RADIOS LIMITED TO LINE OF SIGHT
Vittorio Cox of University of Canberra explains: “We had a number of black spots in our communication system, with radios virtually working only on line of sight on a campus full of buildings. Radios were old and outdated, two repeaters barely or didn’t work, and the decade-old software was too basic for the university’s needs.”
RELIABLE REDUNDANCY FOR ANY EVENT
Cox says that “the best thing is that the radios work each and every time. It’s a critical service and works fantastically”. Other benefits are:
Better safety: “We have better safety for staff and students. With MOTOTRBO, we know which staff member is calling even if they can’t speak for some reason. Although never used, access to the duress function is part of our duty of care. While not the panacea for all ills, it gives security staff peace of mind and they tend to be more robust in their patrolling. GPS monitoring (via the updated TRBOnet software) also helps with staff safety. The TRBOtact interconnect allows standard phones and help points to access the radio system. For students using the help points throughout the campus, GPS and location finding helps the controller dispatch the nearest available officer.”
Redundancy: “Two repeaters on separate buildings provide three crucial things:backup, redundancy and capacity to cope with the unforeseen. We simply cannot be offline. With lots of remaining bandwidth, we also have a system that grows as the campus expands. We have four hours backup which automatically switches on. I have confidence: one of the highlights is that it will still work in the event of power outage.”
OH&S management: “Using GPS we can establish how effective patrols are, and how busy staff are. We learned that staff do up to 16 kms per shift, so now we can manage fatigue and work out how many shifts per week is too many for staff. What was potentially a long term employment issue can be more effectively managed.”
Interoperability: “Selecting different handsets based on job roles but retaining interoperability was critical. Plain clothes security managers needed the Motorola SL4010 radio for its aesthetic appeal. Security staff have keypads for future texting capabilities on the Motorola DP4801, but the crisis management team just needs communication without the bells and whistles with the Motorola DP4401s. Yet all the radios talk to each other.”
Multiple channels: “With four channels now instead of two, the controller can direct people like cleaners or maintenance staff, and exercise more control over front line staff.”
“I’m very happy with the equipment, service and people. In 25 years in the industry, I hadn’t dealt with Telechnics before, yet they are by far the standout operators. I can’t speak highly enough of them. They brought in a system far better than what I envisioned. They were definitely the most lucid and helpful. We still have regular meetings every one to two months to see how it’s going.”