and they can get up to a week of battery life on a single charge.  The pagers can be easily recharged in the docking station overnight and our volunteers never forget to do this.”

Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue and Recovery solely relies on donations from the public to maintain the high level of service it provides. Christmas and the New Year is a particularly busy time of the year for the rescue organisation.  Anybody wishing to support the work of this voluntary organisation can do so by making a secure donation via the website at www.boynefishermensrescue.ie , or by clicking the donate button on our Facebook page or even arranging a visit to our purpose-built boathouse on the Marsh Road in Drogheda where  a donation can be made in person.

ENDS

About Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue and Recovery
The Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue and Recovery Service is a voluntary marine search and Rescue unit based in a purpose built Boathouse on the Marsh Road in Drogheda Co. Louth. We operate a 24/7 365 Days a year emergency pager water rescue team which includes an inshore rescue boat service, which is accredited to the Irish Water Safety. We also provide underwater search teams nationwide throughout the 32 counties of Ireland for any invent which may occur on our waterways. We provide a wide range of services to the community including a swiftwater rescue team, 4×4 response and flood response rescue just to name a few. A full selection of services provided can be found on our website.

In recent years we have become a linked resource of the National Ambulance service as the community first responders for the Drogheda area known as the Boyne Fishermen’s Community First Responders.

For more information, please visit http://www.boynefishermensrescue.ie/

About EMR Integrated Solutions

EMR Integrated Solutions is a leading provider of communications, SCADA and instrumentation solutions.  With a track record stretching back to the early 1980s and a management team with a wealth of industry experience, the company has established a strong, successful foothold in markets as diverse as retail, hospitality, utilities, transport, telecoms and public safety.  The organisation has customers across Ireland, the UK and Europe and has the expertise, engineering know-how and project management capability to deliver large, complex, integrated solutions on time and within budget.

For more information, please visit www.emrsolutions.ie

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Pictured above left to right are:  Jason Clarke, PRO, Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue & Recovery, Mark Quinn, managing director, EMR Integrated Solutions and Eugene Brannigan, volunteer, Boyne Fishermen’s Rescue & Recovery

EMR takes high achiever award at NISO 2017. Pictured l-r: Harry Galvin, president of NISO, Derek Glynn, COO, EMR, Colm Farrell, safety representative, EMR and John Thompson, incoming NISG chair

EMR ‘achieves high’ at National Irish Safety Organisation awards

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Leading SCADA network and mobile telecommunications supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced that it has been recognised as a ‘high achiever’ at the National Irish Safety Organisation’s (NISO) awards.

This prestigious accolade is made to organisations that achieved a Distinction Award or greater over the previous five years.  To-date over two thousand award submissions have been made to NISO and NISG, its counterpart in Northern Ireland.

Now in its 26th year, the awards are an all-island affair, which recognise the positive and proactive culture of safety management that exists within Irish organisations.

Commenting on the win, Derek Glynn, chief operating officer with EMR said:

“The High Achiever award reflects EMR’s continued commitment to health and safety within our organisation.  The wellbeing of our staff is a key value of our organisational culture and one that we continually reinforce through ongoing training and guidance.”

Pictured l-r:  Harry Galvin, president of NISO, Derek Glynn, COO, EMR, Colm Farrell, safety officer, EMR and John Thompson, incoming NISG chair

Pictured from left to right are: Dean Reardon, sales executive, EMR, Mark Quinn, managing director, EMR and Roddy Greene, general manager, Mondello Park

Mondello Park revs up its two-way radio comms with help from EMR

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Leading network and mobile telecommunications supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced a deal with Mondello Park, Ireland’s only international motorsport venue, to upgrade its digital two-way radio network.

Covering over 100 acres, the network streamlines handheld radio communications for 40 staff and helps to provide better customer service to the venue’s 140,000 annual visitors.  By purchasing rather than hiring radio equipment, the organisation has been able to slash ongoing communications costs, with a return on investment of less than 18 months.

Commenting on the deal, Roddy Greene, general manager with Mondello Park said:

“The move to digital radio provides a performance boost to our communications and gives us better coverage throughout the complex.   All track marshals, support crews, medics, gate staff and maintenance teams rely heavily on the radio network.  With race meets taking place every weekend between March and October and corporate events during the week, it’s the only way to communicate across the site.  It’s really important for us that the radios perform well,” he said.

EMR upgraded staff handsets to the Motorola MOTOTRBO™ DP1400 as Dean Reardon, sales executive with EMR explains.

“We chose the Motorola DP1400 digital handset for this project as it provides a rugged, high performance reliable portable communications solution, ideally suited for the high-use and demanding environment within Mondello Park.

