The action of frost and mechanical constraints due to the passage of trains expose the railways to significant mechanical stresses. In the long term, the track of the rails, sleepers and ballast geometrically degrade. Then, tamping, levelling and lining operations are necessary to restore perfect geometric quality.
At the same time, in order to ensure the safety of traffic, the rails and their surroundings must be regularly cleared so that the vegetation remains under control. Vegetation can damage railway infrastructure (creation of deformations, slippage or braking issues). As the use of phytosanitary products is increasingly restricted, mechanical operations to cut vegetation are necessary.
What are the communication constraints which are common to these maintenance operations?
- A need for communication between workers who are in railway machines and those who are walking on rails
As for vegetation clearing, depending on track accessibility and relief, a worker drives a pruning machine, while others perform manual clearing of the railway perimeters with strimmers.
During tamping operations, a driver remains in the tamping machine while rail workers ensure that operations run properly, validate technical measures and check sweeping.
- A noisy environment
In both cases, the machines are noisy and do not allow communication by using conventional communication systems that do not have efficient filtering of surrounding noise;
- Necessary personal protective equipment
The objective is both to protect workers from noise while allowing them to maintain a perception of their external environment (colleagues, arriving trains, warning devices, etc.)
- A need to keep hands-free
The communication system must allow the working staff to be in constant contact and thus increase individual safety and efficiency of every workers without taking up their faculties and means to carry out their tasks.
The VOKKERO GUARDIAN communication system offers an answer to each of these problems:
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A radio-range of up to 1.2km allowing an unlimited number of workers to be connected in permanent communication.
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A patented noise filter for intelligible communication even in noise.
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A headset with active listening allowing approved SNR protection while maintaining intelligibility of the environment and low noise.
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A hands-free system that does not require alternating or pressing a button to talk.
