CASE STUDY: WA Water Police dispatch upgrade

The Western Australia Water Police has a lot of territory to cover - 13,000 kilometres of coastline of a state that itself covers 2,529,875 square kilometres, or about a third of Australia’s mainland.

Since 2006, the agency has used Zetron’s Advanced Communications (Acom) system in the Water Police Coordination Centre (WPCC) to manage its activities.

Although the system has worked well for the past eight years, over time Water Police’s needs have changed, such as requiring equipment that would support emerging technologies as well as the service’s projected expansion.

The WPCC’s recent installation of Zetron’s AcomEVO console system has provided the updated features, functionality and flexibility the agency was seeking.

Courtesy WA Water Police.

Managing maritime safety and security

The WA Water Police’s primary responsibility is ensuring the safety and security of those involved in maritime activities along Western Australia’s coastline. This includes overseeing search-and-rescue operations, boating activities and emergency operations. They also manage Marine Watch, a program similar to the Neighbourhood Watch programs many municipal police departments provide.

Other activities the Water Police monitors and oversees include: flare sightings; Coast Radio Perth/Coast Radio Hedland; 24/7 marine-radio listening watch; maritime investigations; and stolen vessel and motor enquiries.

The agency also supports a variety of local, regional and national agencies, including those that manage parks and wildlife, customs, transportation, and fire and emergency services.

Equipping the WPCC

Zetron was chosen in 2006 to help the Water Police install and implement communications equipment in what was then its new coordination centre - the WPCC. Zetron provided and assisted with implementing a new Acom console system, as well as upgrading the agency’s radio network and integrating its existing equipment with the Acom system.

The installation was a success, and for years the system performed reliably and well. Eventually, however, the agency’s requirements changed, so it initiated a process to purchase new, updated communications equipment that would address the new requirements.

The project was put out for bid and Zetron was selected, this time for the latest and most advanced incarnation of Acom - AcomEVO.

“We chose Zetron because of the suitability of their proposed products, personnel and services; their capacity and experience undertaking a project of this size and type; and their proposed training and warranty,” says David Pickerill, coordinator at WA Water Police. “We had confidence that Zetron would deliver the functionality and flexibility we need.”

The project included one AcomEVO digital switch, two AcomEVO consoles and the AcomEVO information management system.

The equipment set-up and factory acceptance testing (FAT) were conducted at the Zetron Australasia office near Brisbane.

The next stage involved installing the equipment at the customer’s site. To ensure that there were no disruptions to the WPCC’s operations while the implementation was underway, the new equipment was installed and tested alongside the existing system, which was kept running. Once the installation and integration of the new console system was finalised, the cutover was completed, and the previous system was removed.

Courtesy WA Water Police.

On-site training

Zetron provided on-site training to the Radio and Electronics Support Unit technicians and the WPCC operators. Technicians were trained in the configuration of the equipment and operators were trained in the use of the console.

“Our operators were able to learn the new system easily and quickly,” says Pickerill. “Not only is the AcomEVO system inherently easy to use, but the new system is an advanced version of our previous one and very similar to it in operation. So the operators were able to transition to it more easily than if it had been an entirely different system or more challenging to operate.”

Several aspects of the project that were unique to the WPCC included the number of remote sites the equipment had to support and the level of integration the WPCC required.

“The new system had to give us operational control of HF and VHF radio transceivers at 18 remote sites, with connections to these sites by microwave link and RoIP,” Pickerill explains. “In addition, our existing radio systems had to be integrated into the new AcomEVO console. This was a complex process, but any issues that arose were resolved readily by Zetron and the Radio and Electronics Support Unit.”

A successful outcome

The WPCC’s new system went live in April of 2014. Pickerill has praise for the improvements the equipment is delivering as well as the process that went into installing it. “Our operators appreciate the fact that the new system combines into one console all of the radios that were previously operated by handsets and other consoles,” he says. “This greatly simplifies the operators’ tasks.

“Not only did the installation go smoothly,” he adds, “but the approach that was used allowed us to maintain operational functionality the entire time, which was critically important to us. In addition, all issues relating to integration were resolved to our satisfaction. The solution fully meets our goals.”