Optimizing Fire Safety with Integrated Cloud Solutions

Sponsored content:

A major commercial property owner selects Connected Life Safety Services (CLSS) and its mobile apps to upgrade remote visibility and enhance compliance

Overview

Wasatch Commercial Management owns and manages over 3 million square feet of commercial property in Utah, California and Washington. With a portfolio of commercial and retail spaces located in thriving markets, Wasatch is committed to real partnerships with its tenants.

The Challenge
Streamline workflows for testing, inspecting and reporting

In Salt Lake City, Wasatch manages about 20 buildings, many of them high-rise buildings with multiple tenants. Its property managers have a broad range of responsibilities, including tenant relations, financial management, leasing and marketing, and property maintenance and improvements. The challenges associated with these responsibilities in a given day are enough to make one’s head spin.

One of a Wasatch property manager’s overriding duties is the safety and well-being of the building’s tenants. The cornerstone of this responsibility is fire safety, a mandate that transcends legal obligation and represents an essential aspect of commercial property safety. Property managers invest a lot of time and budget to ensure that fire and life safety systems are fully functional and compliant. Yet, regular maintenance, testing, and record-keeping are ongoing pain points.

Testing and inspections are often challenging due to the disruption they can cause to tenants. Thorough documentation of all inspections, tests and maintenance activities is crucial for compliance and post-incident analyses. But keeping track of service records for each individual device and manually transcribing reports can be incredibly time-consuming, especially when dealing with multiple jurisdictions and buildings spread across different locations.

Wasatch property managers saw an opportunity to leverage technology to streamline the workflows for testing, inspecting and reporting on their alarm systems. This would reduce administrative work so teams could be more productive and better service more clients.

The Solution
Honeywell Connected Life Safety Services (CLSS) Pathway Communicator with Site Manager, Facility Manager and Compliance Manager software

The Wasatch team worked with authorized systems integrator, Apex Life Safety Systems, to select Honeywell’s CLSS, a comprehensive, cloud-based platform designed to enhance the management and monitoring of fire systems. CLSS provides real-time insights into the status and performance of fire safety equipment, enabling proactive maintenance, digitized compliance reports, and quick response to any issues.

A major selling point was Honeywell’s development of mobile software, a feature that competitors lack. CLSS Facility Manager gives Wasatch remote monitoring capabilities of their system—all from their mobile phone. Facility teams can now have a bird's-eye view of what’s happening across all their sites and can diagnose and troubleshoot issues before their tenants even notice a problem.

CLSS Compliance Manager has also been a game-changer for both Wasatch and Apex Life Safety Systems. The app helps Apex conduct inspections faster by integrating with the fire panel and auto-importing system data. This saves technicians significant time during tests and inspections, and allows them to get in and out of the buildings faster, causing less disruption. CLSS Compliance Manager also allows Apex to deliver digital inspection reports before leaving the property, giving Wasatch proof of compliance at their fingertips.

“Having mobile technology is a huge competitive advantage,” said Dustin Huber, co-owner of Apex Life Safety Systems. “Facility teams appreciate the convenience of accessing everything directly from their cell phones. They can pull up inspection reports anytime, and the information is always clean, concise and easy to understand.”

The CLSS platform integrated seamlessly with Wasatch’s existing fire safety system. For alarm transmission, Apex replaced a competitor’s communicator offering with CLSS Pathway communicators, which serve as the bridge between the fire system and the CLSS Cloud.

Apex also takes advantage of the third software feature, CLSS Site Manager, which gives the company remote monitoring access to all of the buildings. Huber receives alerts if anything is happening at any of the sites and can immediately call the facilities team at Wasatch to inform them and make a plan of action.

“Site Manager helps us proactively service our customers,” Huber said. “With the solution, we are able to receive event alerts before our customers do, allowing us to notify them and address issues early on. This approach not only enhances our service quality but also helps us build a strong reputation for reliability and responsiveness.”

To learn more about the CLSS, visit hwll.co/pathway