Challenge
When emergencies strike, every second counts. Which is why we worked with the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) to build and support a vital service for users to register emergency beacons. These beacons support people using boats and aircrafts to alert search and rescue authorities to their location.
In this case study we’ll discuss the managed services support we’re providing for a stable, reliable service that helps MCA do what they do best. A project which has been the basis for work with 2 further MCA digital services.
Our approach to managed services support
Working closely with the MCA we set out to make sure the online service met their needs. This meant including features like comprehensive and accurate information on users and their beacons. It’s crucial that MCA can access and use this information quickly to pull reports, making sure all relevant data is accessible to services such as coastguard rescue.
We also wanted to make sure the service continues to meet the needs of users and the MCA over time, so we discussed the level of ongoing support they’d need. This involved taking into consideration the criticality of the service, budget, stability of the applications infrastructure and its data.
Seamless support and open communication
We set up multiple channels for MCA to raise any support requests with our managed services team. These included email, our online portal, team calls and messaging. We also actively monitor the service, using tools such as Pingdom, so our engineers can address issues as they come up.
Monthly service reviews give us a chance to improve our support by evaluating performance with MCA by sharing reports on SLA adherence, ticket resolution efficiency and forecasted works. In the last 12 months these reviews have revealed 100% SLA compliance on incident response time and service availability.
As part of our support we provide a service delivery manager that’s visible and available. The delivery manager worked with MCA to agree ways of working that best suits the organisation. This included open communication channels and arranging dedicated calls to discuss ad hoc requests. These provide the space for regular ticket prioritisation and refinement sessions to determine which incidents and requests will provide the most value to the MCA and the users of the Beacons service.
We use Zendesk (a service management tool) to streamline communication between MCA and our engineers. This encourages smooth collaboration on ad-hoc requests and minimises any friction.
Proactive monitoring
Risks identified by Made Tech or MCA are noted in a risk log. These are proactively monitored, progressed and addressed at service reviews. The team at MCA can also use Zendesk to request help themselves or ask questions, allowing us to quickly provide support whatever the nature of the issue.
The tickets we work on range from critical outages, service improvements and incidents only affecting one user. A recent example is an error that caused beacon battery expiry dates to display incorrectly on downloadable certificates.
Through investigation it was discovered that the data was also incorrect in other fields and only present on beacons registered within a specific time period. A fix was deployed and the incident was quickly resolved within SLA compliance.
Results we achieved together
Ensuring that our emergency beacon registration service is stable and reliable is essential for supporting search and rescue operations. Having a managed service in place allows us to respond quickly to incidents and maintain high service availability, which is critical when lives are at stake.
Beacons Service Owner
We’re proud to provide specialist engineering support on this critical service. We continually work with MCA’s technology team and other suppliers in our support role and governance responsibilities. This allows MCA to run new initiatives with minimum disruptions. Our collaborative approach means we continue to meet our goals and deliver high quality support for MCA and their users.
The ongoing support and open communication have been valuable in helping us meet the needs of both our organisation and the users of the service.
Beacons Service Owner
Further managed services with the MCA
We’re thrilled that the MCA has expanded our managed services support with 2 further services. These include Report Wreck Material (Droits). This is an online service where members of the public can report wreck materials found on the seashore or in tidal water. The second is Support for Maritime Training Service (SMarT). This government funded scheme supports courses approved by the MCA and the Merchant Navy Training Board.
Our managed services take away the stress of maintaining and supporting live digital and data services, applications and cloud infrastructure.
National security and public safety organisations are turning to technology to help them respond to emergencies and keep people safe.
