Summery
Handsfree Group supplied and installed West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) with critical communication equipment into 328 Ambulances within the fleet. The need arose for charging docking stations in the emergency vehicles as the Ambulance Service went paperless meaning all communication will be via PDA devices.
Solution
Handsfree Group worked closely with WMAS to find a suitable solution to fit with their requirements to ensure these critical vehicles operated efficiently. Each vehicle was fitted with a Havis Charging Dock for Panasonic Toughbook FZ-G1 along with LIND Panasonic Toughbooks Vehicle Charger Power Supply and Panorama 3G/4G Roof Mount Antenna. Initial installation was carried out which allowed a specification to be created ahead of the full rollout.
Challenges
WMAS operate 24/7 meaning no or minimum downtime for the vehicles, a schedule had to be created in advance to ensure a seamless transition between the Ambulance being stood down and the work completed.
Bespoke mounting plates were required to fit with the docking station and positioning within the Ambulance.
Previous antennas remained in place within 19 vehicles within the fleet. WMAS required these left untouched as they wanted to avoid unnecessary holes. Handsfree Group had to take this into account when creating the spec to ensure the placement of the new antenna would sit alongside and operate with the best signal following the installation
