What to Consider when choosing Two Way Radios for Construction
The construction industry is very broad involving contractors, builders, builders’ merchants, crane operators, scaffolders, construction engineers, joiners, glaziers, plumbing to name just a few. Two-way radios have an application in just about any of those businesses. When it comes to each type of work, time can be of the essence and instant communications save time and dependant on what you are building, they could save lives too. That’s why it is essential to buy the best type of radio system for your business.
Here are just a few things to consider when considering two way radios in the construction industry:
Two Way Radio Communication Coverage
Workers may need to communicate across construction sites covering several acres. In many cases, there’s not a clear line of sight between radios. Buildings or obstacles can potentially reduce your coverage.
Are you looking to communicate through 24 floors in a building or from 2 miles away or working in a residential area? This can make a difference to the radio system you need.
If it is a small site for just a few houses, then a licence free radio may be suitable. If you are working on a larger site, you may need more powerful licence radios which may require an onsite repeater to increase radio coverage. If you are a construction company and you operate multiple sites then our LTE solution will be suitable and is available on contract or pay as you go. Radios can also provide multiple channels so that you can organise the various contractors into different groups.
Tough enough to withstand rain, dirt and general abuse
If you work in tough conditions you need a two way radio with a high waterproof/dust rating to offset the effects of dust, mud or rain on a construction site. Your radio may even need to be tough enough to survive the occasional drop, knock or scratch.
Type of radio (UHF or VHF)
UHF radios are normally recommended for the construction sector as they provide a lot of flexibility and operate both indoors and outdoors. There may be businesses in the industry that are using VHF currently and that may work better if you are working outdoors. If you are starting fresh, UHF is recommended as it works well around structures.
Two Way Radio Emergency functions
The construction environment can be dangerous and to keep your workers safe and to meet Health and Safety requirements you could deploy radios featuring emergency related functions such as man down and lone worker functions. When one of these functions is triggered, the transceiver automatically enters an emergency phase and activates the emergency facility on the other radio warning of an incident.
Battery life is also important
On a large construction site, you need radios that work the entire shift without diversions to replace or recharge your battery. Most radio batteries are heavy duty and are designed to operate through an 8 hour shift in this type of environment. When you are looking to purchase a radio, you need to consider how much battery time is required for a radio on a full charge…is it 8 hours or 18 hours?
Icom has a complete portfolio of
analogue,
digital,
IP and
LTE radio solutions to suit all the requirements of the construction industry. They meet high levels of waterproof and dust protection and are built to conform to military spec standard. From simple
licence free radios to sophisticated
radio systems with tracking and health and safety features, Icom can cater for all your two way radio requirements.
If you are interested in seeing our latest radio systems, contact our sales staff on 01227 741741 or via email at
sales@icomuk.co.uk.
