Sepura improves lone worker safety

To overcome the communications constraints presented by a large industrial complex, and to ensure rapid response in emergencies, Snecma Propulsion Solide has adopted Sepura STP8000 hand-portable TETRA radios with man-down functionality.

Snecma Propulsion Solide, part of the Safran group, designs and manufactures solid rocket motors for missiles and space launchers. About 1200 employees work at its plant in Haillen, France; a campus site combining research and manufacturing facilities with office functions in numerous buildings, offering a number of barriers to seamless communications in certain areas of the site.

The TETRA deployment at this plant is a collaborative solution provided by Sepura and its French partner Sysoco. The radios have been integrated with Sysoco's DIGIProtect system to allow real-time management and tracking of Snecma’s TETRA radio fleet, through an indoor localisation system consisting of radio autonomous beacons and outdoor localisation deployed via the radios’ GPS receiver.

One reassuring feature is the alert call for lone workers; an automatic call generated by motion sensing technology which detects loss of verticality of the device or absence of movement. DIGIProtect allocates priority transmission to calls generated in this way, and the radio beacons are placed to optimise indoor localisation in an alert scenario, when the radio would send its identity to the closest beacon.

The software at the control centre enables the visualisation of all sites on a despatch screen, instantly flagging up the identity of the individual concerned and the precise sector covered by the relevant beacon. In an emergency this information can save valuable time, and possibly lives, by guiding rescue teams to the exact location of the incident.

“The radio dispatcher software has a very friendly and intuitive user interface. It is easy to import plans, both of external areas and buildings, and the software is simple to configure, especially for setting and amending security guard rounds,” explained Martial Nancy, the DIGIProtect software manager at Sysoco.

“One of Snecma’s operational priorities is the control of risks at its site,” says Pierre Letta, marketing manager for Sysoco. “Workers can now go about their daily tasks with complete confidence that they’re never going to be out of contact. Lone workers will never actually be alone; direct contact with base assures it.”