With a remote warehouse working in Ipswich and office admin back at the main warehouse in Felixstowe, with operational staff at both sites, traditional VHF and UHF radios had limitations and wasn’t an option without expensive repeaters and licences. Everyone used their mobile phones and spoke less, leading to single focused working and the lack of critical engagement,

I introduced Zello Radios with longer battery life, calling groups and alerts so directors and managers could work from home, still connected to operations and operatives could call at the press of a button.

This has improved productivity, safety and reduced the inconvenience of answering a call or dialing a number for operational conversations.

 

Using a budget data only SIM card, free software and £130 radios for desk workers, with a more rugged £80 walkie talkie option issued to warehouse staff, with just a PTT and channel selector. More accessible communications have lead to less admin staff being needed at the second warehouse and problems are picked up far earlier than when we had the monotony of dialling a number to speak to someone.

The radios seen in the image have the facility to see the transmit log and play back any message received to digest a reference number, container number or see how long someone has been waiting for their reply. The battery’s last longer and you can use Wifi if you have access across the whole site. If you pop home, you can take the radio and still be part of the conversation and no-one needs know you are on the golf course!