Gent by Honeywell speaks Gaelic to students at redeveloped Skye College
Sabhal Mor Ostaig college located in Sleat, in the south of the Isle Of Skye in Scotland, is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, and offers courses in a range of subjects all through the medium of Gaelic. The college was created in 1973 thanks to the vision of the late merchant banker and businessman, Sir Iain Noble, renowned in the region for his sustained and proactive support of Gaelic.
The college site has recently benefited from a £6.2m capital investment and the first building constructed in the new Kilbeg development has been named in memory of Sir Iain Noble. The brand new centre is called “Ionad Iain Nobail”, the Iain Noble Centre, and will house staff from the college, as well as providing teaching and research facilities and business premises.
During the construction stages of the new centre, Oban Electrical Services, the main electrical contractors on site had the responsibility of selecting the most appropriate Fire Detection and Alarm (FD&A) system. Oban Electrical sought the expertise of Glasgow-based Rapid Fire and Protection Services, who put forward a proposal based on a Gent by Honeywell system.
Neil Wilson, Operations Manager, Rapid Fire Services said: “We always use Gent solutions, where possible, due to their reliability - we have very few problems once the systems are installed. This site on the Isle of Skye can be quite isolated, particularly in winter, so it was vital to select the most robust and reliable solution.
“The specification required equipment that used voice instead of sounders, and given the location and nature of the premises, the voice messages would need to be in Gaelic. Also, we knew that the Gent combined smoke and voice sounders were capable of being programmed with Gaelic for alert and evacuation.”
The system that was subsequently installed in the Iain Noble Centre was the Vigilon Compact panel with S-Quad devices. Vigilon Compact is a 2 loop system, integrating 92 devices throughout the building, including manual call points, smoke and heat sensors, interfaces and the combined smoke, heat and voice sounders. The solution meets with all the requirements of BS5839 category L1.
Neil Wilson continued: “The most challenging part about the installation was the weather! When we were due on site to commission the system, the ferries were cancelled and the Skye Bridge was closed because of very high winds.
“Another unusual element was that everything had to be programmed in Gaelic, including the zone chart. This is not surprising, given the widespread use of the language and the fact that the college is a national centre for Gaelic. Initially, I visited the site and left documentation detailing the voice requirements. The end user organised the Gaelic translation using their own world class studio facilities and the voice of Christine Primrose, the college’s internationally renowned Gaelic singing tutor”.
The installation has now been completed and feedback from the site has been very positive.
Donald MacLennan, Head of Estates & Services, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig said: “We have been highly impressed and encouraged by the willingness of our key partners in Robertson, Rapid Fire Services and Gent by Honeywell to work with us in ensuring that the use and visibility of Gaelic is an entirely natural part of the new building’s design and function.”
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, officially opened the building in October 2015. Funding assistance towards the £6.2m cost of Phase 1 at Kilbeg was provided by the Scottish Funding Council, the Scottish Government, the European Regional Development Fund (Convergence) of the European Union, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, The Highland Council and the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Development Trust, which incorporates the former Highland Fund and Urras na h-Aiseirigh.
For further information please call 0116 246 2000; E: gentenquiry@Honeywell.com or visit www.gent.co.uk
