MAN DOWN SOLUTION

MAN DOWN TWO-WAY RADIO SYSTEMS

The importance of protecting an employee working alone, “Lone Worker”, has become a priority for many employers in the last few years. One solution offered by two-radios is ‘Man Down’. The Man Down two-way radio functionality is not usually available with entry level radios, but is an optional extra on mid to high tier radios – usually by the installation of an ‘option-board’. However, we suspect that this will be an up-gradable or licence key feature in digital radios now coming to market. ATEX radios already have this functionality as standard.

The option-board is basically a tilt switch, which can detect the angle of the radio along with movement. If the device is tilted or becomes inactive for a specified period of time, a pre-set alarm protocol is initialised.

Initially the radio will try to obtain a response from the user. This reduces the probability of false alarm activation’s. If no acknowledgement is forthcoming, an alarm is sent to a designated device, alerting the “supervisor” that there is a potential problem. In addition to tilt and alert, some that come with the two-way radio ‘Man Down’ functionality can be programmed to open the radios’ microphone, ‘hot-mic’ or ‘open-mic’. This enables the user to communicate with the “supervisor” without depressing the PTT (Push to Talk). Even if the user is unable to converse, the “supervisor” will still be able to hear what is happening in the users’ location. Contact Umoja Technical Services Limited if you require any expert advice!