Strategic Planning for Expanded Radio Coverage

News | 0 comments | by Vanessa Chavez

Ventura County has had its share of disasters; floods, fires and earthquakes. So it’s no surprise that the county has an Emergency Operations Center in the basement of the Sheriff’s Office staffed by ten full-time managers responsible for planning, preparing and executing appropriate disaster response.

COVID-19 has exposed new concerns about planning and executing a public agency’s emergency response and Motorola recently introduced a communication solution to help address complex challenges that’s fast, reliable and affordable. The Motorola TLK100 is a two-way radio with virtually unlimited range that works anywhere there is cell service or an Internet connection.

 

Ventura County has a homeless population estimated at 1500 and these un-housed individuals are among the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to help keep this population safe the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services (OES) was tasked with establishing temporary shelters locations spread across the entire county.

 

“We had a Logistics Coordinator on site at the Emergency Operations Center, Field Techs at the shelters, and runners delivering supplies and support services to all these locations,” said Dan Weinberg with the Office of the Emergency Services, “

We needed reliable communication to coordinate and direct efforts during this crisis.”

 

A rapid response was needed to reduce the spread of the virus. That meant Emergency Services needed to identify individuals who we’re infectious for quarantine or treatment. “For individuals who were COVID free we wanted to provide temporary housing” and Weinberg went on to say, “We want to give these individuals the opportunity to get off the streets and into a clean, safe environment. No one was forced to go into a shelter and staying in the shelters was voluntary.”

 

The objective was to connect various agencies and employees so that they could co-ordinate their efforts to effectively address the needs of a vulnerable population under circumstances no one had ever experienced before. The technical challenge was to provide a reliable two-way radio communication system to remote locations across the county that could be up and running quickly. And they needed it at an affordable price.

 

Mario Campos, SJM’s Rental Manager explains, “We listened to their needs and understood their goals. We knew we had the solution. The Motorola TLK100 is a professional grade two-way radio that’s streamline and durable. It’s perfect for temporary circumstances where broad coverage is required. Especially where the expense of a more traditional system of repeaters and amplifiers just doesn’t make sense.”

 

Campos went on to say, “The cell service in the Emergency Control Center was pretty bad and obviously communication with the command center had to be 100% reliable. We were able to solve they’re problem by simply adding a separate Wi-Fi profile on the existing Wi-Fi system in the basement offices and that connected the TLK100’s and allowed them to work perfectly.”

 

The TLK100 provides virtually limitless two-way radio coverage because it works in any environment where cellular service or Wi-Fi is available. And when you subscribe to WAVE you can join the conversation using a regular cell phone.

 

Weinberg said the Ventura County OES was more than satisfied, “SJM was very helpful. They went above and beyond our expectations…especially with support whenever we needed it. They’re very attentive and we’d definitely use them again. The TLK100’s will be a part of our response plan.”

 

SJM Radio has built its reputation by listening to customers’ needs, offering experienced advice and providing quality two-way radio communication at affordable prices. We’ve been doing it for over 30 years. SJM has always sanitized and disinfected all of the radios and equipment that come in and out of our shop. During the pandemic we have employed extra measures to ensure strict COVID-19 compliance. The health and safety of our employees and our clients always comes first.

 

SJM Radio – Experience you can trust. Call us today so we can help you find the communications solutions you’re looking for.

Leave a Reply