Total UK Bitumen, a division of Total Energies, which produces road and construction bitumen from its UK headquarters in Preston, approached radio systems experts TES Communication Solutions to help reduce the wastage from its hand-held two-way radios being damaged or lost while being used to load and unload vehicles.

Due to the high volume of loading taking place, up to 15 times per day at three separate loading points during peak activity, the company’s previous hand-held radios were regularly damaged, costing time and money to source and replace the radio systems. Many radios were being damaged beyond repair, resulting in a significant cost at £600 per unit and additional time on sourcing replacements.

Despite the problem carrying on for many years, it wasn’t until TES Communication Systems were contracted as a new radio supplier that a solution was found.

Having discussed the situation with Total and heard the thoughts of the team there, radio solutions experts at TES Communication Solutions designed a two-way call box which could allow for loading and unloading instructions to take place at a fixed location - eliminating the need for the hand-held radios which were being damaged.

The weatherproof callbox would also allow for supervisors to liaise with multiple cabs at any one time from the Central Control Room (CCR) to the fixed boxes at loading points, allowing for a more efficient process, in addition helping the division operate safely within an ATEX environment. A total of six callboxes have now been installed across the Preston site.

Rob Slater, Production Manager at Total UK Bitumen Division, said: “The hand-held radios we relied on for loading were problematic as any lost or damaged devices needed to be replaced almost instantly so they didn’t impact on loading.

Steve Smith, Managing Director of TES, said: “This challenge provided the opportunity to work with a valued customer, with whom we are keen to build a long standing relationship, to create a solution to a problem which was previously costing both time and money.

It also gave our engineers the opportunity to come up with a bespoke solution which they developed as a team, and one which we believe will benefit many other industries.”

TES Communication Solutions analyses and upgrades radio networks across oil, gas and chemical sectors, where it can also supply ATEX radio solutions, including sourcing hardware, installation and repairs.