Client: Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) | New York, NY
The Challenge
The FDNY needed to reconstruct each of the five Central Offices. The existing interior partitions and all building systems required removal and replacement. The new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems were designed with a minimum of “N+1” redundancy. IXP’s role as the Fire Department’s Program and Technical Integrator was to ensure that each objective was met for every project phase.
The FDNY Communications Centers contain a large number of interrelated systems. This interplay, and the critical nature of the FDNY Communications System, required that the system’s design allowed operating independently of each other while concurrently operating optimally during normal system function. IXP managed the design process and the associated “hardening” required for critical grade systems. Each of these centers operates 24x7x365 and is staffed with up to twelve (12) FDNY personnel at a given time.
Our Approach
| IXP’s delivery approach focused on two areas: 1) schedule management; and 2) discipline management. The schedule ensured that each project component was ready as needed. Discipline management ensured each technical component delivered and installed (i.e., Logging/Recording equipment, ERS/ Voice Alarm components) would meet the FDNY’s requirements and integrate with the overall functional capabilities of the entire project. The IXP team maintained constant communications with all subcontractors by supervising, reviewing, coordinating, and scheduling various project components. We were responsible for creating, tracking, or updating virtually all of the plans and specifications. As part of this initiative, IXP was responsible for the technical architecture that illustrates the connectivity within and between systems that comprise the FDNY emergency services infrastructure. This architecture must incorporate both physical and logical levels of integration. The technical architecture provided FDNY with a system-wide view and demonstrated how the individual systems would combine to form an integrated solution. A key aspect of making the emergency services systems and infrastructure work optimally was to design and clearly define the interfaces between systems properly. Every interface placed demands on both systems; the design challenge was to ensure that the capabilities of each system were fully exploited and not exceeded while concurrently reducing incident response time. IXP focused on ensuring that the parties in each interface clearly understood and approved of the design. Once the testing phase began, IXP verified that all parts of the interface functioned with the previously accepted specifications. |
The Solution
For the Emergency Communications Center operations to successfully move into the new facility, all inter-related projects must be planned and implemented in a coordinated fashion. IXP utilized its total solution methodology, SAIF®, to minimize the downtime of supporting technologies and disruption to the Emergency Communications Center operations and the constituents they serve during the transition. IXP identified the risk(s) associated with the transition from older technologies, and we developed plans and solutions to mitigate as much risk as possible. IXP participated in regular bi-weekly meetings with the FDNY and the participating vendors to confirm schedules were being met and issues were being dealt with proactively before any potential impact on the schedule. IXP also developed and managed a transition and training plan so that all roles for these critical phases were identified and scheduled.