Enhance worker safety and productivity at the touch of a button

When an incident occurs at a factory, port, mine or other industrial site, the first priority is to ensure worker safety. This requires rapid communication. To enable quick, low-effort communication, industrial enterprises have long relied on handheld radios, or “walkie-talkies”, to relay message on a one-to-one or one-to-many basis, at the push of a button.

Today, this method of communication extends beyond voice. Consumer communication technologies, such as text messaging and video calling, are finding their way into industrial areas. Known as push-to-x, this can mean teams at a port are informed of work changes and receive a new manifest in real-time, or a second wave of search and rescue workers can access videos taken by first responder teams to prepare for their arrival. It could also allow a maintenance engineer to be alerted to machine malfunctions and access location data, as well as information that will aid a speedy resolution.   

Taking business-critical communication to the next level

That’s exactly what the Nokia Team Comms application delivers when implemented over a private wireless network, taking business-critical communication to the next level. It comes pre-tested on Nokia Industrial handhelds with accessories and can be downloaded to other Android 12+ devices making it more intuitive for the new generation of workers used to operating smartphones. No need to carry an additional radio, which adds weight when climbing tall structures or walking miles every day across a mine or factory floor. 

Enhancing worker safety is a key objective for our customers. When implemented over a private wireless network, Nokia Team Comms supports worker safety through:

• Moving beyond voice: Still using narrowband? It’s time to move beyond voice. With 4.9G/LTE or 5G private wireless, push-to-x communications - voice, video, and data - boost safety, collaboration, and productivity.
• Priority calling: When you need to communicate quickly, priority calling allows you to override existing calls to get your message out. Devices with customizable and/or dedicated SOS buttons are also supported. 
• Our latest feature, the dispatcher console allows dispatchers, such as team leaders and plant managers to see which users are online and communicate with them via voice, data and video, while those in the field can share video, images and more directly with the dispatcher to give them a better understanding of any situation. The dispatcher can also listen to, or view user calls in ambient mode – providing an extra set of eyes or ears for workers in a hazardous situation to enhance their protection without disturbing or interrupting their flow. Geo-location data shows the position of every worker across the site. So, if anyone gets into difficulty, teams can be alerted to assist them more rapidly.

Improving productivity: With Nokia Team Comms, you can reach workers anywhere on campus, making it easy to deliver work instruction updates without any delay. Different talk groups can be set up to allow teams to communicate intuitively with co-workers and workers can join multiple groups. Priority calling can also assist productivity when essential work instructions must be delivered quickly. 

Interoperability with legacy: A gateway makes it easy for teams using private 4G or 5G wireless networks to stay connected with those still using legacy radio systems like PMR or LMR. So, as you start upgrading to newer devices like industrial smartphones and tablets, you don’t have to leave your existing tech behind. Everyone can keep communicating smoothly, no matter what they are using. Plus, with a “pay-as-you-grow” approach, you can expand at your own pace without a big upfront cost.

Keeping data secure: A recording server allows you to record all voice, video and text conversations for security and regulatory compliance purposes. Recordings can also be used to analyze past events and for future learning and improvement. And, when deployed on Nokia MX Industrial Edge, all processing occurs on-premises at your site, keeping calls and data secure. 

Benefit from enhanced push-to-x functionality in the most cost-effective way

Nokia Team Comms is deployed over our Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) and Modular Private Wireless (MPW) solutions, which deliver robust, pervasive 4G and 5G private wireless to your enterprise. Both utilize the on-premises data processing capabilities of Nokia MXIE to maintain data governance. You benefit from one platform for industry digitalization that unifies your operational (OT) data across your environment and supports your industrial digitalization use cases. 

As we continue to develop Nokia Team Comms, we’re adding more worker safety features. This includes geofencing capabilities that allow dispatchers to geofence hazardous areas and receive alerts when lone workers or teams are in the vicinity.  Device sensory capabilities will also be implemented to alert dispatchers of no movement within the device that suggests a man down incident.

However you deploy Nokia Team Comms, your teams will benefit from a solution that takes business-critical connectivity and situational awareness to the next level. You can make progress on goals, including worker safety and productivity, in the most cost-efficient way.

Watch the video to learn more!