Case Study: King’s School, Bruton – Digital Radios for Schools
Ensuring pupil safety and employee efficiency through improved communications technology
Project Overview
Founded in 1519, King’s Bruton is a prestigious independent fully co-educational secondary day and boarding school based in Bruton, Somerset. Known for its high standards and holistic approach to education, many prominent pupils including William Dampier (explorer and buccaneer), Sir Charles Knight Pearson (Hero of the Zulu Wars), and Captain Verney Lovett-Cameron (African explorer) have been educated here.
Client Requirement: A new, sophisticated two-way radio system
The school sits on extensive grounds which often means that workers operate alone or in isolated areas of the site, leaving them vulnerable in an emergency. In addition, there was a need for updated communication systems across the school to improve safety and efficiency amongst pupils and staff.
The Estates Manager and Bursary team reached out to Chat-Com for impartial advice and expertise in designing a cost-effective, sophisticated system that would:
- Address health and safety concerns for staff working alone or in isolation.
- Be capable of quickly contacting staff in an emergency.
- Be able to coordinate a rapid response in ongoing emergency and/or disaster management situations.
- Provide flexibility with a system that has the option of a single all-informed channel, and the ability to switch to a departmental chat channel where required.
Our Approach:
After an initial in-person consultation and site survey, we were able to establish a complete understanding of the infrastructural and geographical challenges, along with the desired outcome and project budget. The survey considered the full extent of the school grounds, paying particular attention to quieter, isolated spots, and took into account the ways in which staff members communicate with each other.
Our Recommended Solution:
Our solution was designed and custom built for Kings Bruton, ensuring simplicity of operation with uncompromising health and safety benefits for staff and pupils. This included a recommendation to use the Hytera PD405 (non-display) and PD565 (display) radios.
These radios are compact, lightweight and digital, with excellent audio and battery life. The two-way radio system was programmed with a number of channels for each department as well as an “ALL CALL” broadcast channel for emergency/evacuation situations. In particular, the PD565 radio added a new dimension with a display radio capable of individual and group calling, as well as caller ID.
Chat-Com was flexible when it came to installation, making sure to work at times that were least disruptive to staff and pupils. Once the system was installed, we went on to provide training to all staff.
Outcomes:
The digital radio solution that we designed and installed led to effective management of the health and safety of both staff and pupils. In particular, it provided:
Control. The use of Chat-Com’s multi-channel radio system allowed the school staff to broadcast urgent messages in an efficient manner.
Ease of use. Users found the two-way radio system easy to use and it has become their preferred means of communication.
Safety. The two-way radio system proved to be the most effective way to manage the health and safety concerns of those staff members working alone and in remote locations.
Reliability. Even under extreme conditions, the two-way radio system has remained very reliable and robust for the school’s maintenance staff.
Value. The school found Chat-Com’s two-way radio system to provide the best possible value, with no compromise on quality.
Client Feedback
“Chat-Com provided a refreshingly new set of eyes to look at the problem and came up with a good solution to overcoming the problems we had encountered when looking at other two-way radio and communications companies and their proposals. 3 years on and the transmission continues to work brilliantly. The equipment works as well now as it did on day 1, and we know that Chat-Com will always be on hand to assist in any situation.”
