Facilitating collaboration at RSSB
The Rail Safety and Standards Board is the independent safety standards and research
body for Britain's rail network.
RSSB is a not-for-profit company owned by major industry stakeholders with the intent of making Britain's railways safer, more efficient and sustainable. Their head office is in London, and the company employs 534 people.
The Brief
RSSB worked with Carillion to gather information on current Microsoft Teams technology that would integrate into their meeting spaces prior to issuing an RFP based on their requirements. Carillion was successfully awarded the project, which consisted of fitting several small and large meeting rooms, single and twin booths and the CEO's office with
standardised Microsoft Teams solutions.
The small meeting rooms had to facilitate collaboration and communication with ease in a small space, so compactness was imperative. Additionally, all small rooms had to cater to virtual and physical participants; therefore, each room had to be arranged to maximise visibility and sound quality. A BYOD platform was one of RSSBs main requirements for all rooms. In particular, the one and two-person booths had to provide this feature to ensure flexible and easy use of the spaces.
Each large meeting room had to guarantee the value of human interaction was not lost in a meeting with virtual participants. Everyone had to feel seen, heard and included no matter where they chose to join from. The lack of physical connection could not interfere with the teamwork and cooperation required in every meeting. Therefore, high-quality cameras, sound systems and displays were needed in each space. Some of these larger rooms had to be flexible and divisible to provide the best experience in each meeting, no matter the number of attendees.
Finally, the CEO's office had to integrate and communicate with the rest of the new office technology seamlessly.
Why Carillion?
Carillion Communications is a Microsoft Gold Partner and maintains a team of Microsoft Teams Room installation experts. Carillion also has an outstanding reputation for customer satisfaction by giving good, objective advice based on the customer's needs.
Solution
Carillion fitted the large and small meeting rooms and booths with standardised technology from the video vendor Poly. The team utilised the G-10, G-40 and G-80 range of Microsoft Teams Room solutions across all spaces. Enhanced audio was provided in the large meeting rooms by Shure MXA910 ceiling microphones and Sound Tube Dante Speakers.
This guaranteed every voice was acknowledged and everyone could actively participate regardless of the room size or the number of attendees.
Sony was the manufacturer of choice for the new display screens across all rooms; these varied in size from 42-100". For those rooms requiring automation, it was delivered via
Extron control processors complete with a Link licence, which allowed all in-room and video controls to be managed from the Poly GC-8 Touch panels within each room. This centralisation of controls ensures ease of use and a versatile workplace.
The one and two-person booths were based around a single wall-mounted display complete with Lightware Taurus USB switch hub and Poly Conference bar. The Taurus USB switch hub ensured that all meetings could start quickly and easily with HDMI and USB-C connections readily available in the clutter-free hub. This provided a complete, tidy and standardised BYOD platform for RSSB's users.
The existing Condeco room booking system was removed and replaced with Logitech Schedulers for direct integration with teams across all rooms. These panels have coloured LED lights that show availability from a distance allowing users to quickly find a space to suit their needs.
Supplied
• Phase 1 – consisted of the 6 x large / Divisible meeting rooms, 1 x CEO office and a new room booking solution across all rooms
• Phase 2 – consisted of 2 x Large rooms, 3 x smaller BYOD rooms, 5x twin person booths and the Café/ Town hall area
• Phase 3 - consisted of 3 x 1 person video booths
The outcome
The Microsoft Teams Room solutions Carillion provided RSSB ensure they can stay connected and included through video conferencing and in-person meetings. Furthermore, the use of Logitech Schedulers guaranteed integration throughout the company and communication right through to the CEO.
