Brentwood Communications has completed installation of a two way radio system at a school in Bracknell which relays safety alerts off site.
King’s Academy Binfield, located just to the north of the Berkshire town, provides ‘all-through’ education for children from nursery age all the way up to post-16. It operates across two sites, with secondary and primary campuses, and also has a partner school in nearby Oakwood as part of a multi-academy trust.
Like many schools operating in clusters since the academy shake-up, King’s functions with a single team of senior personnel responsible for all sites – including site management. This means the site manager and his team are often moving between locations.
The Academy wanted a communications solution that would provide a reliable safety monitoring solution no matter where the site managers happened to be. They had never used two way radios before but wanted something more robust than mobile phones. That’s when they got in touch with Brentwood.
On Alert
Academy bosses were interested in having a Lone Worker alert system as part of a two way radio set up. In order to provide the flexibility of alerts being received even off site, we recommended Motorola DP2600e handsets programmed with a special data-to-email application called R LinX.
The DP2600e is a compact and easy-to-use two way handset, which we felt would be convenient for facilities staff to carry around and wouldn’t pose any issues with learning how to use them. The DP2600e is also part of Motorola’s flagship digital two way radio range, with one of the key advantages being the option to extend functionality with a wide range of additional software.
The six DP2600e handsets we supplied were set up for use by site engineers and reception staff on the main Binfield secondary campus, with a simple one-site license. With features including intelligent audio, hands-free VOX mode private calling and even programmable text messaging, these radios were more than suitable for all day-to-day communication needs.
Using the R LinX app, the extra functionality we added was to set up Lone Worker alerts so they were sent via email as well as direct from radio to radio. Lone Worker is a monitoring system that requires anyone working alone to check back in with the network at regular intervals, so colleagues know they are ok. With these updates being sent by email, the site manager could carry on monitoring his team even when he was off site. It was agreed that text alerts would also be more convenient for office and reception staff who might otherwise be on the phone or talking to visitors. With its small screen, this was another reason for choosing the DP2600e.
Finally, we also supplied a vibrating belt clip for one of the school’s staff who is hard of hearing, ensuring they do not miss out on any audio alerts either.
To find out more about how two way radio can help with health and safety management at your place of work, get in touch with our friendly team today on 01245 403520.