Mall of america ® upgrades communications for a better visitor experience

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JASII

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There seems to be a fair amount of interest in the Mall Of America communications systems over the years. Maybe there won't be anything new in here for members, but I think it is interesting anyway.

http://www.motorolasolutions.com/co...otrbo/MOTOTRBO-mall-of-america-case-study.pdf

MOTOTRBO

DIGITAL RADIO SYSTEM FITS THEIR SIZEABLE REQUIREMENTS
MALL OF AMERICA

UPGRADES COMMUNICATIONS FOR A BETTER VISITOR EXPERIENCE
Mall of America (MOA) is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world. Minutes from Minneapolis and St. Paul, it is the biggest mall in the U.S. with 520 stores, 50-plus restaurants and attractions galore, including the nation’s largest indoor theme park. Over 40 million visitors pass through its doors each year – almost eight times the population of the entire state of Minnesota. At 96 acres, the size of seven Yankee baseball stadiums, and over 12,000 employees, the scale of MOA presents significant communication challenges. “We operate like a municipality,” explains Chad Martin, Communications Manager for MOA Security. “There are many moving pieces, from security and engineering to housekeeping and groundskeeping, and everything goes through our centralized command center. We all must communicate with each other, and the primary means is our radio system.”
Because the safety of visitors and staff is a top priority, MOA sought to upgrade their communications to strengthen security and streamline operations. After carefully evaluating options, they selected Motorola’s MOTOTRBO digital two-way radio system as the perfect fit for their diverse departments, many users and
super-size footprint.

CASE STUDY
MALL OF AMERICA
Eliminate Interference, Static And Dead Zones
Like many operations with older analog radio systems, MOA was experiencing persistent coverage and frequency issues. Employees were interrupted by interference and loud static blasts over their analog radios. This was particularly annoying for team members who wore earpieces. Certain areas of the massive mall were punctuated by dead zones, forcing employees to walk to another location to communicate on their radios or use personal cell phones. “Logistically our mall presents a number of challenges because it is so big,” says Chad Martin, MOA Communications Manager. “It is four levels, concrete, with many parking ramps and service corridors. Being able to communicate with anyone, wherever they are, is critical to our operations.” Communicate Instantly And Clearly, Anywhere “Mall of America had a lot of coverage and intermodulation issues,” says Julian Powers, Communications Consultant at Infinity Wireless Inc., the local Motorola channel partner.
“Not only was there a lack of communication on lower levels and random blasts of noise, but frustration as radio users could hear unrelated people on their channels.” This was particularly problematic for MOA staff who needed secure, reliable, clear communications at any
moment. “If someone else was keyed up, we would have to wait for them to finish before we could transmit. Regardless of whether it was a maintenance team outside or security personnel inside, all our radio users were affected,” adds Chad Martin.
THE CHALLENGE

Motorola is a very trusted
manufacturer and a leader
in critical communications.
Their products like
MOTOTRBO are full featured,
competitively priced and the
industry standard.”
Chad Martin,
Communications Manager for
Security, Mall of America

CASE STUDY
MALL OF AMERICA
Key Features And Operations-Critical Capabilities
In the hustle and bustle of the nation’s largest mall, communications must be clear,
continuous and always available, both for everyday efficiency and emergency response.
As Martin describes, one of the greatest benefits of MOTOTRBO is the added
capabilities that weren’t possible before.
“The caller ID seems like a small feature, but it really does makes a difference,” he says.
“Previously when our dispatchers communicated with multiple departments with analog
radios, they may not have known who was calling. Because the MOTOTRBO digital system
identifies the radio user, it definitely improves our response and efficiency.”
MOTOTRBO’s transmit interrupt is a critical feature MOA relies on to send out priority
transmissions. If someone is talking, they can immediately break into radio traffic and
convey information instantly. Group calling is of real benefit for reaching the right
personnel at the right moment.
“Our security teams operate on several different channels and there are times where
we want to talk to them all at once,” says Martin. “We can flip to a channel and
broadcast a description or send out important information to a specific group and not do
a fleetwide announcement to every radio.”
MOTOTRBO Digital: A Perfect Fit For Diverse Demands
After investigating and testing a variety of radio systems,
MOA worked with Infinity Wireless to upgrade their existing
non-Motorola radios to Motorola’s MOTOTRBO digital
communications. Chad Martin, a 16-year veteran of MOA
Security, notes that the mall’s size and the number of visitors
and events make communications operations-critical.
“Motorola is a trusted name in the public safety industry and
cutting edge. If we’re going to be cutting edge and grow, we
need a partner who will grow with us,” he says.
MOTOTRBO XPR 7550 and SL 7500 digital radios were
distributed to employees in a number of departments, from
security to attractions, maintenance to housekeeping. “A
portion of our security and other personnel prefer the slim,
lightweight SL 7550 portables. They’re great for anyone
who doesn’t want to carry a bigger radio. Many of our other
teams use the XPR 7550. For their daily physical demands,
these rugged radios are ideal,” says Martin. “I’ve seen
them dropped and they work just fine. It’s important they
can take abuse.”
THE SOLUTION

