The Challenge
Subsea7 needed reliable emergency and operational communications across its 120,000 sq ft Sutton headquarters, spanning five floors and a basement. The system needed to support routine announcements as well as evacuation, lockdown and invacuation alerts, with clear messages reaching the whole building or specific areas when required.
The project also needed to make effective use of existing network infrastructure and minimise disruption to staff in a busy, operational headquarters.
The Fluent Solution
Fluent designed and installed a modern IP-based emergency broadcast and public address system comprising more than 90 SIP speakers and alerting devices throughout the building.
- Ceiling and wall-mounted SIP speakers, external horn speakers and visual warning beacons
- Live and pre-recorded announcements, multi-zone broadcasts and scheduled messages
- Priority emergency alerts initiated from designated security and reception locations
- Integration with the existing Cat6A cabling infrastructure and Cisco Power over Ethernet (PoE) network
- Installation of 80 additional Cat6A network outlets to support speaker locations and comprehensive coverage
Using the existing Cisco PoE network removed the need for additional switching hardware, helping to control project costs. To keep disruption to a minimum, a significant proportion of the installation took place outside normal working hours. Specialist cutting tools were used to prepare ceiling tiles accurately and efficiently while maintaining a high-quality finish.
Fluent also developed AI-generated emergency announcements and explored future text-to-speech functionality to support more flexible site-wide messaging.
The Results
The completed system gives Subsea7 a reliable way to deliver clear operational messages and time-critical emergency instructions across the entire headquarters or to selected zones.
- More effective building-wide and targeted emergency communication
- Rapid distribution of evacuation, lockdown and invacuation instructions
- Improved support for incident response, staff safety and site security objectives
- Reduced additional hardware requirements through reuse of the existing network
- Installation carried out with limited disruption to day-to-day operations
The solution also supports Subsea7’s preparedness for the objectives of Martyn’s Law as part of its wider emergency planning and security arrangements.
A Communications Platform Built for Preparedness
By bringing emergency announcements, zone-based alerts and day-to-day public address capabilities into one IP-based platform, Fluent has helped Subsea7 strengthen its communication framework across a large, multi-floor headquarters.
