Scottish Fire & Rescue Service – Nationwide Wide Area Network
MLL transforms Scottish Fire & Rescue Service WAN - delivering improved resilience and performance
The Scottish Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS) is the world’s fourth largest fire and rescue service, committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the people of Scotland. As a national organisation with firefighters among the best equipped and most highly trained in the world, SFRS front-line services are delivered locally from three strategically positioned hubs based in the North, West and East of the country. In addition to fire control and prevention, SFRS responds to many different emergency incidents including road traffic collisions, rope rescue, water rescue, hazardous materials and flooding as well as assisting partner agencies in keeping communities safe.
In March 2021, following a competitive tender including several FTSE listed telecommunications providers, SFRS awarded MLL Telecom (MLL) an initial four-year Wide Area Network (WAN) services contract. This was for replacing the existing nationwide IPVPN-based WAN procured in 2016 and the provision of ongoing fully managed WAN services.
MLL’s knowledge of SD-WAN technology and its in-house network engineering operations and field engineering capabilities were intrinsic to SFRS’s decision to move forward with one of the largest SD-WAN deployments in the UK.
Following a period of extensive planning, MLL commenced the transformation programme in October 2021. This was completed successfully and on time in December 2022.
Project requirements
- Connect over 360 fire and rescue stations located throughout Scotland, including highland and island areas
- Ensure an enhanced user experience, especially at remote sites
- Reduce network latency
- Support SFRS’s planned migration to public and private cloud-based services
- Provide a revised security architecture to support a planned move to cloud-based services
The Solution
In response to these requirements MLL proposed and delivered a managed SD-WAN solution based on Fortinet technology, enabling connectivity to all SFRS sites irrespective of their location or underlying connectivity technology.
- SD-WAN allows bandwidth to be aggregated over multiple circuits – especially important for some of SFRS’s remote locations that are very poorly served with connectivity
- Detailed “single pane of glass” reporting allows application layer reports to be viewed and analysed, showing how the network is performing
- Security is fully integrated into the solution through the highly regarded Fortinet SD-WAN security fabric and is supported by MLL’s security accredited NOC
- The solution supports SFRS’s planned move to the cloud, while also ensuring the existing elevated levels of security and control are maintained.
Challenges
Any major network transformation project presents unique technical and logistical challenges. If not adequately addressed, these can quickly impact on network roll-out and service delivery. A rigorous approach to Project Management and establishing close working partnerships with the SFRS team and suppliers were therefore essential prerequisites.
The WAN project required migrating multiple sites nationwide, however, the network technology infrastructure differed considerably. While the larger SFRS fire stations and offices located in and around metro areas benefited from fibre connections including FTTP, many of the sites in rural and remote locations used a hybrid technology approach comprising Superfast, 4G and DSL technologies. Adding further complexity, several sites in Glasgow utilised a microwave network.
The sheer remoteness and rugged environment of many of the SFRS locations, ranging across all the Highlands and Islands, presents as hard an engineering challenge as any connectivity project in the UK. This adversely impacted the performance of the previous WAN solution, sometimes preventing routine tasks undertaken by SFRS personnel, as well as more critical ones such as accessing cloud-based training applications.
Furthermore, ferries and planes were prone to cancellation at short notice due to the often unfavourable and highly changeable weather conditions. This risked potential delays to MLL field engineers’ ability to visit sites to test and re-configure the existing lines. For the same reasons, network equipment and parts deliveries could easily be delayed. Comprehensive and flexible coordination and route planning was therefore of paramount importance.
“The large number of sites involved, often in remote locations, combined with the considerable distances involved and changeable weather all contributed to making this a challenging but very satisfying project,” said MLL Field Engineer Thomas Guild. “MLL’s super-efficient coordination support made all the difference. It was vital that parts and engineers arrived on time, which they did, no matter how remote the location.”
He added: “On more than one occasion our travel plans had to be changed at short notice due to severe weather. One time, I recall receiving a message from our Project Management team to abort just as the plane was preparing for take-off to Fair Isle – they had seen a hurricane was forecast to hit the area within the next 48 hours which would have seriously delayed my return and ongoing implementation schedule!”
Project Delivery
A major factor in the project’s success is the close working relationship that has been forged between MLL and SFRS. This has ensured that the migration was seamless to end-users and that the network service continued, uninterrupted in-spite of a change in suppliers.
Equally, open dialogue and close working partnerships averted or quickly resolved potential technical issues. On occasions, for example, working directly with the Fortinet TAC team to ensure advanced features were delivering as required. And dealing with line plant challenges specific to the extremely rural locations, meaning that the physical connectivity services specified to these sites were not always available as originally planned – with availability sometimes changing by the hour and MLL project managers waiting to reserve spare capacity as soon as it became available.
At the outset, MLL assigned an experienced Senior Project Manager to lead the programme and establish a robust transition plan. This included liaison with SFRS’s Project Lead with regular progress meetings, enabling open and transparent communications.
A phased approach to transitioning SFRS sites to the new SD-WAN was agreed, with planning commencing several months in advance. MLL’s Technical Design Architect worked with both SFRS and the previous supplier’s technical teams to agree the technical migration process as well as detailed testing and acceptance plans. MLL’s NOC engineers also met with SFRS’s IT team to gain additional insight into the existing network, its stability and dependencies.
Site migration commenced in October 2021 and was undertaken by MLL’s field engineering team. They were responsible for visiting the sites, testing the lines and configuring them to support the SD-WAN. They worked separately, joined on many occasions by SFRS apprentices. Their visits and network kit deliveries were managed and meticulously coordinated from Scotland and Silverstone (Northamptonshire) by members of ’s Project Planning team.
Between October 2021 and April 2022 – the most intensive and demanding phase of the site migration programme – MLL’s field engineers undertook continuous travel five-days a week with overnight stopovers in local hotels and lodgings. Ferries or planes were used to reach the more remote destinations including Orkney, Fair Isle, Shetland, and the Hebrides. In total the team accumulated over 30,000 road miles by the time the transformation project completed.
Results and Benefits
- Universal connectivity: SDWAN provides a future-proof solution connecting all sites with improved speeds regardless of their location. Enables users in remote areas reliable access to cloud-based training materials
- Low latency for Improved transmission performance means an enhanced user experience for SFRS personnel
- A platform for resilient, high-quality voice and data services
- Enhanced security overlay supporting the SFRS transition to cloud-based architecture
- Supports SFRS’s commitment to public safety
Sandra Fox, Head of ICT, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service:“MLL has provided SFRS with a reliable, cost-effective, flexible, and future-proof WAN solution, supporting our ongoing digital transformation and vision. MLL’s SD-WAN and engineering services ensure we can continue to depend on resilient high-quality voice and data services while also paving the way for a smooth transition to a cloud-based architecture over the coming years.”
In MLL’s view:
Shaun Ledgerwood, CEO: “I am proud of our team’s achievements and how they engaged across the partnership on this flagship project for MLL. From the inspiration of our solution designers, the thoroughness and attention to detail from our project office and the resilience, skill and perseverance of our engineering teams, all have excelled in delivering a successful outcome for SFRS and the citizens of Scotland. We continue to improve and broaden the service through the introduction of new and trial technologies, such as Satellite. We look forward to a long and productive partnership ensuring SFRS gets the best possible return from their investment.”