Crisp and clear communications

When you look at the key elements of success in any manufacture-led company, the efficiency of production will be close to, if not, top of the list. Second to this will be the effectiveness of communication all the way through the business. It is fundamental to the running of any organisation, big or small ' so when a well-known snack food manufacturer has, for years, struggled with this particular area, it is hard to imagine how they've been as successful as they have. Effective communication solutions can not only help maintain high standards and volume of production, but they can also become equally important in ensuring compliance with health & safety standards.

Solving communications issues
Due to the make-up of the building in which this popular snack food manufacturer occupies, it is nigh on impossible to gain mobile phone coverage, and other technologies have also struggled with coverage limitations. As things stood, if there was a fault on a production line, which needed to be reported to a production team, it could take up to an hour, manually searching the vast building for the correct person to inform rather than occurring seamlessly.

The need became apparent for a more robust and reliable solution to be implemented. ANT Telecom was selected for its DECT system offering which can allow coverage internally and externally throughout the site, as well as for the flexibility of the system, especially the base-stations (as opposed to a roof-mast for mobile signal), which enable the system to operate with greater coverage.

Niall Roberts, Area Sales Manager, ANT Telecom, comments, 'Our experience and range of unique solutions offering always makes us quite confident in approaching an issue of this nature. With what we can offer, we knew that ANT could integrate into almost any existing telephone system as required. This compatibility with all systems made it easy for this particular customer having recently switched telephone systems. In order to make the phone system and our DECT offering compatible, all we had to do was slightly alter their system to ensure correct communication with the new one.'

He continues, 'We know that there are not many companies who can provide a DECT system that will integrate with existing telephone systems. The norm is for a telephone system re-seller to only provide hand-sets that work with the equivalent system whereas ANT can integrate DECT into new and existing systems. Something that hugely benefits the client.'

Why ANT?
ANT had worked with the manufacturer in the past, having previously supplied them with a paging system, so it was an easy decision that when the system needed upgrading to a DECT system, ANT was the chosen supplier having previously proved a sound and reliable partner.

In 2006 the solution was integrated throughout the site and has since been a great success.

In addition to this, since the initial installation at the first site, the company has introduced ANT solutions at two other locations; a northern branch in 2008, and a digital radio system in a second Midlands location to replace a legacy radio system thereafter.

Further benefits of ANT’s DECT system
Now, at any one point, a member of the maintenance team could be anywhere on site in a potentially hazardous area; at heights or on the roof, knowing that the system provides panic alarms on the handsets with escalation to response teams and incorporates lone-worker functionality with a tilt alarm feature.

If either of the alarms are activated a text-message is sent through to a response team who then acknowledges receipt of the message and alerts other users. Locating the emergency is also assisted as the base station in which the handset is logged will be closest to the incident and traceable.

Despite ANT being able to offer various back-ups if any part of the system was to fail, the manufacturer has yet to see a need for this as the solution has proved to be extremely reliable. They also have a full maintenance contract which covers hardware, software, remote and on-site engineering with critical spares kept onsite.

Roberts comments “ANT has a proven track record when it comes to reliable customer relationships and the solutions delivered are renowned for being efficient and robust. Our experience in the field of wireless communications, compared to that of our competitors is also superior and the flexibility of equipment and solutions we provide make us a leading player in the industry.”

Conclusion
Having built an increasingly strong business relationship over the past decade, ANT and the well-known snack food manufacturer continue to grow individually and together. The issue of delays in production have been resolved using ANT’s integrated DECT system which has alleviated any signal and coverage issues the company had previously experienced. The added bonus of lone-worker functionality; ensuring the safety of isolated members of the team, has also been a great asset at the sites in which it has been installed.