In line with its drive to ensure reliable and effective communication across municipal services, the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (one of the largest municipalities in South Africa) has awarded its annual tender for the supply of two-way radio equipment to Motorola. Some 574 portable and mobile handsets have been provided for the Metropolitan police, emergency services, sanitation, electricity, water and road works by Motorola authorised dealer Olympic Communications.
Tshwane Emergency Management Services (EMS) incorporates fire, rescue, ambulance and disaster management. "Communication is fundamental to emergency services," says Johan Pieterse, liaison officer for Tshwane EMS.
"Two-way radio provides on-going, direct communication and it is instant, allowing the rapid transfer of information to key people in an emergency situation. For example, if a building is on fire, we have to co-ordinate between fire-fighters in different sections of the building as well as with the search and rescue teams removing people from the building."
According to Pieterse, Motorola radios were chosen due to their ease of use and excellent quality. "Because we are so dependent on communication, we have to ensure that the radios we use are reliable and robust enough to take a hammering. They also have to be intrinsically safe due to the hazardous environments we work in."
"We work closely with Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality to ensure we fully understand their requirements and can recommend products that meet their needs as well as their budget," says Karla Bosman, owner of Olympic Communications
Two-way radio is not only used in emergency situations, however. "We have people scattered all over the building and use two-way radio as an efficient and cost-effective internal communications tool. It provides simultaneous group communication that gets the right message to the right people on time," notes Pieterse.
Tshwane's EMS has its own two-way radio system that is not linked to the Metropolitan Police, but they do have a base station in the police control centre to keep in contact. EMS chose the GP340 radio which also operates in VOX mode; has emergency signalling that enables the user to send a pre-recorded help signal to a defined group of people, whisper mode for discreet communication and a call forward option if the user is unable to answer calls personally.
Driekus Le Roux, system communications officer for Tshwane EMS, adds that the GP340 was chosen for its durability and the fact that it is intrinsically safe. "We operate in tough and diverse environments, so the radios have to withstand extreme heat, water and rough handling," he explains.
The GM360 mobile radio is used in emergency vehicles. It can be programmed in the field to add or delete features and is capable of transmitting data. The GM360 can also be converted to a public address system and if the user is away from the vehicle, the radio can be programmed to activate the vehicle's horn or lights on receipt of an incoming call.
"Motorola radios have been designed to meet the requirements of users in a wide range of industries," says Bosman. "They have been developed according to in-depth end-user research to ensure they are user-friendly and have the right set of features. There is also a range of accessories, such as remote speaker microphones for hands-free operation and bone induction microphones that fit under a helmet and can be used by firemen wearing encapsulated suits. Lightweight headsets with microphones provide comfort and ease of use for users in the control centre.
"Motorola radios are ideally suited to our environment and their ease of use means we do not have to waste valuable time training each member of the team," concludes Pieterse.
For more information contact Karla Bosman, Olympic Communications, 012 331 0123.
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