Back to basics while building advanced communications
At Land Mobile Radio (LMR) construction sites across New Zealand, the Tait Systems New Zealand (TSNZ) team is laying the groundwork for an advanced LMR network for our emergency services.
These sites are dynamic and often busy, sometimes hosting up to 10 workers at a time. While surrounded by diggers, drills, compactors, and other heavy machinery, safety is paramount.
Liam Giles from Downer testing out the TSNZ whistle on site.
During early safety audits at LMR build sites in Wellington, TSNZ identified a gap: the need for an emergency alert system that is always accessible, reliable, lightweight, and independent of cell coverage or infrastructure.
The solution was surprisingly low-tech: a whistle.
Sat in a pocket, clipped to a tool belt, or attached to a key ring, the whistle is always within reach. Acting as a distinctive, universally understood alarm: one loud, long blast from a whistle means there’s an emergency, instantly alerting everyone nearby.
As TSNZ distributed 2000 whistles to contractors and their sub-contractors across the LMR network build sites, the whistles began to serve another purpose: a means of basic, everyday communication.
Teams developed their own site codes with short and long whistle blasts, signalling instructions such as “start,” “stop,” or even “smoko time.”
Beyond their simplicity, whistles also offer three key advantages:
Accessibility: usable even if a worker is injured or unable to reach a phone or radio.
Speed: instant alert, no dialling, no waiting.
Cost-effective: inexpensive and easy to distribute, ensuring every worker has access to a reliable alarm.
One of 2000 TSNZ branded whistles.
Excel Communications teams receiving their whistles.
While TSNZ is constructing a cutting-edge LMR network as part of the Government’s new Public Safety Network, being delivered by Next Generation Critical Communications, the whistle serves as a poignant reminder: the essence of communication is clarity and reach.
The resilient and encrypted LMR network will connect emergency responders across New Zealand for decades.
From ancient calls across valleys to encrypted signals spanning continents, the goal has always been the same: make sure the message gets through.