SwiftSTOR^TM Finds Missing Radios!

WOOD RIVER, IL - Cost saving can come in many forms and some of the sweetest savings come when it is discovered that an item of equipment not only does its job exceptionally well, but with some clever thinking, more than pays it way by doing something new. In this instance, the item of equipment was the SwiftSTORTM Logging Recorder for Trunked Radio and the clever thinking was done by the Chief Radio Technician at the Wood River Refining Company. The refinery uses about 1,300 handheld radios for plant operations. And, people being people, occasionally one will be misplaced. A misplaced radio represents a significant "non-performing asset"; it affects plant operations, and a radio is costly to replace. At this plant, radios are assigned to departments rather than to individuals. When a department comes up short, it is a simple matter to identify the missing radio and its radio ID. The question is: Who had it last? And, here is where the clever thinking came in! One of the powerful features of the SwiftSTORTM Logging Recorder for Trunked Radio is that it can quickly search for transmissions by Radio ID. The Chief Radio Tech had the idea of searching backwards for the last transmissions on the missing radio, identifying the user, and then simply asking him what he did with the radio. To identify the voice of the user, the Radio Tech asked the supervisor with the missing radio to listen to the transmissions and say who it was. Now, how to confront the culprit? That turned out to be simple, too. The Radio Tech made a cassette copy of the transmissions and he and the supervisor went to see the person who had last used the radio. Human nature being what it is, the first reaction to the question of what happened to the radio was a plea of innocence. "Why don't you listen to the last transmissions and see if it refreshes your memory". After listening to the recordings and learning when they occurred, a brief moment of reflection caused the light to dawn. A trip to a desk, an opening of a middle drawer, and lifting of some papers revealed the missing radio. Case closed, problem solved, $2,000 saved, and some pleased users of the SwiftSTORTM Logging Recorder for Trunked Radio.