Telecoms Engineer

2006 – Present: Airwave Solutions Ltd

Airwave is a leading provider of critical communication systems to the UK emergency services. Originally employed as a technician working on two key services, based on my performance, knowledge and attitude, I was promoted to dual manage these services in 2011 and have continued to drive high performance and exceed client expectations, ensuring blue-light services can carry out operations effectively through uninterrupted network availability.

2011 – Present: ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle) Service Manager - SC Clearance

Introduced in 2007 as part of a £5M project, the ERV is a collection of multifunctional vehicles capable of rapidly deploying mobile communication services (encompassing base site and repeaters) and satellite solutions to the emergency services during a major incident within the London underground.

• Managing a team of 14 ERV engineers, monitoring both performance and welfare, including holding one-to-one meetings and identifying training requirements.
• Maintaining 100% service availability on a 24/7 basis, 365 days a year, ensuring all vehicles are fully primed and capable of delivering all available services within a defined time-frame as per the contractual SLA.
• Maintain regular customer contact with senior officials, holding quarterly service review meetings with Home Office officials, raising and identifying any operational issues.
• Conducting regular ERV test call outs and no-notice call outs in association with the Home Office, ensuring processes and procedures meet agreed contractual requirements.
• Reviewing existing procedures and processes, implementing improvement plans.
• Provide continued support to the major incident process through pro-active personal involvement, liaising continually with Bronze, Silver and Gold Police incident commanders, ensuring confidence in service availability is maintained throughout the incident life cycle.
• Work alongside Marketing, Sales & Event teams to make ERVs available for demonstration purposes, delivering formal presentations, hosting tours for customers, prospect stakeholders and internal contacts, which have included key public officials such as the Governor General of Canada.

Key Achievements

• Successfully reviewed and implemented an efficient fault management process, sourcing new 3rd party suppliers resulting in cost savings of over £50,000 pa.
• Played an active role in several Emergency Services major events, including in preparation of the Olympic Games of which I assisted in the coordination of key ERV mobilisation strategies in order to provide critical communications for the blue light services during the event.
• Coordinated the ERV team in the completion of 136 contractual site surveys for all major London Underground stations within a 3 month timeframe, ensuring critical information was researched, collated and made readily available should a mobilisation requirement arise for one of these stations.
• Prior to my promotion the ERV was unfit for purpose and incapable of meeting the contractual requirements set out by the Home Office, I recognised substantial faults within the service and successfully mitigated all risk to the contract.
• Revamped the ERV Service Page, creating a user friendly database and hosting the material on a web based interface in which documents were reviewed, rewritten, accurate and relevant to the topic.

2011 – Present: NMC Duty Manager

The Airwave Network is a permanent communication system spanning the entire UK, utilised by the blue-light services and various other government agencies. I am responsible for the management and performance of the Network, focusing on performance analysis, formulation and leadership of improvement plans in order to support real time incident management, making tactical decisions on behalf of the business both proactively and reactively, to ensure business continuity.

• Management and accountability of a team of Customer Service Operators responding to calls during normal working hours and Service Centre control personnel dealing with field engineering support on a 24x7 basis.
• Management of incidents on the Network in accordance with strict SLAs through to conclusion, keeping all customers informed of the actions being taken and expected resolution times.
• Customer escalation contact point for all Service failures and customer enhancements.
• Escalation to all suppliers when incidents are not progressing against target fix-time.
• Instigation of the Major Incident process, ensuring the correct communications are delivered to our customer-base and our suppliers.
• Production of the Daily Service Centre Performance report for distribution to our major customers and internal customer teams detailing the performance of the Network.
• Management responsibility for all changes being implemented via Request For Change.
• Major incident management process instigation, including the production of the major incident management reports.

