Project Overview

Mars Horsecare operates a busy factory in Milton Keynes, producing and packaging food and feed for the Equestrian sector. Stephen Kilcullen, the Health and Safety Officer on site, had recently visited the Mars Petcare site at Castle Cary and seen the radio network installed by Chat-Com. Chat-Com supplied Mars Petcare a series of professional UHF radios, with a range of key health and safety features, including lone worker and fire panel integration. Stephen required a similar system to meet key health and safety requirements for the staff at Milton Keynes.

Project Requirements

Mars required a reliable two-way radio system that covered all internal and external areas of the factory site. Radios weren’t currently used on site but Mars had used cheap ‘license-free’ analogue radios in the past, which left a bad impression with staff members due to coverage and audio issues.

Stephen felt that the Lone Worker solution was something that could help to improve Health and Safety of the staff on site as well as the operational benefits that a radio network can naturally provide.

The Lone Worker solution was designed to provide cover for those staff members working on their own in offices around the factory, who may only see other members of staff once or twice an hour.

Simplicity was key for those using the radios, and the ability to speak to everyone on site, in the case of an emergency at the click of a button.

Implementation and Recommendations

After discussing the requirements with Stephen, Chat-Com performed a full site survey to determine what equipment was necessary to guarantee full coverage and no black spots. After exploring all areas of the factory, we determined that a digital UHF radio, running at 4W, was capable of covering the site, without the need for a signal repeater and external antenna.
Chat-Com suggested that Mars use the Hytera H-Series digital radios. These radios had been successfully implemented on site at Castle Cary and we felt they were also a good fit for the Horsecare factory. The radios included all the features necessary for the project (good battery life, clear digital audio, IP68 rated) and are rugged to work in challenging factory conditions.
The ‘Lone Worker’ function gives peace of mind for those staff members who are working on their own for long periods of time. The Hytera radios were set-up to periodically alert the user to press a button, to confirm they are ok. If a button press isn’t detected for a set period of time (e.g. 20 mins) the radio will alert the user to press a button. If a button press is not forthcoming (within 60 secs), the radio will alert a supervisor with an incident alarm and provide the ID of the radio in question (e.g. ‘Emergency: Mark’). A supervisor can then investigate and take appropriate action.

This will help to ensure on site compliance with your health and safety practices and providing best practice guidelines for the management of staff welfare across the site. The ‘Lone Worker’ function timings and notifications were setup to meet the exact requirements of Mars.
The other key driver from a health and safety perspective was the integration of the radio network with the fire control panel. Messages from these panels can be routed through the network and sent to display radios, providing a quicker response in case of emergency. Without this integration, a fire officer would have to walk to the fire panel from wherever they were on site and then to the zone or area indicated by the displayed message. This could potentially waste several minutes at the start of an emergency. Getting messages direct to their radio ensures messages can be relayed to staff quickly and efficiently to reduce disruption and minimise downtime.

Conclusion

The team was trained on the new radios and safety features in June 2023 and they have quickly become an integral part of factory operation. Chat-Com has also provided noise cancelling headsets which link to the radios, allowing team members who work in noisy environments to still be a fully engaged member of the radio conversation.
We’ve had great feedback from Stephen and are looking at ways to enhance the network and ensure it continues to meet the challenges of this busy factory. Chat-Com is always keen to work with their clients on a long-term basis and forge great relationships, which ultimately benefits both teams.

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