ISO Limited, New Zealand

Digital Communications Keeps Crews Safer

Hytera DMR Solution Serves New Zealand Logistics Companies

Background

ISO Limited (ISO) is one of New Zealand's largest nationwide waterfront cargo logistics companies. The company has worked hard over the past decade to ensure health and safety remains a core company value, taking a comprehensive systems approach to manage key risk areas within the business. And it is a risky business. The company now handles over 700,000t a year of log exports out of almost every port facility in the country, along with bulk materials, kiwifruit exports, and containerised transport. All require staff interfacing with heavy, dangerous machinery, usually within tight time and space constraints.

Customer Demands

Log marshalling and loading is an unforgiving business. Big machines, massive suspended tonnages and a slippery, difficult product being loaded under strict time limits all demand reliable, clear communications between crew members performing the risky tasks.

Two years ago their business shifted up a couple of gears after ISO was awarded a major log marshalling and loading contract out of Tauranga. It was a significant addition to their business platform, where they were going to need more communications between more crews. The conventional analog communications channels used by ISO crews were becoming increasingly congested with cross channel 'chatter' and were picking up levels of disturbance resulting in loss of voice clarity. Things had increased to almost saturation level, and they made a conscious decision to move away from analog transmission in their radio communications.

Solution

Casting around for digital hand held radio options, ISO examined options put up by multiple brands, but soon Hytera proved to have the best options on the market. ISO opted for the Hytera PD60X model as the basic “pool” use radio, while supervisors will have the PD78X model with scan channel capabilities, enabling them to roam across multiple communications zones and channels.

The ability of the digital Hytera sets to designate specific communications zones within the spectrum was a key feature making them well suited to ISO's use, particularly for crews marshalling and loading logs onto ships. Good communications on that channel between crane operator, tally man, slinging crew and load operator are crucial to ensure a rapid, safe load operation.

Once logs are bunkered, tallied and slung for the crane lift, the crane operator requires clear communications to the loader operator who may be below deck under the ship's roaming and well out of his line of sight.

Clearer, more distinct voice instructions being received are a simple, but potentially lifesaving, benefit of the digital technology.

Benefits

Waterproof

capable of dockside use in maritime environment.

24 hour battery life

more than sufficient battery capacity for standard 8 hour shifts.

Robust simple design

face buttons capable of being screened off, providing simple, and “one twist” channel selection.

Zone specification capability

ability to assign zones to ship berths, and channels to each crane crew, ensuring separation of crews, zero cross channel confusion, direct and “siloed” communications.

Digital frequency

zero cross channel interference, specific channels for specific crew operations, greater voice clarity.

Voice from customer

“It is proving to be quality kit that we can rely upon which is backed up by very good service. It is a no brainer that we will ultimately have Hytera equipment as our standard equipment as we retire our old analogue equipment.”

—— Matthew Thorne, IT operations manager for national cargo logistics company ISO Limited

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ISO Limited, New Zealand