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Manchester, Tennessee - Population 8294, is believed to be the home of more automotive parts manufacturers than any other city of comparable size in the USA. With several large auto manufacturers in close proximity, the thriving community of Manchester, conveniently located in mid-Tennessee on Interstate 24, is ideally suited for efficient distribution.  Volunteer Automotive, Inc., with a work force of over 200, is one of these specialty parts manufacturers with a claim of producing over 30% of all fuel filler doors for all vehicles produced in the USA!  As a metal stamping manufacturer, Volunteer makes those things that don't get all the attention, but are very necessary for the efficient production of US manufactured vehicles.  In addition to fuel filler doors, Volunteer Automotive manufacturers all types of metal products such as dashboard brackets, seat brackets, etc. for auto makers including BMW, Ford, GM, Nissan, and others.

Volunteer Automotive has always been on the leading edge of improvements in plant efficiency and safety.  As an ISO/TS 16949 certified manufacturer, the company takes pride in acknowledging an even higher level of quality standards than the more commonly known ISO 9001 standard.  More importantly, the company complies with the safety and environmental requirements of ISO 14001.  Meeting current safety standards requires an effective means of communications, especially for monitoring the activities of workers involved in confined space activities.  The horror story of a worker who had fallen on a piece of metal in another plant (not associated with Volunteer Automotive) is well known.  The worker died as a result of his 2-way radio being in a dead area.  All attempts to call for help were in vain.  The worker bled to death as a result of ineffective communications. Good in-plant communications is not just a convenience - it can save lives! Adherence to quality and safety requirements are known benefits of effective wireless communications.  However, there are other benefits of a more tangible nature.

Joe Wilburn, maintenance facilities manager at Volunteer Automotive summed up the benefits of effective 2-way communications when asked the benefits to his activities.  His two part answer says it all - I couldn't operate without them and they save me about a hundred miles of walking per day!  These answers may be slightly exaggerated, but they are pretty much the answers given by other plant operations managers all over the USA.

Volunteer Automotive didn't start with 2-way way communications.  The company started with one-way paging.  Supervisors and maintenance personnel could be paged by the receptionist and they would then return the call from the nearest telephone.  This was working fairly well until company management decided it wasn't needed.  The maintenance department purchased a few 2-way radios that worked well for their needs.  The only problem was the cost of the radios.  The models used at that time were fairly expensive and costly to maintain.  As additional radios were added, lower cost models were found and other supervisors began noticing the benefits of 2-way communications.

The decision was made to expand the use of the 2-way radios to allow supervisors to communicate with each other.  There was some concern that potential user conflict might occur between administrative and maintenance users sharing a common frequency.  The Nextel system was reported to provide the capability of individual calling which appeared to be a possible alternative.  As it turned out, the Nextel system required payment of monthly airtime charges in the amount of $34 per unit used, and that rate was based on a minimum commitment of 30 units.  In addition to the $1,020 monthly cost, an additional expense of $5,000 was required to provide coverage inside the buildings. To make matters worse, the Nextel system did not address the real needs of plant operation - specifically group calling.  The company learned that they would have to pay additional surcharges to allow groups of people to communicate with each other  The better solution proved to be one of establishing two radio channels for the 2-way radio system - one for administration, and one for maintenance.

Things were going pretty well until a new warehouse facility was constructed a half mile away from the main plant.  Good quality 2-way radios are capable of providing operating ranges of up to two miles, but not from inside one building to the inside of another building.  The coverage in the new warehouse building proved to be unreliable.  The local 2-way radio dealer was contacted and asked to provide a solution.  After waiting several weeks for a response, the name of Falcon Wireless came up.  Bobby Henley, a volunteer with the local fire department mentioned to Todd Patterson, the plant manager, that Falcon Wireless had always been responsive to their needs.  It was decided to contact Falcon for a possible solution.  The task was given to Gail Ashby, the Administrative Assistant to Joe Wilburn.

Falcon's recommendation involved a two part plan.  The first was to provide radios capable of utilizing more than two channels and with the ability to allow priority scanning.  This would be a preparatory step toward the addition of a repeater station capable of covering both the original plant area and the new warehouse.  The radio selected was a professional grade Motorola model with 4 channel priority scanning and memory free Nickel Metal-Hydride batteries.  The proper disposal of batteries was an on going concern since EPA regulations require proper disposal.  As a part of Falcon's services, the company offered to dispose of all batteries shipped to them by Volunteer Automotive at no cost.  All that was required by Volunteer Automotive was to pack them up and ship them to Falcon.

The new repeater channel is used for all calls originating from the receptionists desk with all radios tuned to the repeater channel.  With the new system, the receptionist not only has the ability to call administrative and maintenance personnel but to receive a direct acknowledgement without the called person being required to find a phone.  The older two channel radios operate in the repeater talk-around mode that allows them to communicate with each other without disturbing the receptionist and at the same time being able to hear any calls initiated by the receptionist or other users on the system.  The system utilizes the original two channel Motorola P110 radios as well as the Motorola SP50's and the newer Motorola CT250's.  The SP50's and CT250's have active third and fourth channels which can be used in private as desired.

One of the key issues required by Volunteer Automotive is prompt response to their needs.  As a company required to meet the demands of rapid response customers, those same capabilities are required of their vendors.  The key interface person between plant operations and Falcon Wireless, Gail Ashby, notes that Falcon has been extremely responsive and understanding of our needs.  Falcon has been careful to explain the various maintenance options available and assisted us in defining the most cost effective service for our requirements.

Today, the radio system is being used by supervisors, tool and die personnel, materials handlers, and the original maintenance users.  All agree that the ability to provide cross departmental communications is a valuable asset in terms of saving time, improving efficiency, and increased safety.  The company currently uses remote activated light boards to allow machine operators to signal maintenance and supervisory personnel of a malfunction.  Unfortunately, unless the desired party is looking at the sign, the urgency of the situation is unknown.  Since a production stoppage of a machine can cause expensive delays and wasted labor cost, the ability to quickly notify the proper person in the event of a breakdown is extremely important.

Falcon Wireless is currently in the planning stages of offering inexpensive radio call boxes located strategically throughout the plant to minimize the downtime associated with equipment malfunctions.  Although not yet installed at Volunteer Automotive, the advantages of this system over the current light boards may warrant yet another investment in wireless communications.  As it has often been said - good communications doesn't cost - it pays!