BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avaya Inc. and ObjectTel Inc. today announced that they are helping BNSF Railway Company communicate seamlessly with the more than 1,100 radios used by train and trackside maintenance workers across BNSF's rail network in 28 states and two Canadian provinces.
Radio calls now travel over what is believed to be the largest IP-based converged voice, data and radio network in the world - expanding functionality, improving response times and helping the company significantly reduce costs.
Formed through a merger of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroads, BNSF operates one of the largest rail networks in North America. At the time of the merger, each company had its own dedicated radio network to keep in touch with the crews who service trains, lay rails and keep tracks in good repair. Neither network could be scaled to handle the combined size of the new company's operations, though, and proprietary technology meant the systems were unable to interoperate.
"Communicating with workers on trains and at trackside is critical to safety," said John Hicks, BNSF director of telecommunications. "We needed a new centralized solution that could help us immediately and reliably communicate, whether one-to-one or with teams of individuals all at once."
BNSF had an existing converged voice and data network for its main corporate campus and call centers in Fort Worth, Texas, and Topeka, Kansas. Intelligent communications applications from Avaya were used for IP telephony, advanced conferencing, computer-telephony integration and management of multimedia customer contacts.
To help BNSF do more with its network investment, Avaya BusinessPartner and DeveloperConnection member ObjectTel created a new, highly scalable, mission-critical, interoperable CLASSONE(TM) Dispatch radio-to-telephone solution. Now radio traffic has joined voice and data traffic on a single, high-reliability network infrastructure that is easily scaled to meet BNSF's future needs. Multiple radio and voice systems are replaced by a single infrastructure for companywide communications, Avaya Meeting Exchange(TM) conferencing and messaging, while a single company contact center consolidates help desk support, wayside maintenance, crew management and remote dispatch.
Since radio calls are treated just like regular phone calls, any phone on the network can dial any radio, and radios can be used to dial any wired or wireless phone. Dispatchers responsible for moving trains and coordinating field maintenance operations have new capabilities for working more efficiently and effectively. Using a PC-based CLASSONE(TM) Dispatcher Console based on an Avaya Softphone application to manage calls, they for the first time can "see" radio calls on their computer monitor and answer in priority order, resulting in a more rapid response to important issues and emergencies.
"CLASSONE(TM) and our other systems and technology investments are enabling significant improvements in the way BNSF dispatches trains," said Jeff Campbell, BNSF vice president of technology services and CIO.
For continuity of operations in the event of a disaster, dispatchers and other contact center personnel are able to dial into BNSF's converged network from any phone, at any location, and still securely communicate with trains and track-side workers. Built-in failover capabilities allow calls to roll seamlessly to a backup servers or disaster recovery sites in the event of an outage so critical calls will not be dropped.
By moving to a single network infrastructure and reducing the amount of hardware required, BNSF is simplifying systems administration and building a solid foundation for the future.
"Since our network is based on open standards, we can easily add new capabilities and applications to support our business," Hicks said.
More About the Intelligent Communications Solutions Used by BNSF Railway
Avaya IP Telephony Solutions
Avaya Communication Manager provides centralized call control for a resilient, distributed network of media gateways and a wide range of analog, digital, and IP-based communication devices. It supports SIP, H.323 and other industry-standard communications protocols over a variety of different networks. Mobility applications, call center features, advanced conference calling and E911 capabilities are all built in. With Communication Manager, companies can centrally manage voicemail, attendant operations and call center functionality across multiple locations.
Avaya Interaction Center enables businesses like BNSF to manage customer contacts over email, Web chat, voice and video. They can better manage service levels across multiple media types and exceed customer expectations during each and every interaction. An open standards-based architecture simplifies design, deployment, and management. Businesses have the ability to leverage integration with enterprise data, third-party enterprise applications and multivendor switching systems.
Avaya Meeting Exchange(TM) offers a range of advanced conferencing capabilities, including reservationless, meet-me and Web-based. The application can be used both with traditional and IP telephony networks.
Avaya Computer Telephony server software integrates communications with business applications so that contact center personnel have ready access to the information they need to deliver optimal service.
ObjectTel Converged Communications Solutions
CLASSONE(TM) Dispatch is a highly scalable radio-to-telephone solution designed for mission critical applications - from transportation dispatch and disaster preparedness to public safety and emergency response. Avaya telephony software is used to control, route, identify, conference and classify CLASSONE(TM) Dispatch radio calls, just as if they were phone calls.
The open design and interoperability of CLASSONE(TM) Dispatch facilitates integration of converged communication networks, computer-aided monitoring and signaling systems, information systems, global positioning and mapping systems, video monitoring and business applications.
CLASSONE(TM) MidTier Application Services Servers manage telephony and radio interaction, while Field Interface Units act as a radio gateway.
CLASSONE(TM)Audio Control Units perform audio multiplexing and enable dispatchers to operate and monitor both telephone and radio base stations simultaneously.
About the Development and Use of CLASSONE(TM) Dispatch
"We selected Avaya Communication Manager, Avaya Meeting Exchange and the open, standards-based Application Enablement Services Avaya provides to build the core components of CLASSONE(TM)," said Todd Lehmann, ObjectTel director of technology solutions and a solution architect. "Avaya's solutions met our mandated requirements for scalability, high availability and resiliency, and they simplified our development of load balancing and failover capabilities for CLASSONE(TM)."
Lehmann added, "By using Avaya's communications platforms, we can easily and economically scale CLASSONE(TM) from the thousands of base radio stations used by BNSF down to a few radios for public safety, disaster response and first responder systems."
About Avaya Inc.
Avaya delivers Intelligent Communications solutions that help companies transform their businesses to achieve marketplace advantage. More than 1 million businesses worldwide, including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500(R), use Avaya solutions for IP Telephony, Unified Communications, Contact Centers and Communications-Enabled Business Processes. Avaya Global Services provides comprehensive service and support for companies, small to large. For more information visit the Avaya Web site: http://www.avaya.com/.
About ObjectTel Inc.
ObjectTel Inc. develops and implements superior, customer-driven solutions for contact centers, converged communication systems, outbound proactive communications, communications enabled business processes, and interoperable communication systems for radio, voice and video. As an Avaya BusinessPartner, a platinum Avaya DeveloperConnection member and a certified Avaya University Training Partner, ObjectTel delivers enterprise business solutions that help its clients break through communication barriers. For more information, visit the ObjectTel Web site: http://www.objecttel.com/.
Avaya Inc.
