NSW State Emergency Service, NSW, Australia

With the ultimate aim of maintaining and strengthening the safety of its volunteers and of the public and property it protects, NSW SES needed to properly assess how its volunteers used their emergency radio equipment in the field.

Specifically, NSW SES needed to learn how it could further improve the current radio communication practices of its 10,000 public safety volunteers throughout the state.

The Assessment Report provided by Tait Communications and NZILBB has helped NSW SES to clearly identify ways to improve volunteers' in-field communication.

Pat Clague, Manager of Communications, NSW SES, says: "What we received as a result of the expert assessment was a very clear picture of how we can improve our current radio communications practices.

"The key finding for us was a need to develop greater consistency around our radio usage through the development of standardized training programs and practice scenarios, to help up-skill less-experienced radio users.

"Educating our volunteers about the differences between analog and digital radio technology is one way to help them understand and interact with the equipment they use every day in more efficient and knowledgeable ways.

"Recognizing the way that a radio operates and its limitations in our specific situations helps us to use it more effectively. That can have huge implications when getting a message through first time could mean the difference between life and death."