Improve Health and Safety with a Professional Radio Network

Health and safety is a primary focus for many organisations operating in harsh and hazardous environments, especially within the construction industry. The importance of reliable, rugged communication devices designed specifically for these environments is essential to improving worker health and safety.

According to a research report by Hytera and Health and Safety at Work, many construction sites use mobile devices as their primary means of communication. Of the organisations interviewed, 81.8% stated that the most common device used for voice and emergency communication was a mobile phone, and 34% relied exclusively on mobile phones for safety-critical communications.

However, relying on mobile phones could mean compromising on site safety, due to the potential for poor network connection and inconsistent audio.  Dedicated two-way radio over UHF or VHF is still the de-facto standard for site safety when critical communications must be delivered.

To communicate using digital two-way radios, operators simply need to select a channel and press the PTT button to transmit. Any number of operators can be on a single channel, making it an effective and scalable. You also have the confidence of knowing you can speak to everyone on site with one single transmission, in case of a site wide emergency or evacuation – something which is not impossible on mobile.  Additionally, noise-cancelling headphones and remote speaker microphones (hands free devices) can be used in conjunction with two-way radios to ensure crystal clear audio quality and consistency, ensuring warnings and information are heard clearly.

Lone worker and GPS

Organisations operating in harsh and hazardous environments must ensure that communication devices are equipped with health and safety features to help keep workers protected. To satisfy these requirements, digital two-way radios come equipped with GPS, Panic, Emergency All Call and lone worker functionalities.

A ‘Lone Worker’ function gives peace of mind for those staff members who are working on their own in potentially dangerous situations.  The radio can be set-up to periodically alert the user to press a button, to inform a supervisor that they are safe.  If a button press isn’t detected for a set period of time (e.g. 30 mins) the radio will alert the user to press a button.  If a button press is not forthcoming, the radio will alert a supervisor that there is a lone worker alarm, and provide the ID of the radio in question.  A supervisor can then investigate and take appropriate action.

A ‘panic’ function allows a radio user to press a single button for 5 secs to go into a ‘panic’ state.  This will alert a supervisor that the radio ID is in panic mode so that they can investigate the situation.  This is useful in emergency situations where a radio user feels it is unsafe to talk into the radio, but wants to subtly alert a colleague that there may be an issue, or is unable to verbally communicate.

With a single button press on a predefined channel, you can broadcast to all radio users on-site by means of an “All Call” in case of Emergency, evacuation or important announcement.  This means all radio users will receive the announcement, regardless of what channel their radio is currently set to.  Evacuation messages can then be transmitted to all team members on-site, removing any ambiguity or confusion.

GPS/Bluetooth location software allows you to track the positions of devices, externally or internally using bespoke site-based maps.

For organisations to maximise health and safety in fast-paced and/or harsh and hazardous environments, the acquisition of two-way radios is essential.

The Chat-Com guarantee includes the following:

• All our systems come with a service agreement that offers a minimum two-year warranty.
• We provide phone support 24/7, all year round to help you deal with any problems or issues that may arise.
• We minimise downtime by offering immediate replacements, regardless of fault.
• Our advice will always be impartial and our solutions market-leading
• We meet your deadlines quickly, even at short notice.

Call us now to find out how we can improve health and safety on your worksite with the addition of a professional, digital two-way radio network.