Ransomes Jacobsen wanted to improve the fire safety of the premises by using emergency break glass points at 20 exits around the factory.

At that time, Ransomes had in place a PA system that would announce a fire - but the only way a member of staff could set off the alarm was by using the internal telephone system. This was not only becoming expensive as the line rental went up, but was not particularly safe as staff on the factory floor had to make their way to the nearest office to make the phone call.

Our recommended solution was to place emergency break glass points at each of the fire escapes so that if a fire was discovered emergency evacuations could take place and the alarm could be sounded on the way out. The only issue was this meant cabling right through the main factory and Ransomes asked if STC would be prepared to undertake this work across a series of weekends beginning at the end of February.

STC took on the job which included providing all cabling and cable trays where necessary and were delighted to work with the Ransomes engineers and use their MEWP which meant we did not have to bring our cherry picker onto site. With all the STC engineers having full IPAF accreditation this work was duly scheduled. Then when the furlough scheme was announced, the Ransomes production facility was temporarily closed which allowed STC to bring the installation forward and the whole job was completed by the end of April.

Ransomes could cancel the very expensive internal telephone contract which went a long way towards paying for the installation. Since that time Stephen Foster, the Engineering and Services Manager at Ransomes, has commissioned STC to install the same system in 'K' building.