LTE  |  2021-12-15

POCSTARS Deploys Push-to-talk System for Chemical Plant

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

After adopting the POCSTARS PoC communication and dispatching system, the chemical factory has greatly improved its operation efficiency and announced that it will expand the system to cover storage and logistics facilities in the future.

POCSTARS, a world leading Push-to-talk over Cellular (PoC) solution provider, recently has completed the deployment of a PoC system for a chemical plant in the Inner Mongolia province, China after its winning of the bid in July. The whole system passed all the tests; POCSTARS’ professional service was recognized by the customer.

Chemical factories are susceptible to fire and explosion; the requirement for timely and accurate communications and dispatching is very high. This chemical factory used to have a fleet of traditional explosion-proof two-way radios for the staff. However, there are some issues with the legacy radios.

  • It was a voice call only system, no features of sending multimedia messages such as texts, pictures, and videos. Therefore, it is impossible to intuitively show colleagues in the office what’s happening from the worksite when the onsite staff needs support.
  • It could not record the calls across the system, making it hard to review history when it’s needed.
  • It did not have the feature of indoor positioning; thus, the management could not visualize the dispatching, neither position employees across the complex.

Understanding the above pain points, POCSTARS recommended its visualized command and dispatching system, MiniServer, and IICT4 explosion proof PoC devices to the chemical company.

At first, the chemical factory used the system and devices in their testing activities, mainly for fire and explosion prevention and spotting potential leakages. It turned out that IICT4 explosion proof PoC radio, which was able to take pictures and videos, made a great complement to the fixed cameras in the plant. Multimedia messages such as texts, audio and video records can be retained for later review. The indoor positioning feature was a great difference maker. Workers can be located in real time, inside and outside the buildings; it’s not only a reminder for workers to follow safety protocols, but also, more importantly, a great safety assurance in case of accidents, since the dispatcher knows the whereabout of each worker.

After adopting the POCSTARS PoC communication and dispatching system, the chemical factory has greatly improved its operation efficiency. The chemical company plans to expand the system to cover storage and logistics facilities in the future. With rich product features and high cost-effectiveness, POCSTARS has impressed customers from different sectors.