24 Communications
Ensuring your communication system supports your intrinsically safe operations W
hen assessing your current communications capabilities, an organisation charged with running critical national infrastructure would
• Are your radios rugged enough to handle dirty conditions, preventing dust, dirt or water ingress, or frequent heavy drops or handling? If you answered no to any of these,
availability, security and redundancy. As such, TETRA solutions are ideally suited to safety critical environments.
need to ask itself a number of key questions: • Are your radio devices ATEX-approved for operations in explosive atmospheres? • Can security staff prioritise emergency
there could be failings in your current communications solution, and opportunities to upgrade capability, improving staff safety and operational efficiency.
A crucial aspect of a mission critical network is the ability to prioritise emergency calls,
communications over every day operational communication? • Do your radio devices enable control room staff to constantly monitor staff location, activity, status and movement? • Is your communications system incorporated into all other security and
Effective and reliable communications can make the difference between life and death. Nowhere is this more evident than in ‘safety critical’ environments, such as those found in oil and gas plants, petrochemical facilities or similar environments. These companies are often located in harsh locations, requiring robust and reliable communications solutions.
operational systems, acting as part of your core operations rather than as a standalone network? • Do you have crystal clear audio delivered through your devices, matched with userfriendly accessories that suit your team’s environment?
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Terrestrial Trunked (TETRA) two-way digital radio systems were designed with ‘mission critical’ users in mind and are able to support high levels of coverage, capacity, reliability,
something not possible over standard public networks, or even with lower tiered private radio infrastructure. This can ensure that in an emergency situation – whatever the cause – emergency communications and direction can be prioritised over all other voice and data traffic. By supporting this key functionality, TETRA radio networks are used by police forces and other public safety organisations on national networks, while private networks are routinely deployed in major sites such as refineries, chemical plants, airports, transport networks, industrial and utility plants and locations with high security requirements such as sports stadiums and large retail parks.
