CASE STUDY | omnicore Radio Dispatch Console
omnicore Radio Dispatch System Saving Lives at Sea
Coastguard Nelson, located in the picturesque city of Nelson, New Zealand, is a dedicated volunteer organization committed to ensuring the safety of those on the water.
One of 62 units nationally, they provide vital marine search and rescue services, assist in vessel breakdowns, and deliver boating education and safety programs. All with the mission of saving lives at sea, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The highly-trained volunteers are on call, ready to respond to a situation of distress on the water at a moment’s notice, attending to 80+ missions each year with their new and state-of-the-art rescue vessel. With a rescue area of 10,400 km2, and a survey area of 44,000km2, the Nelson unit is in charge of the biggest stretch of New Zealand water covered by a single Coastguard unit.
Accolades for the dedicated team include national and international awards, acknowledging the Nelson unit’s self-less spirit, outstanding actions, skills, expertise and commitment to maritime Search and Rescue activities.
Customer Profile
Local Coastguard Unit
Application
- Public Safety Communications
- Inter-agency Communications
- PSN-Ready
Products Used
- omnicore Express Dispatch Consoles
Upgrading
The Challenge
Coastguard Nelson had identified that their existing analog radio system was lacking modern features and was unreliable, often encountering black spots due to the height of the intervening landscape.
At the Coastguard base, the dispatch system consisted of 3x analog radios, each monitoring a different channel, mounted into a long console. To talk on Channel 16 for example, the dispatch operator would have to physically get up from their primary location and walk to the other end of the console to operate that radio. There was no option to dispatch from a remote location, patch radio calls or to broadcast to multiple channels at once.
In addition, they found that the use of public channels was not ideal, as critical or sensitive information during a mission would be available to the public whilst a rescue was still underway.
Moreover, third party weather bulletins would often block a channel for up to 20 minutes, during which Coastguard Nelson was unable to use the channel as a means of communication during an incident. Instead, the Coastguard team had to resort to mobile phones even though coverage is often interrupted in the remote locations that they frequently operate in.
Recording was only available over one radio and the duty officer had to be at base to do this; communications and other incident records were mainly recorded using a paper-based system.
The existing solution also lacked backup systems for security, power, archiving and redundancy and it relied on aging desktop computers and a slow 4G internet connection.
System Selection
Requirements
Clear, concise and reliable communication channels is a must-have for the rescue organisation, especially in difficult to reach locations, to ensure they can fully dedicate their efforts on saving lives.
Coastguard Nelson also wanted to be able to dispatch remotely, i.e. via the Duty Officers’ tablets and a
recording solution was also desired.
The new system needed to provide the ability:
- for rescue units to communicate via VHF in private
to operate the radios remotely (in event of earthquake, slips etc) - to record/playback of all monitored radio transmissions
- to operate all radios from one position on a console
- Separate comms and admin activities; separate stations
- No-regret architecture – a future proofed solution
- Be capable of linking into any future CNZ comms strategy
- Ability to patch in cell phones, add VoIP phones/ contacts
- GPS location of hand held digital mobile radio (DMR) units.
Case Study
omnicore Dispatch Keeping Mariners Safe
Nelson Coastguard New Zealand
Future-Proof
The Solution
Coastguard Nelson selected Mount Campbell Communications as their partner for the upgrades, as well as their future network provider, so they could take advantage of the benefits of Mount Campbell’s Tait DMR T3 system, offering improved clarity of the conversation and greater coverage.
Communications on the Coastguard rescue vessel (CRV) during an incident largely involves line of sight communication or communication over a public network with the vessel in distress. 3 of the CRV’s legacy Icom radios were retained while a fourth radio – based at the CRV’s comms station – was replaced with a Tait DMR radio for linking into the unit’s two DMR groups.
All other aspects of the communications system were upgraded to the Tait DMR T3 system, with an Omnitronics dispatch console.
A Coastguard talkgroup including duty officers, the base and the CRV can talk together privately now without interruption or prying ears. A second talkgroup, the Search and Rescue group, includes Coastguard Nelson and the Harbour Masters from Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council, as well as Nelson Surf Lifesaving to co-ordinate a multi-agency response.
A total of 3 simultaneous omnicore Dispatch licenses, and, due to the floating licenses model the dispatch software can be installed on any number of desktops, laptops, or Windows tablets, as a license is only consumed for the number of simultaneous logons.
The solution was fully self-funded through grants from Pub Charity, the Lion Foundation and Coastguard New Zealand.
Improvements
Benefits
The new system gives the team at Coastguard Nelson the privacy of a dedicated channel that isn’t shared with the public. Meaning the team can openly discuss critical information and doesn’t have to worry that other users block the channel when they are undertaking a vital rescue mission.
The base is not usually manned, and duty officers only come in to attend to an active incident. With the new dispatch solutions, duty officers can now take the omnicore Express Dispatch Console on Window tablets home with them. Meaning they can immediately dispatch remotely when a situation arises without the need to drive to the control room at base first, saving critical time. Time that can mean life or death in a boating accident.
Testimonial
The transition to the omnicore Express dispatch system on a Tait DMR T3 network marks a significant step forward for Coastguard Nelson, ensuring we remain at the forefront of marine rescue operations.
This game-changing upgrade enhances our ability to respond to emergencies efficiently and effectively, ultimately improving safety for all who venture into the waters around Nelson.’
Getting to Know the System
Training
The Coastguard Nelson Project Leader devised a dispatch console quick-reference guide and delivered presentations on how-to-use the console, followed by a tour of the radio room.
For those that wanted to delve deeper, he also prepared detailed Communications and IT Manual documentation outlining the full setup. The operators found the system easy to learn and a great improvement of their working conditions.
Testimonial
It has been a pleasure assisting Coastguard Nelson with their communications upgrade and devising a solution that is fit-for-purpose and future-proof.
The transition to the omnicore Express dispatch system marks a significant step forward for the Nelson Coastguard, ensuring they remain at the forefront of marine rescue operations both in their daily work and also when it becomes time to integrate this radio system with the New Zealand PSN.
Lloyd Wensley | Managing Director
Mount Campbell Communications
Safety & Productivity
Conclusion
At the heart of the solution, Radio over IP gateways set Coastguard Nelson up for a plethora of options, which they can explore when the time is right.
Mount Campbell Communications have devised the system infrastructure in such a way that future expansions are easily possible, including integration with telephony, or with other rescue organisations such as Surf Lifesaving and others, including the New Zealand P25 Public Safety Network PSN.
omnicore Express Dispatch Console
Touchscreen interface with a configurable layout
Geofencing, alarms, route playback
Lower Upfront Cost
Reduce upfront cost with CapEx & OpEx procurement options
Interoperability
Interconnect people, protocols, technologies & manufacturers
Connections
Digital & legacy analog radio systems, phone, paging, SIP
Peace of Mind
24/7/365 Support Plans included
