WBOC sought the most productive and cost-effective solution available that could provide quality of service and be able to provide data services if required at a later date.
The WBOC team evaluated two radio manufacturers, but as the team had used Motorola Solutions’ products in other roles they trusted the brand and knew it would be a resilient communication tool that would withstand the site’s harsh working environment.
The first challenge in this project was building the right infrastructure that supported WBOC’s approach. “The team at Tilbury Green Power Plant wanted to feel like they were working on their own communications network, sharing information securely with colleagues, MOTOTRBO’s high encryption levels ensured this," explained Daniel Scotney, sales manager at DCRS. "An advantage they also saw was that it was scalable. They knew MOTOTRBO could be easily expanded to support a more demanding system in the future."
Thanks to early contractor involvement DCRS successfully carry out radio propagation tests – a must as a site of this nature continually evolves. It was evident from the tests that WBOC require a boost to achieve its required coverage footprint. The backbone of this system is controlled by a MOTOTRBO Capacity Plus SLR5500 Repeater with a centralised antenna system giving the client site-wide coverage. The client chose to store the system in a lockable rack to ensure its safety at all times.
Based in their central control room the operators use a MOTOTRBO DM4600e fixed mobile which monitors all the radio traffic through the users' radio ID and other functions such as transmit interrupt, radio disables/enable, and monitor are enabled to give the system controllers additional control.
WBOC chose to rollout the MOTOTRBO DP4401e ATEX and Non-ATEX hand portables to its teams which include operations, electrical, mechanical and installation engineers. Due to the vast area over which staff work across the client also decided to take advantage of the MOTOTRBO standard safety features: Lone Worker and the dedicated Emergency Orange Button which provides staff with protection at no extra cost.
The intelligent audio in these two-way radios has been found to be beneficial as they adjust their volume to fit the environment’s noise level without a single touch of the controls allowing staff to continue with their tasks without hindrance.
The radio network has proven to be highly reliable in regards to maintaining critical security communications for all the teams involved being alerted to incidences early, reducing response times and risk while increasing worker and site safety.
There are plans to introduce man down and alarm control functionality at the site when the team grows.
The Tilbury Green Power Plant comprises of two separate phases of development. It will use around 270,000 tonnes of waste wood sourced from the region to produce up to 319,000 MWh of renewable electricity each year – enough to supply around 97,000 average homes.
