Huntsville City Schools Discovers A Smarter Way To Improve Communications

CUSTOMER PROFILE

HUNTSVILLE CITY SCHOOLS

• Over 23,000 students, 1700 teachers, 40 schools

MOTOROLA SOLUTION

• MOTOTRBO™ XPR™ 6550 Portable Radios
• MOTOTRBO SL 7550 Portable Radios
• MOTOTRBO XPR 4550 Mobile Radios
• MOTOTRBO Connect Plus Commercial System

SOLUTION FEATURES

• Near-perfect coverage for instant response
• Crystal-clear communication in noisy environments
• GPS location tracking of personnel and fleet
• Significant cost-savings over cell phones

The Challenge

Communicate Everywhere Without Losing Coverage

Huntsville City Schools relied on cell phones for its Operations Department to communicate across the district. Despite using a leading brand, supervisors, dispatchers, and service technicians faced continuous issues with coverage and clarity. Dead zones and dropped calls were common, particularly in areas like basements, boiler rooms, and back rooms, where cell signals were unavailable. Communication was practically impossible at two middle schools due to non-existent cellular coverage.

"Our service technicians were having problems communicating with each other and with supervisors," explains Quanteaus Jones, Maintenance Supervisor for Huntsville City Schools. "We didn't have open communication; it was only one to one. There were situations where a service person was working on a piece of equipment and another technician knew the answer to the problem, but wasn't aware he needed help. In an emergency, everyone needed to hear the information and that wasn't occurring. We simply could not communicate effectively."

Hear Clearly in the Noisiest Situations

Beyond coverage concerns, background noise often overpowered conversations. Service technicians had to shout over noisy equipment, air conditioning systems, and rumbling boilers. "When you are in a basement or boiler room, you need to have clear communication," says Supervisor Jones. "Yet often we couldn't talk with our technicians. As a result, we would either have to call the school to check on them or leave a voicemail on their cell phones and wait until they returned to a quiet area or one with better coverage to retrieve the message."

Pinpoint People and Vehicles, On and Off Campus

The Operations Department services all 40 schools with a fleet of vehicles. Technicians are constantly on the move, making repairs, checking buildings, and traveling off-site. "Even though we had GPS in our vehicles, we could not track people with our cell phones. Because our workforce is so mobile, it is very important to know the whereabouts of each individual," says Jones. The hazardous and isolated places technicians work—on ladders, catwalks, rooftops, and remote parking lots—make instant, reliable communication a necessity. If someone is injured, it is imperative that the individual is located and aided without relying on a cell phone connection.

The Solution

MOTOTRBO Digital Radios Achieve What Cell Phones Can't

After researching options, Quanteaus Jones contacted Sharp Communication, a local Motorola channel partner. He was frustrated with cell phone shortcomings and coverage issues in certain schools. Sharp Communication highlighted the MOTOTRBO Connect Plus towers, which provide excellent coverage. After a demo, Jones reported that the MOTOTRBO portable radios provided coverage everywhere and remarkably clear communication.

"Right from the start, the MOTOTRBO radios were phenomenal," says Jones. "Not only did our technicians want to keep them, but our Director of Operations was absolutely impressed by how effective MOTOTRBO was. We have 99 percent coverage now, especially in the areas where we weren't able to communicate before with cell phones."

Wide-Area Coverage Is a Clear Advantage

Trey Sharp explained, "Because technicians move between so many different locations, they need seamless coverage throughout. They have to be able to communicate from their vehicles, from within facilities, basically anywhere in the city at any time. The SmartRadio wide area coverage is absolutely critical for the school district. They pay a low monthly fee and leverage the great value of a reliable commercial radio system."

Exceed Expectations for Everyday and Emergency Operations

"MOTOTRBO really broadened our communications tremendously," emphasizes Jones. The department now uses one-to-many communication and private calls for one-to-one. They can check technician status via GPS tracking without disturbing them and send text messages when voice isn't practical. Huntsville City Schools uses MOTOTRBO for heating and air conditioning, electrical, plumbing, and carpentry calls, as well as security operations for 24-hour monitoring. All supervisors, service technicians, and warehouse personnel carry MOTOTRBO XPR Series and SL Series portable radios.

