John McEwan, head of systems development at FireAngel, explores how housing teams can automate and leverage data from smart devices to make informed decisions, enhance property management and ensure residents’ welfare.
From temperature and humidity sensors to water leak detectors and smart smoke alarms, the range of interconnected devices available for housing providers continues to expand. These sensors support a data-driven, risk-based approach by monitoring various factors and providing real-time insights into property conditions and tenants’ welfare.
However, the sheer volume of data generated by these smart devices can be overwhelming for under-resourced, busy housing teams.
Automating data monitoring
Real-time data aggregation from multiple devices offers potentially life-saving opportunities to proactively address problems before they escalate.
For example, connected smoke alarms can detect patterns, such as alarms activating at night or devices being removed, that often precede serious incidents, allowing for early interventions by highlighting properties at high risk of a future fire. However, these interventions often rely on manually-monitored data in spreadsheets, which must be passed to various departments before any action is taken.
Instead, centralising data integration through a single platform automates data collection and risk stratification for properties and tenants. These platforms aggregate data from different smart solutions, offering a holistic view of property conditions and enabling informed decision-making.
Harnessing data from connected smoke, heat and carbon monoxide detectors, smart boilers, utility meters and temperature sensors can enable housing teams to streamline and automate processes such as predictive maintenance, compliance checks and resource allocation.
IoT-powered protection
With FireAngel Connected, a cloud-based solution purpose-built for social housing, landlords can remotely monitor interlinked safety and environmental sensors, access real-time status and compliance updates, and view instant diagnostic reports for a more efficient and intelligent way to manage their properties and protect residents.
Through the addition of a FireAngel Gateway in the network, data is monitored in real-time to alert housing providers about the status of alarms in their properties, whether removed, triggered or needing maintenance. This eliminates wasteful visits, saves staff time and reduces administrative costs. The Connected dashboard automatically captures and logs every aspect of a device, including installation training and compliance records, ensuring adherence to the Hackitt report’s ‘Golden Thread.’
While Connected offers substantial insights via its dashboard, open APIs also allow for full integration with a housing provider’s existing core business applications if required. Either option enables device and property data to be accessed in a single centralised location, removing the burden of manual data-trawls or the need to train staff on multiple tools.
The Connected app also involves tenants in fire safety, enabling them and their family members to be aware of the fire protection network in their properties and play an active role in mitigating their risk level.
Pinpoint risk in communities
When paired with FireAngel Predict, Connected gives visibility of previously-hidden trends within properties.
FireAngel Predict is a step-change in the fire industry which protects residents, properties and communities from preventable fire risks using unrivalled insights.
Developed with support from the UK’s fire and rescue services, FireAngel Predict employs a unique algorithm with a patented application to identify behavioural trends logged by smoke and heat alarms and data from temperature and humidity sensors. This allows properties to be categorised as high or low risk. FireAngel Predict is the only technology of its kind on the market to provide this type of real-time insights.
FireAngel Predict processes, sorts and structures real-time data, instantly pinpointing those most at risk in our communities and eliminating the need for manual data-trawls through spreadsheets by housing teams.
Harnessing data for smarter, safer communities
Having data that automatically highlights potential hazards is key to enhancing safety in our communities, but it’s crucial that this information actually leads to timely and effective interventions.
Every day, resident safety teams and local fire and rescue services across the UK use this data to conduct resident-centric interventions to mitigate risk and prevent life-threatening incidents.
With our market-leading technology, FireAngel will continue to support the UK fire and rescue services in their mission to prevent fires and help housing providers in pinpointing properties at risk of problems such as damp and mould.
By leveraging and automating data-driven insights, housing teams can collaboratively ensure safer, healthier living environments for all residents.
John McEwan is head of systems development at FireAngel.