“The new digital technology within the DP1400 handset allowed us to deliver a user friendly multi-channel communications network, which segregates voice traffic for the various track marshals, operations, gate staff and medical personnel during race events and enhances staff operations and visitor safety levels within Mondello Park,” he said.

This traffic segmentation works well according to Mr Greene and allows staff to rapidly respond to and manage any adverse events on site.

“We chose EMR as the price was right and the service they gave us was excellent,” said Mr Greene.  “They delivered on time, on budget and recommended a solution, which protects our technology investment.  We can add lots more functionality including lone worker protection if we wish.  When we make any capital investment in technology, we have to ensure a level of future-proofing and EMR helped us to achieve that,” he said.

ENDS

Pictured from left to right are: Dean Reardon, sales executive, EMR, Mark Quinn, managing director, EMR  and Roddy Greene, general manager, Mondello Park

 

The EMR team out in force again at GT5K 2017

EMR pounds the pavement in support of GT5K 2017

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A large contingent of EMR staff hit the pavements around Dublin city quays yesterday evening, in support of this year’s Grant Thornton Corporate 5K Team Challenge (GT5K 2017).  Joining more than 5,000 runners from up and down the country, the team competed for the second year running on a 5K circuit at Dublin’s Docklands.

Ciaran Quinn finished the best of the EMR team, completing the circuit in a fantastic time of 17 mins 25 secs, to finish in 60th position, beating his performance in last year’s event.  Deirdre Shanley did the best of the ladies with a great time of 26 mins 10 secs.

Commenting on the event, Mark Quinn, managing director with EMR said:

“The GT5K has become an annual event in the EMR calendar and once again this year, we had great fun participating.  The event really fosters a sense of camaraderie among staff while also supporting a very worthwhile charity, with the ‘Make a Wish’ foundation.  We already have next year’s pencilled in.”

The Grant Thornton Corporate Challenge, run in association with Athletics Ireland, is aimed at encouraging social running amongst the business community in Dublin and Cork.  Proceeds from the race are channelled into Athletics Ireland’s Junior High Performance programme and 10% of each entry fee was donated to the ‘Make a Wish’ foundation

Full results from the event can be found here.

Pictured left to right are: Mark Quinn, managing director, EMR, Paul McMahon, executive engineer, Leitrim County Council and John McElwaine, capital programs regional lead, Irish Water

EMR selected by Irish Water to upgrade telemetry networks in €1m deal

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Dunboyne, Co Meath, Friday 1st September 2017: Leading SCADA network and mobile telecommunications supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced it has been selected by Irish Water to upgrade its telemetry networks in Waterford and Leitrim, in a deal valued in excess of €1m.

The upgrade plays a significant role in the battle against ‘unaccounted for water’, giving Irish Water greater monitoring capability and control over the water distribution network in those counties.  Increased automation and more granular visibility into water flows, pressure and quality provides early warning alerts to network bursts and improves the quality of supply for customers.

Commenting on the deal, Mark Quinn, managing director with EMR Integrated Solutions said:

“This capital investment project supports Irish Water’s ongoing efforts to streamline water distribution networks in the county, and having greater control over assets in the field allows them to quickly identify and react to adverse events as they occur.  Minimising network leakage is a key objective and the ability to remotely measure and monitor flows plays a critical role in helping Irish Water to achieve that.”

The Waterford network upgrade involved consolidating the telemetry network across the city and county, following the merger of both councils in 2014.  Telemetry Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) and data loggers were deployed at over 200 logger sites* to monitor water flow and pressure on the pipe network, providing early warning alerts to network bursts.

The system also enables data acquisition from major water assets such as reservoirs and pumping stations and for automated remote control of these sites from the central SCADA system.

In Leitrim, the EMR team installed telemetry RTUs and GPRS data loggers together with the associated flow and pressure monitoring instrumentation at over 90 sites**, tying them back to the centralised SCADA system in Carrick-on-Shannon. This system augmented the extensive SCADA and telemetry network previously installed by EMR in the major water treatment plants and water distribution assets throughout the county.

“We build our telemetry networks based on principles of resiliency, reliability and flexibility, explains Mr Quinn.

“Where we have onsite telemetry, Irish Water can  monitor and control the water network remotely, increasing operational efficiencies, reducing waste and providing faster response times to adverse events as they occur.

“Utility providers are increasingly adopting the concept of smart networks and EMR is at the forefront of designing and deploying the technology to help them plan for the future,” he said.

EMR has a strong track record in the water utility industry.  The company has already performed two major network upgrades for Northern Ireland Water valued at well over
€1m and last year it announced its entrance to the UK market.

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Notes to Editors
*30 Remote Terminal Units or RTUs plus 175 data loggers which use GPRS networks to transport data were deployed in Waterford.