Key Achievements

• Supported high-profile events (London Olympic Games, Queen's Jubilee and Royal Wedding), with involvement from the initial preparation stages, delivering 100% service availability and delivering service excellence throughout the entire events.
• Key role in several Wide Area Frequency Retunes within London, of which I formed part of a high level planning group specifically tasked to successfully oversee the implementation of reallocating and introducing new frequencies on the network, liaising with customers and engineering teams to minimise network disruption.
• Successfully project-managed the migration of 288 Axell Wireless repeaters across the network and significantly reduced associated network faults UK wide.

2006 - 2011: Airwave Solutions Ltd - NMC/ERV Engineer (SC Clearance)

Dual role based on a 24x7 shift rotation, responsible for the day-to-day performance of the Airwave Network, its services and components with a focus on proactive management but also responding reactively. In addition, responsible for ensuring the Emergency Response Vehicles (ERV) are always in a state of readiness to be dispatched immediately to the scene of a Major Incident.

NMC Accountabilities

• Proactively monitoring and managing the infrastructure and performance of the network to ensure high quality service is consistently delivered to the customer and network events are detected immediately.
• Monitoring the infrastructure using NMC Network tools: HP Openview, Motorola PRNM suite, Cisco switches & routers, GBNr, and Datacryptors.
• Monitoring the transmission network using NMC Network and 3rd party tools ie: Cable & Wireless, SOA, Sox MSP, Spane, MOM and Cems.
• Ensuring network and customer incidents are raised accurately and promptly on the Remedy trouble ticketing system.
• 1st & 2nd line diagnostics and remote restoration on Network issues via alarm generated systems and customer reported issues using NMC Network tools available ie:HP Openview, Motorola PRNM suite, Cisco Routers & Switches, GBNr, Datacryptors and 3rd party tools ie: Cable & Wireless, SOA, Sox MSP, Spane and Cems.
• Actively support, at all times company policy and best practice in the area of security, with particular emphasis on the protection of sensitive customer data.
• Jeopardy manage all cases to ensure completion within SLA and supplier performance, including early escalation to the Duty Manager or Network Controller of cases in jeopardy through to service restoration.
• Proactively manage 3rd Party Suppliers, Cable & Wireless, Mono, Motorola, Capita and others for reactive and planned events affecting the Airwave Service components.
• Carry out emergency and planned configuration changes to the network infrastructure in order to resolve any customer or network incidents.

ERV Accountabilities

• Responsible for ensuring the Airwave Emergency Response Vehicles (ERV) are always in a state of readiness to be dispatched immediately to the scene of a Major Incident within the timescales stipulated in the NPIA contract.
• Regularly demonstrate and mobilise, dispatch and deploy the ERV at designated locations utilising the various equipment on board such as, Enhancer, VSAT and MBS solutions and integrate the vehicle into the Airwave network.
• Responsible for carrying out ‘onsite risk assessments’ at the Incident location.
• Liaising closely with both on-site customer representatives and the Management Team.
• Provide on-site support once the vehicle has been deployed.
• Carrying out site inspections to determine suitability for deployment in designated locations.
• Demonstrating and participating in regular deployment exercises.
• Carrying out regular inspections of the vehicles and equipment.
• Undergoing psychometric evaluations relating to the possible nature of the tasks required.
• Maintaining and prioritising London Underground Station surveys.

2002 - 2006: British Army, Thieval Barracks, Northern Ireland

Area Systems Operator Class II, Royal Signals

Providing and maintaining a diverse range of mobile communication systems to ensure the reliability and security of voice, data and I.T. networks.

• Maintaining cryptographic material accounts as well as producing Crypto associated data.
• Setting up mobile radios as ground stations, laying cable routes and operating UHF, VHF and SHF communications equipment.
• Locating and preparing mobile radio stations including erecting antennas, rectifying any faults that may arise and installing security devices, remote facilities and power supplies.
• Successfully achieving and maintaining communication links in adverse and unusual conditions utilising frequency changes, alternative systems and voice, radio and data procedures.
• Operating generating equipment, built-in-test equipment (BITE) and conducting primary equipment exchange within installations.