CASE STUDY | omnicore Radio Dispatch System
Omnitronics omnicore Enterprise Dispatch Interoperability giving Surf Lifesaving New Zealand a platform to bring together multiple networks
.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand (SLSNZ) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing drowning and injury in coastal, beach, and aquatic environments.
With clubs nationwide, SLSNZ offers lifesaving services for patrolling, search and rescue operations and educational programs, ensuring safe and enjoyable recreational activities for all. As the leading beach and coastal safety authority, SLSNZ Lifeguards patrol over 15,000km of coastline across 92 locations each summer.
Additionally, 40 Search and Rescue Squads across the four SLSNZ regions contribute to their efforts. Looking ahead, SLSNZ’s 2024 Strategic Priority drives them to upgrade communications technology, offering greater benefits to local and national communities.
Planning for the Future
Interagency Co-location and Co-operation
SLSNZ decided to operate a 24/7 control-and-command room at the Auckland Marine Rescue Centre, the heart of NZ’s emergency water management: co-locating Surf Lifesaving New Zealand, NZ Police Maritime Unit, Coastguard New Zealand, and the Harbor Master under one roof.
They watch over the nation’s vast coastline and provide aid during water emergency response situations.
Customer Profile
National Public Safety Agency
Application
- Public Safety Communications
- Inter-agency Response Management
Products Used
- omnicore Enterprise Dispatch System
Upgrading
The Challenge
SLSNZ was facing the challenge of unifying disparate networks across 16 areas and required a new process for the organization to manage communications nationwide. In the past, local communications were isolated, making it difficult to cooperate with neighboring clubs or other agencies.
Therefore, the key requirement was to find an agnostic system without vendor lock-in allowing communications across multiple agencies, different technologies, and large distances, hence including features like cloud-based radio dispatch, Radio over IP (RoIP), as well as technology, protocol, and vendor interoperability capabilities to unify disparate networks across the country.
Video
Surf Lifesaving NZ
System Selection
Requirements
“One of the reasons we are using omnicore Dispatch is because we have disparate networks including DMR Tier 2, MotoTRBO, Hytera, and Tait radios networks across the country that need to communicate with each other”.
Future-Proof
The Solution
They selected an omnicore Enterprise dispatch solution with five simultaneous user licenses shared by 25 operators on three fixed operator stations and two additional consoles installed on laptops. Using laptops means that if stationary operators are overloaded or had to vacate the Marine Rescue Centre, they can set up one of their laptops remotely and maintain full oversight over their operations and situational awareness all over the country.
Out of hours, Coastguard New Zealand operators are monitoring the SLSNZ channels to ensure 24/7/365 coverage across the country.
Benefits
Mission-Critical Ecosystem
“We love the flexibility of the new omnicore dispatch system, the fact that we can use a combination of different radio vendors and various technologies all-in-one. We can use the GPS tracking of our Tait DMR system and simultaneously communicate on the P25 Network.”
Award Nomination
CCW 2023
In 2023 Surf Lifesaving New Zealand was shortlisted for the TCCA Best Use of Critical Communications in Public Safety Award.
WEBINAR
Andy Kent, National Lifesaving Manager SLS NZ
Unifying Disparate Networks Across the Country: Surf Life Saving New Zealand
Fresh from his trip across the Tasman Sea where he took the stage at Comms Connect, Andy Kent (National Lifesaving Manager, SLSNZ) will provide you with an in-depth view of SLSNZ's journey in building a world-class mission-critical ecosystem. Don't miss this chance to gain valuable insights from a leading authority in coastal safety operations.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand (SLSNZ) oversees and safeguards 92 beaches with a network of 74 clubs and 19,000 members, 4,500 of which are Surf Lifeguards. Ensuring robust communications between SLSNZ, its members, emergency services, and other Search And Rescue (SAR) agencies is a critical component in providing effective community services.
The organization has significantly grown and adapted its operations, integrating various digital radio networks, standardizing all radios to a national fleet terminal plan, establishing a national IP backbone, launching a national operations center, rolling-out a Common Operating Picture, and implementing a public alerting or notification system.
Product Focus
omnicore Enterprise Dispatch
Contacts
Automagically centralize yourcontacts databases into one
Easy to Use
Touchscreen interface with a configurable layout
Location Services
Geofencing, alarms, route playback
Reporting
Sophisticated reporting and analytics into existing systems
On-the-Fly
Central changes are instantly updated
Interoperability
Interconnect people, protocols, technologies & manufacturers
Connections
Full digital & legacy analog radio systems, phone, paging, SIP
High Availability
Fully redundant, data replication, clustering & 24/7/365 Support options
