We also have the same need to communicate throughout the day between part-time and full-time staff. We roughly have 5-10 staff on the floor with radios depending on the day. We only assign radios to full time staff and have a shared amount for part-time staff that work on in the galleries. We haven't had any issues with our radios going missing, however, I do label all of the radios 1 through .... and I know what radio belong to full-time staff or the shared part-time staff.
I do assign headsets to all of the staff, those are labeled and the staff member has to sign off that they have received the headset and return it upon leaving employment. We've had issues in the past with the headsets going missing, being lost, etc. So far, assigning headsets to each staff member and informing them the cost of replacement has increased the care of the headset and cut down on the missing ones.
Overall our radio communication is key to the staff functioning together as a team and to provide our patrons with the best experience possible. We do use code words for certain instances, such as lost child or assistance needed in a gallery and that helps with information sharing without the public or others on our channel.
I have used cheap radios at other sites I've worked at in the past and found that we were replacing them annually, so investing in a decent quality radio, I feel is worth the time and money. If you can afford the expense, I feel it would be worth it. At my current institution, we have a contract with a local company that provides all of our radio needs from purchasing to maintenance. Many repairs are covered through the warranty and my experience has been when that happens the radio is old enough to start phasing out. The radios we use are Kenwood NexEdge 320, this would be overkill for our needs, however we are governed by the community college and they utilize the radios in most departments across our campuses. The radios take a beating and have held up well since purchasing them in 2012. We will be phasing out some of the old radios in the future.
------------------------------
Megan O'Kon
Coordinator of Interpretation
Kalamazoo Valley Museum
Kalamazoo MI
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2017 02:39 PM
From: Jes Whittet
Subject: Using Walkie Talkies - best practices?
Hello Everyone,
I would love to hear from folks about how they manage two way radios on site, especially tracking them. Our children's museum covers a fairly large space - about 3 acres - and on a moderate to busy day, we have 30 staff members, full and part time, out on the floor. Because we need to be able to quickly and clearly communicate safety issues, for example, if family members get separated etc.. to all floor staff, it is essential that everyone wears a walkie. Presently we use Motorola-brand walkie talkies and use a simple sign out sheet to track them. But they still walk away from time to time and they are very expensive. So, here are my questions:
1. Does anyone use a cheaper brand of two way radio and what issues have you encountered? There are newer companies that sell commercial radios (Retevis H-777) that come in at about $15 a piece when you buy in bulk. Has anyone tried these? Or do you have another recommendation that is more economical than motorola?
2. Has anyone come up with a great tracking system? How do you check them in and out? Have you assigned each part timer their own equipment? We find that our tracking is pretty accurate, but folks might grab a walkie for a quick call or a half shift and bypass the sign out system and those are the walkies that are likely to go missing.
Thanks for any advice and feedback!
------------------------------
Jes Whittet
Operations Floor and Recruitment Supervisor
Kidspace Children's Museum
Pasadena CA
------------------------------