Graham Oliphant joins Harmony Fire to lead its consultancy business

by Featured NewsPeople

Harmony Fire consultancy leadership appointment

Harmony Fire has appointed Graham Oliphant as Managing Director of its consultancy business.

The company announced the appointment as part of continued investment in consultancy in response to increased demand for its full service life safety capability.

Oliphant brings more than 23 years of life safety experience, most recently as Director of a UK national fire consultancy.

Harmony Fire said it operates nationally and provides life safety services to Housing Associations, Local Authorities and the National Health Service (NHS), spanning fire engineering consultancy, in-house design, delivery and ongoing maintenance.

Investment linked to demand and regulation

The company linked growth in its consultancy services to a more complex regulatory environment and said this required leaders to maintain continuous focus on life safety.

It also pointed to the launch of its open-source Life Guard Framework, which it said provides housing leaders with an approach to interrogate organisational risk assurance, and added that this has contributed to demand for its consultancy services.

Oliphant said: “Harmony Fire stands out in this specialist field as an innovative, agile organisation driving the transformational change that saves lives and makes communities safer.

“It’s incredibly exciting to be joining a business that is both bringing world-leading technology to the life safety market through its Auro brand, while simultaneously creating Life Guard, which demystifies leadership and organisational safety obligations to transform conversations and actions.”

“Our consultancy offer is rooted in our experience and technical expertise working across challenging and demanding property scenarios, recognising that life safety is not a tick box exercise but an essential element of an organisation’s asset management strategy.

“Applying our detailed knowledge of design, buildability, delivery and lifecycle considerations informs robust cost and scope analysis, eliminating uncertainty and future-proofing asset management decision making.”

CEO comments on consultancy direction

Warwick Melvin, CEO of Harmony Fire, said: “I’m thrilled that Graham has joined Harmony Fire at a pivotal moment for our business.

“We are committed to changing the outdated, inefficient and wasteful fire safety model that currently leads to sub-optimal safety outcomes for residents, blown budgets and increased legal and reputational risks.

“Working alongside many of the brightest and best within and outside the sector, our consultancy business and new framework approach is generating significant interest from housing leaders seeking a better way to efficiently invest in life safety assurance with real long-term legacy.

“As one of the UK’s leading fire safety engineering experts, Graham brings vast experience and a breadth and depth of knowledge and learning that can only enhance the service we provide to our growing customer base.

“I’m excited to see the impact that Graham will make within the business as we seek to transform cultures and approaches to life safety.”

The appointment adds a new managing director role within Harmony Fire’s consultancy business as the company continues to develop its Life Guard Framework and wider service offering.

Auro by Harmony launches Auro Lume emergency lighting platform for UK landlords

by Featured NewsLightingProducts

Auro by Harmony launches Auro Lume emergency lighting

Auro by Harmony has launched Auro Lume, an Internet of Things (IoT) self-testing emergency lighting system for landlords that aligns with the updated BS 5266-1:2025 standard in the UK.

The company described Auro Lume as a plug and play range of luminaires that removes the need for manual emergency lighting inspections.

According to Auro by Harmony, the system provides 24/7 auditable golden thread compliance data on operational readiness from first installation.

The launch follows extensive testing in housing and wider public sector environments, the firm said.

Auro Lume is intended to support life-safety resilience and provide regulatory assurance for asset owners responsible for residential and public buildings.

The system is positioned as an alternative to retrofit self-testing modules that can create compatibility questions and affect existing warranties.

Auro by Harmony said Auro Lume installs in the same way as a standard fitting and self-validates from the first day of operation.

New emergency lighting system automates testing

Auro by Harmony stated that Auro Lume connects to a secure Auro central compliance portal via IoT infrastructure.

Through this portal, landlords and facilities management teams can schedule emergency lighting tests across their property portfolios.

Testing can be automated floor by floor or according to other patterns that match the layout and usage of individual buildings.

The dashboard is described as highly configurable to reflect different asset management requirements.

Active system monitoring tracks the operational condition of luminaires and flags issues in real time for follow-up.

Annual power down inspections no longer require direct observation on site, the company said.

Sensors within Auro Lume fittings measure power supply, light levels and battery performance and send data back to the portal.

These readings form part of the recorded golden thread of information on system status and testing history.

Predictive maintenance and reduced site visits

According to Auro by Harmony, Auro Lume runs continuous checks on both emergency lighting function and wider asset condition.

The system gathers predictive maintenance data on light output and battery charging status.

This data is intended to help landlords and facilities teams identify performance changes and plan interventions before failures occur.

The company said the move to automated self-testing removes the requirement for annual manual emergency light tests.

This change is described as a cost and resource saving for landlords managing large property portfolios.

Auro by Harmony estimates that automating this single aspect of testing could reduce engineer site visits by up to 85%.

The firm added that fewer site visits can also cut associated indirect costs such as travel time.

Auro Lume is presented as contributing to sustainability efficiencies alongside compliance and maintenance outcomes.

Auro connected life-safety range expands

Auro Lume is the latest connected life-safety product in the Auro by Harmony range.

Earlier in the year, the company unveiled Auro Door, which it describes as the world’s first fully integrated and certified IoT fire door.

Auro by Harmony is also preparing to introduce Auro Myco, a connected solution to monitor damp, mould and environmental conditions within homes.

These devices form what the company calls a growing universe of smart, connected life-safety systems across the built environment.

The firm said all three devices are conceived, designed and built in the UK by its fire safety specialists.

Ged Moore, Managing Director at Auro by Harmony, said: “The constantly evolving life-safety regulatory regime demands more of landlords than ever before to further reduce risk to residents from avoidable incidents.

“A central theme of these reforms is the requirement for golden thread compliance data to provide assurance for residents, landlords and the regulator that there is constant and pro-active vigilance and action around life-safety risk.

“Auro Lume is the latest in an expanding universe of IoT connected devices developed by our in-house research and development teams to address critical life-safety challenges.

“We have an uncompromising approach to developing best of breed solutions, underpinned by real-time safety assurance that protects residents and landlords from risk.”

How automated compliance data can be used in practice

Auro Lume’s focus on automated self-testing and golden thread records is directly relevant to landlords and facility managers responsible for housing and public sector buildings.

By creating a continuous audit trail on emergency lighting status and test outcomes, the system provides evidence that can be used to demonstrate alignment with BS 5266-1:2025.

The ability to configure test schedules by floor or other groupings may support building services engineers and fire safety officers who need to coordinate checks around occupation patterns.

For system installers, fire-protection contractors and electrical contractors, the plug and play design and absence of additional cabling requirements may affect installation planning and labour estimates.

Predictive maintenance data on light levels and battery charging status can inform planned maintenance regimes for facility managers and maintenance teams.

The estimate that engineer site visits could be reduced by up to 85% may influence how organisations structure call-out arrangements and internal inspection workloads.

Integration with Auro Door and the forthcoming Auro Myco product means specifiers and consultants can view emergency lighting, fire doors and environmental monitoring within a single connected life-safety approach.