"We do everything from dispatch calls to GPS tracking of assets to communicating with our district's emergency response vehicles. We have a command post that has MOTOTRBO. In the event of an emergency in a school, everyone can instantly communicate together," says Jones.

Put Safety and Efficiency in an Advanced Class

During inclement weather, MOTOTRBO enhances efficiency and safety. "Our service techs walk the schools to check and see if pipes are broken, sidewalks are cleared, parking lots are scraped and ice melt is down," says Jones. "As they check each campus, they radio us to confirm and we record the date and time. It's all possible because of MOTOTRBO."

The Benefits

Communication Is Instant and Always Available

"One of the important benefits Huntsville City Schools has experienced is instant, reliable communication," says Trey Sharp of Sharp Communication. "Severe weather can be a real issue in their area. When it happens, everyone jumps on cell phones, texts, pulls up weather apps and websites and the system can get overloaded. The school district is no longer subject to cellular overcrowding during inclement weather or an emergency. It's a key advantage of MOTOTRBO radios over cell phones."

The "man down" feature is also appreciated. "In our profession, we spend a lot of time on ladders, catwalks, basements and roofs. If someone is injured, they press one button and it sends a transmission to dispatch to contact all supervisors and immediately send help. When the alert goes out, we see their exact location via GPS," says Jones.

Response Time Is Immediate in an Emergency

"Our response to emergency calls was very inefficient before MOTOTRBO. If we had a report of a potential natural gas leak at a school, it took 10 to 15 minutes to reach a technician via cell phone," says Quanteaus Jones. "Three days after we started using MOTOTRBO, we had an emergency call from a middle school about a natural gas odor. In two minutes we had technicians, maintenance and security on site. We evacuated the school, our dispatcher and Director of Operations were all aware, and we resolved the situation rapidly because of MOTOTRBO radios."

One-to-Many Communication Is More Efficient

"Once Huntsville started using the MOTOTRBO radios, they immediately saw the benefit of one-to-many communication," says Trey Sharp. "If a technician was working on a problem, he could only talk to one supervisor on his cell phone. With MOTOTRBO, now twenty other maintenance technicians can hear that situation and may have the expertise to resolve the problem. They've really improved their efficiency."

Radios Surpass and Outlast Cell Phones

Unlike digital radios, consumer devices aren't made for the rigors of school operations. Smartphones are three times more likely to fail than radios, and over 20 percent fail mainly because they are dropped during the workday. "Our MOTOTRBO radios get dropped, abused, drenched in rainstorms, but we don't worry about them getting damaged like a cell phone would," says Jones. "I don't have to remind our service technicians to use their radios. They love them and are confident they have a tool that is very reliable."

Clear, Complete Coverage at a Lower Cost

According to Supervisor Jones, even though the school district pays a monthly fee for the Connect Plus tower rental, it is significantly more affordable per person than cell phones and includes free GPS. "We've seen tremendous cost-savings switching from cell phones to MOTOTRBO. We've saved at least 20 to 30 percent and cut down on overage fees with cell phones significantly," he says.

Sources

• Livability.com, October 2013
• Business-Critical Communications: Benefits of Selecting Two-Way Radios Over Cell Phones, VDC Research, April 2014
• Enterprise Mobility and Connected Devices, VDC Research, August 2013
• Mobile Device TCO Models for Line of Business Solutions, VDC Research, March 2013

To discover a smarter way to improve communications, visit www.motorolasolutions.com/MOTOTRBO or contact your local Motorola representative.

Motorola Solutions, Inc. 1301 E. Algonquin Road, Schaumburg, Illinois 60196 U.S.A.

motorolasolutions.com 1-800-367-2346

Part number: RC-4-5003. Printed in USA 07/14. MOTOROLA, MOTO, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2014 Motorola Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.