Columbus Stainless, one of the world's largest single site stainless steel manufacturing plants, has purchased GP340 and GP360 Motorola professional two-way radios as well as a GM380 basestation in a deal valued at approximately R300 000. The system was implemented by Motorola authorised dealer, Mpumalanga Communication Services, to assist Columbus Stainless in protecting staff working in hazardous areas of the plant.
While no stranger to two-way radio technology, Columbus Stainless has traditionally used Motorola two-way radios for the coordination of activities within its plant.
"We work closely with SIZA (which means 'to help' in Zulu), a voluntary team of employees working in the hazardous areas of the plant. Each team is equipped with a two-way radio, so that they can alert emergency services immediately should an incident occur, ensuring greater safety for all our staff by allowing us to react even more quickly," says Joe Knoesen, Emergency Officer at Columbus Stainless.
The manufacturing plant spans some 25 km and produces a wide range of austenitic (nickel chromium steels) and ferritic (chromium steels) type stainless flat products.
"Hydroflouric acid, a highly corrosive and potentially hazardous chemical, is used in the steel manufacturing process. If this substance comes into contact with water, its corrosive properties quadruple, which could cause serious injury to anyone working with the acid." explains Knoesen.
To ensure the protection and safety of its staff, 60 workers in the plant have two-way radio communication, providing a direct link to emergency services. "In the event of a fire, chemical hazard or gas pipeline rupture, the worker presses an emergency call button, which automatically shifts the radio channel from its current working channel to the SIZA channel. It transmits a user code, which identifies the caller on the GP360 radio's LCD display, so the emergency officials can immediately see who is calling," explains Anthony Beale, owner of Mpumalanga Communication Services.
"Before programming each radio, we had to assess the required features for each user. Both the 16-channel GP340 and the 250-channel GP360 radios are programmed with a 'lone worker' function, which prompts employees working in isolated areas of the plant to respond to signals transmitted. If they fail to respond, the radio automatically enters emergency mode to alert the control room," he adds.
The emergency services department uses GP360 two-way radios, which include features such as pre-programmed numbers that allow them to access a fixed line, dynamic regrouping, which allows users to re-define their talk groups and a display for caller identification.
"Motorola's two-way radios are intrinsically safe and have been designed to withstand harsh work environments," says Beale. "The new GP series of professional portable two-way radios also include a unique voice compression and low level expansion technology called X-Pand, which makes them ideal for use in noisy environments," he adds.
For further information contact Anthony Beale, Mpumalanga Communication Services, (013) 690 2258.
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