**30 RTUs with mains flow meter, 30 GPRS loggers with battery powered flow meters and 30 mechanical flow meters only, were deployed in Leitrim.

Pictured left to right are: Mark Quinn, managing director, EMR, Paul McMahon, executive engineer, Leitrim County Council and John McElwaine, capital programs regional lead, Irish Water

Pictured left to right above are: Darragh Quinn, Dean Glynn and Sam Flanagan, all participating in the Learn and Work Scheme

EMR announces participation in the ‘Learn and Work’ scheme

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Leading SCADA network and telemetry supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced its participation in the ‘Learn and Work’ scheme, a program run by Blanchardstown Institute of Technology and Regional Skills, Dublin designed to provide highly-educated students for the changing needs of industry.

The company is currently working with Dean Glynn and Darragh Quinn, students in Mechatronics (technology combining electronics and mechanical engineering), and Sam Flanagan, student of film and theatre practice in Dundalk Institute of Technology.

Work experience involves a combination of practical, hands-on projects as well as desk-based tasks.  Dean has been installing RTUs on water networks and working on process improvements for EMR’s ISO accreditation, while Darragh is currently enhancing EMR’s mobile SCADA application.  Sam has just completed a project to produce and edit a series of technical training videos for one of EMR’s major clients.

Commenting on the program, Derek Glynn, chief operations officer with the company said:

“Like many technology companies, we struggle to find the right people but this program fills the gap between the traditional degree and apprenticeship programs.  It allows us to tap into a skilled, creative and enthusiastic set of students at an early stage and gives them the practical experience which makes them work-ready as they exit from the academic environment.”

Remuneration is provided to the students over the course of the practical placement, which runs from May to September and the placement continues over the entire duration of their degree programs.

Student Dean Glynn really enjoys the practical nature of the work.

“I really like working in the field as it forces you to problem-solve and think on your feet.  While I found the academic theory of communications quite difficult in semester one, it all fell into place for me once I saw the technology in action.  Working in the field has given me some great ideas for our practical projects and I’m also covering topics such as Java and SCADA which aren’t even on the curriculum until year three, so this is really helping me to work ahead,” he said.

EMR is looking to expand the number of placed students to four, when Blanchardstown IT launches its BSc in Process Instrumentation and Automation program in January, 2018.

Pictured left to right above are:  Darragh Quinn, Dean Glynn and Sam Flanagan

31-5-17 Limerick Sucide Watch sponsored radio communication from EMR Integrated Solutions. Sarah Counihan, Dave Mullen, Ger McNamara, Chairman, Sarah Hopkins and Shirley Johnston Limerick Sucide Watch at their base in the Tait Business Centre. Picture: Keith Wiseman

Donation of radio communications equipment plays critical role in saving lives

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Dunboyne, Co Meath, Tuesday, 30th May 2017:  Leading two-way radio and mobile communications supplier, EMR Integrated Solutions today announced a donation of life-saving radio communications equipment to Limerick Suicide Watch (LSW), a voluntary suicide prevention group that patrols the five bridges of Limerick city and along the banks of the Shannon waterway.

With this vital radio equipment, volunteers can communicate with each other more reliably, intervene more effectively in life-threatening incidents and summon the support of emergency services as required.

The donation includes two-way radio handsets, a charger, base station and antenna and serves a team of over 40 volunteers.

The rugged handsets provide robust, high quality voice communications within the team, but the radio frequency is also linked to the Irish Coast Guard, Limerick Marine Search and Rescue and Limerick Fire and Rescue, significantly speeding up reaction times to potentially fatal incidents as they occur.

Commenting on the donation, Ger McNamara, chairman of Limerick Suicide Watch said:

“The donation is critical for us.  We’re not relying on mobile phones, which really aren’t suitable due to coverage blackspots.  Our volunteers now have handsets that are easy-to-use and reliable and they can request assistance from colleagues or emergency services much faster.  With a relatively high suicide rate in Limerick, our ability to respond to incidents needs to be professional and this donation allows us to achieve that,” he said.

A typical volunteer shift lasts four hours and consists of foot and bike patrols along the banks of the Shannon.  The group is active for three days during the week from 9pm to 1am and at weekends from 12am to 4am.

Mark Quinn, managing director of EMR believes businesses have a responsibility to give back to the community wherever possible.

“Our organisation has a strong sense of corporate social responsibility and we support wholeheartedly initiatives such as Limerick Suicide Watch.  We admire the courage and bravery of the volunteers who work in extremely difficult conditions and in all weathers and we’re delighted to support them in the valuable work they do.”

LSW hopes to increase its mobile patrols to seven days a week, extending the support it provides to people in difficulty.

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