Indiana focuses on public safety
Improving emergency radio communications system statewide
 Communication is crucial during emergencies, especially between the people and the agencies who are responding to the situation. To improve these lines of communication, Project Hoosier SAFE-T (Safety Acting for Everyone Together), a statewide radio communications project, is working with agencies across Indiana.
Project Hoosier SAFE-T promotes cooperative efforts from local, state and federal agencies. It will enable agencies to communicate with each other during emergencies such as fires, floods and criminal investigations.
Highlighting the need for a coordinated communication system were several emergencies in Indiana, including a flood in 1997.
Communication flow disrupted
In March 1997, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the National Guard conducted rescues on rain-swollen Indiana rivers. Incompatible radio communication systems forced the two agencies to communicate by shouting across the river.
“These incompatible systems can leave public safety officers with little inter-agency communication during a time when they need it most,” says Dick Mitchell, Motorola’s project manager for the Indiana statewide communications system. He says incompatible systems can cause significant delays in emergency response.
In the fall of 2002, Hanson was selected by Motorola to work as a tower integrator for the project.
Search for tower sites begins
According to Hanson’s Project Manager Tom Pressley, Hanson is working with Motorola and the state of Indiana to identify where the towers will be located, selecting from more than 300 potential sites for the expected 130 sites that will be required for the radio system.
“The Hanson staff confirms the site’s suitability, secures properties, designs towers or tower improvements and prepares construction drawings, obtains permits, coordinates utilities and provides construction services at each location,” says Pressley. He says the four-year project is divided in four geographical zones and they are starting in the northern zone and working south. There are 14 Indiana State Police locations and 28 collocate sites in the northern zone. He explains that a collocate site is where a tower owner provides site space to be leased by other carriers. “Think of it as vertical real estate,” says Pressley.
Construction underway
Construction has started on the state police sites and several of the collocate sites were completed last year. The construction has three basic parts: 1.) tower modification and upgrades and the installation of antennas and lines; 2.) site development to provide for the radio equipment shelter; and 3.) electrical and mechanical upgrades to serve the buildings. “We are working on the design and lease aspects of the additional collocate sites now and we hope to have additional sites under construction this year in the northern zone,” Pressley says.
Team establishes radio patterns, search ring
Pressley says the team has been released to start working on site acquisition of the collocates in the central region. The Hanson team is deployed reviewing these sites now. He explains that radio patterns were laid out by Motorola across the state. The defined search ring is 1 ½ miles.
“It would be ideal to find a tower, in the center of the ring and then locate the radio equipment as designed by Motorola. The tower that is selected has to have the height to accommodate proper radio coverage for that geographic part of the state and be structurally sound for the new antennas and lines. Additionally, the site must have space for the new equipment shelter. If we can’t find a suitable tower within that 1 ½-mile radius, the search rings start slipping around.”
To help in the explanation, Pressley adds, “Visualize these search rings as compact disks spread out across the state,” as one search ring moves it causes the other search rings to shift. The Hanson team must locate the towers, evaluate the suitability, prepare and negotiate the leasing of the site and then design and construct the required improvements for the Motorola radio equipment.
We also are working with Motorola in the state of Virginia to provide a 911 communication system there. The Statewide Agencies Radio System (STARS) program will replace a 27-year old land mobile system to enable voice and data communication among public safety agencies.
For more information, contact Tom Pressley at (317) 293-9024 or tpressley@hanson-inc.com. Or, visit the Project Hoosier SAFE-T Web site at www.in.gov/ipsc/safe-t/.
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