DINSTAR Singapore - TechBytes

Introduction

In this case study, we will discuss the implementation of a factory evacuation system for a large chemical plant in Singapore. The plant typically has around 800 active workers, staff, vendors, and visitors at any given time. Given the nature of the plant, a proper and accurate evacuation process is crucial in case of emergencies.

Problem Statement

The HR and Security teams at the plant faced challenges in ensuring a smooth and accurate evacuation process during drills and potential emergencies. The key issues included:

• Difficulty in reaching all individuals in the plant quickly and efficiently.
• Lack of a system to track acknowledgments and responses from individuals.
• Inability to analyze and improve the evacuation process due to lack of data.

Solution

To address these challenges, we implemented a comprehensive evacuation system leveraging our Multi-SIM VoIP Gateway Product. The system was designed with a two-tier structure, where each person has a tied person in the system for additional safety.

Product used in this case study

DINSTAR UC2000-VG GSM VoIP Gateway

The workflow of the evacuation process is as follows:

1. User Registration: All users, with a mobile number and/or a desk phone number, are logged into the system.

2. Evacuation Initiation: When an evacuation is initiated, the system automatically triggers an SMS alert to all registered mobile numbers. This is done via our Multi-SIM VoIP Gateway Product, with 32 channels and 4 devices, allowing the system to trigger 128 SMS concurrently. Within 30 seconds, all numbers should be reached.

3. User Acknowledgment: Users who receive SMS alerts for evacuation can click on the link in the SMS to acknowledge and proceed to evacuation.

4. Follow-up Calls: If users do not respond to the SMS after 1 minute, the system triggers pre-recorded voice calls to the mobile numbers. Users can dial 1 to acknowledge.

5. Tied User Alerts: If there is still no response, alerts are sent to the tied users for extra reminding of evacuation.

6. Desk Phone Calls: For users without mobile, the desk phone is called with the pre-recorded voice message. Users can answer and dial 1 to acknowledge and proceed to evacuation.

7. Report Generation: At the end of the exercise, the system summarizes the responses from all users and produces a report for HR and Security to analyze and improve future evacuation processes.
   
   

Implementation Steps

1. System Setup: Install the Multi-SIM VoIP Gateway Product and integrate it with the plant's existing communication system.

2. User Registration: Register all users into the system with their mobile and/or desk phone numbers. Assign each user a tied person.

3. SMS Alert Configuration: Configure the system to automatically send SMS alerts to all registered numbers upon evacuation initiation.

4. Voice Call Configuration: Set up the system to trigger pre-recorded voice calls to users who do not respond to the SMS within 1 minute.

5. Tied User Alert Configuration: Configure the system to send alerts to tied users if there is no response from the primary user.

6. Desk Phone Call Configuration: Set up the system to call desk phones with a pre-recorded voice message for users without mobile phones.

7. Report Generation: Configure the system to generate a report summarizing user responses at the end of each evacuation exercise.

Conclusion

The implementation of this evacuation system significantly improved the plant's evacuation process. The customer was pleased with the result, and the system has potential for implementation in other similar environments. The system not only ensures a swift and efficient evacuation process but also provides valuable data for continuous improvement.