Product Focus – 6500 WODU
Fire and Security systems in the Custodial sector aren’t something we talk about much due to understandable security reasons relating to the sites we feature on. But our Custodial division is one of the most successful departments in our company, and our dedicated team ensures we are at the forefront of fire and security technology for the custodial sector. As a market leader, our success is down to several key products we have specifically developed and produced to serve this industry, which provide the life safety protection and security needed for both residents and staff. We constantly review our equipment to ensure they are in compliance with the rigorous home office standards. Out of this, one of our core and most appreciated products is our 6500 Cell Call system, with the main control panel named the 6500 WODU (Wing Officer Display Unit). In this Product Focus, we intend to enlighten you on what the 6500 WODU is and what it offers to the consumer.
ShareKey Communication
The 6500 WODU is a life safety communication system that can integrate to fire detection and high-pressure misting system to protect the lives of residents and Prison officers. The primary function is to provide an easy-to-use two-way duplex communication between the staff office and each cell or holding room. The facility ensures officers can speak directly with the resident and identify the request or issue before attending the cell to reset the event.
The system incorporates an enhanced feature, the day & night mode, which enables a group of cells to have their calls answered at a pre-determined WODU during the day. It automatically changes to a single WODU on a night when staffing levels are reduced.
The ‘All Call’ option allows an officer to broadcast a message across all the cells in a block or wing, simultaneously, replacing the requirement for a separate Public Address system.
Strangely Familiar but Totally Different
The base architecture of the 6500 WODU is the Protec 6500 fire alarm control panel, ensuring life safety and robustness are at the heart of the product. You can tell this by the familiar physical dimensions and the 7-inch colour screen.
But you will also notice that the 6500 has undergone significant appearance adjustments required to meet the demands of a cell call system. The overlays have gone from black to blue. There’s been an introduction of physical buttons into the overlay, an all-call stainless-steel button, and the added feature of a tamper cover to the 7-inch display. The panel front also offers an illuminated iButton contact point and two circular pattern perforations, housing a front-facing microphone and a speaker.
I is for Intelligent
The silver illuminated disk is on the front of the 6500 WODU panel, known as an iButton reader. The reader will read personal tags (iButtons) provided to the Prison officers, which, when selecting a function, will illuminate red or green, confirming its operation. Each fob is unique in identity, so each key set has its own tag, meaning tracking is registered when using the system. The fobs enables access to the key features and functions of the panel, enabling officers to answer cell calls, log and acknowledge events, all while the system tracks and time stamps all the events.
Security is Paramount
The custodial environment is an industry that revolves around security. It must provide security to everyone, regardless of prisoner or officer. The 6500 WODU is a great security solution. As part of the iButton feature merged with the system’s event reporting, it ensures that all events are logged. In the case of people’s security, it logs when using an iButton. The ability to do this means officers can be tracked by using the ‘Attendance Mode’ facility when attending and, if necessary, entering the cell. If an event did occur, the Attendance Mode facility has an inbuilt timer, which expires before an officer leaves the cell then an automatic alarm is generated at the WODU to alert other staff members when an officer may need urgent assistance.
Standalone or Networked
The 6500 WODU panel can be used as a standalone system that provides cell call to a specific wing or small group of holding cells. Yet it can also offer the ability to be easily scaled up to large complex sites. The 6500 WODU panel utilises the same digital technology as the Protec 6500 Fire Alarm Control Panel, meaning that the system is fully expandable from one to sixty-four panels.
Using multiple 6500 WODU panels, the control panels work together to provide a complete networked cell call system. Whether one panel or a network of panels, they are linked to a head-end PC, an Event Logging System (ELS), to provide accurate real-time reporting of all events, which can be searched, downloaded and printed for any required audit purposes.
Cell Call and Fire Protection Combined
The 6500 WODU can go one step further than a traditional call system and integrates with the local fire protec detection and fire protection system (high pressure misting). The system provides digital control for activating and de-activating the water mist nozzle found in each cell. Meaning should a fire break out, it can automatically be detected and extinguished in seconds while also notifying and recording the fire incident at the WODU.
Standards, Specifications, Regulations and Recommendations
The fire and security world is already full of regulations and recommendations that products and systems must meet, such as British Standards (BS) and European regulations (EN). The custodial sector has standards and specifications that life safety systems must meet, outlined by the numerous MOJ (Ministry of Justice) technical standards. The cell call compliance is outlined within STD/E/SPEC/013.
We established our 6500 WODU system based on these specifications, launching a product that meets the usual ‘standard’ cell call requirements, and fulfilling these and other industry regulations and recommendations, including those for the high-pressure misting integration. It means that the 6500 WODU panel comes MoJ compliant, but as always, we like to surpass the client’s needs, so offer a ‘Protec Spec’ where we expand some of the functions to provide additional features outside of the MoJ specification to meet specific client needs.
If you would like to know more about this or any of our innovative custodial life safety and security systems, then why not contact our Custodial Team today.