Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA)
Quartet has served the GTAA over the past 11 years implementing and managing Canada’s leading Campus VoIP network. Our staff understands the depth of professionalism required at the GTAA and the level of responsibility the organization has. We consistently demonstrate professionalism, foresight, technical skills, flexibility, responsibility and innovation.
We manage the telephone and VoIP system (over 6000 phones), designed the CCTV program, provide project management and special projects as required. We also provide PSTN access and long distance services. Our proposal builds on our GTAA background, incorporates our skills and experience from our business outside the GTAA and integrates “best of breed” partners in specific technical areas.
VoIP
We are consistently ranked as one of the best IT service providers to the GTAA. Below are five specific examples of this.
July 2009 – Terminal 3 VoIP refit and VoIP architecture enhancements. This project involved migrating all of the terminal 3 check-in counters to VoIP from PBX. It also included significant enhancements to the VoIP architecture – effectively migrating from a layer 2 switching fabric to layer 3. This migration will improve availability of network and minimize downtime. Recovery from network failure dropped from 30-60 seconds down to 5-6 seconds.
June, 2009 – Crash Alarm. Quartet Service was contracted to provide on-going full maintenance support for the Crash Alarm system. This system provides notification to all Contractor Services for the IT&T Operations Centre emergency services on and off the airport in the event of an emergency situation. The support of this system requires in-depth knowledge of the GTAA cable plant and familiarization of the fire halls, nurse‘s stations, and other emergency response centres.
April, 2007 – Pier F Expansion 600 VoIP handsets and 500 analog lines. In a situation and project analogous and of the4 scale of the new Terminal 1 opening, Quartet managed the deployment of the Pier ―F‖ expansion. Integration and deploying 600 VoIP handsets simultaneously with 55 new analogue lines, demanded pre-configuration and testing of all elements. From the check-in counters to the gate counters to the End-bridge phones – the launch went smoothly, and allowed the GTAA to deliver on its promise.
May, 2006 – VoIP Upgrade. In the 2006 Cisco-led ―Refresh‖ upgrade, Quartet had been contracted to execute all the tests, trials and installations. In keeping with the GTAA policies and procedures with regard to its Pre-production Area, and using the Quartet off- site mirror laboratory, Quartet tested and trial-configured the complete range of platforms and assets. As a result, in the 0200 cut-over to the VoIP system, the Quartet installation and configuration team were able in the brief ―down-time‖ window, to test and prove the full installation. There were no delays, or glitches.
Feb, 2004 – VoIP integration with Zetron Dispatch Console for MDC. The Maintenance Dispatch Centre implemented the Zetron Dispatch Console to enable operators to more readily dispatch field staff both via radio and telephone. Quartet was responsible for building a redundant system on VoIP in the event of a failure with Zetron. Quartet also Contractor Services for the IT&T Operations Centre integrated the main MDC line (6-work) through the VoIP system and into the Zetron Console. This configuration provided great flexibility and resiliency to the MDC operators.
Integration
Quartet maintains a continuous presence of 5 employees at the GTAA. Our familiarity with the environment has given us a distinct advantage there.
September, 2011 – Consolidated Call Centre. Quartet Service was asked to be involved in the technical design of the new Consolidated Call Centre. This centre will consist of Maintenance Dispatch, Security Operations, and Resource Management personnel in a consolidated centre. Quartet is responsible for the communication, voice recording, and emergency responder design.
August, 2005 – Air France. On the terrible day when Air France Flight 358 over-ran the runway, our organization responded within minutes to increase the on-site resources and availability to the GTAA. We set up an on-location 7/24 crew for 3 days at the GTAA to ensure that the emergency services and public could continue to rely on the communications infrastructure at the GTAA, even under extraordinary pressure due to the volume of calls and international
August, 2003 – Blackout. Quartet Service teams mobilized within 1 hour of the blackout. Our team, led by our on-site Vice President, established a base in Admin building adjacent to the GTAA Emergency Operations Centre to ensure that we were able to respond to the direction of the GTAA Operations managers. Quartet did not hesitate to be called to the scene – we proactively went to site and awaited EOC instruction. We maintained an on-site presence throughout the blackout.
Cost Savings
Quartet has guaranteed to reduce the operating costs at the GTAA over a 3 year period. In addition to this, Quartet is consistently on or under budget on all GTAA projects. This is a result of fair and reasonable estimations, followed by various efficiencies that we bring to the table.
August, 2011 – Cell phone optimization. Quartet worked with cell phone providers to consolidate the various plans and align all users under one umbrella contract. Saving GTAA approximately 40% on the monthly cell phone expense.
September, 2007 – Cost Savings initiatives. Quartet put forward five recommendations in Voice Services that represented an on-going monthly savings of over $13,000. This included a recommendation to decommission the Octel voicemail system used for Centrex phone lines and to use Bell Canada voicemail as the alternative. This move represented less maintenance revenue for Quartet, however, a net savings for GTAA. Also during the savings research Quartet found that the internet circuit provided for the Pickering location was extremely expensive and identified less expensive alternatives. This information was passed on to the appropriate IT&T networking management where they were able to realize a savings of $30,000 per year while still providing the same grade of service to the users at the Pickering office.
August, 2006 – AOCC migration Centrex to PBX. This project consisted of migrating over 45 Bell Centrex lines over to the PBX infrastructure. This included the Airport Operation lines, Security Operations lines, and the Airport Emergency line – 3033. The migration was a complete success with zero downtime to the end-user. Annual cost savings to the GTAA as a result of the project are estimated at $22,000.