It is very important to have reliable, clear and
continuous communications that can grow with
us, and MOTOTRBO was the right choice.”
Chad Martin,
Communications Manager for Security, Mall of America

CASE STUDY
MALL OF AMERICA
To find the right MOTOTRBO system sized to your operation,
visit
MOTOTRBO Professional Two-Way Radios - Motorola Two-Way Radios - Motorola Solutions - Motorola Solutions USA
or contact
your local Motorola representative.
MOTOROLA, MOTO, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC
and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2015 Motorola, Inc. All rights reserved.
Clear, Efficient, Always Available Communications
From outdoor parking lots to indoor service corridors,
MOTOTRBO digital radios are connecting personnel with
real-time communications so they can collaborate more
safely and efficiently. “We’ve eliminated the random static
blasts and radio interference,” says Julian Powers of
Infinity Wireless.
Before MOTOTRBO, interference problems made it difficult
for MOA’s dispatch to know who was calling or understand
the message. “We would hear something over the radio
that sounded important, and if we followed up and no one
responded, we had no idea who it was,” explains Martin.
“Now we can look at the radio ID and know where the call
emanated from – such as an exterior maintenance vehicle,
security officer or housekeeper. When you are responsible
for all these people, knowing who and where they are is
absolutely critical.”
From an administrative standpoint, MOTOTRBO has been
a major improvement whether MOA is using over-the-air
battery fleet management or remotely disabling a lost radio.
“I really appreciate the over-the-air programming,” says
Martin. “Being able to sit at my desk, log into my computer
and make changes to hundreds of radios at once is efficient
versus having people bring in individual radios.”
Seamless Scalability As The Mall Expands
With plans underway for a second multi-million
dollar expansion of the mall – including a water park,
major hotel and office buildings – the flexibility of
the MOTOTRBO system is invaluable. Not only can
applications be easily added to radios as deployment
continues, but capacity can be enlarged to accommodate
many more new users.
“Because our staff responsibility grows with the physical
expansion of the mall, our radio system has to be
expandable,” says Chad Martin. “As new structures
and areas open, our radio communications must be
seamless, wherever personnel are. It is very important
to have a scalable system like MOTOTRBO that can
grow with our needs.”
THE BENEFITS
Clear, Efficient, Always Available Communications
From outdoor parking lots to indoor service corridors,
MOTOTRBO digital radios are connecting personnel with
real-time communications so they can collaborate more
safely and efficiently. “We’ve eliminated the random static
blasts and radio interference,” says Julian Powers of
Infinity Wireless.
Before MOTOTRBO, interference problems made it difficult
for MOA’s dispatch to know who was calling or understand
the message. “We would hear something over the radio
that sounded important, and if we followed up and no one
responded, we had no idea who it was,” explains Martin.
“Now we can look at the radio ID and know where the call
emanated from – such as an exterior maintenance vehicle,
security officer or housekeeper. When you are responsible
for all these people, knowing who and where they are is
absolutely critical.”
From an administrative standpoint, MOTOTRBO has been
a major improvement whether MOA is using over-the-air
battery fleet management or remotely disabling a lost radio.
“I really appreciate the over-the-air programming,” says
Martin. “Being able to sit at my desk, log into my computer
and make changes to hundreds of radios at once is efficient
versus having people bring in individual radios.”
Seamless Scalability As The Mall Expands
With plans underway for a second multi-million
dollar expansion of the mall – including a water park,
major hotel and office buildings – the flexibility of
the MOTOTRBO system is invaluable. Not only can
applications be easily added to radios as deployment
continues, but capacity can be enlarged to accommodate
many more new users.
“Because our staff responsibility grows with the physical
expansion of the mall, our radio system has to be
expandable,” says Chad Martin. “As new structures
and areas open, our radio communications must be
seamless, wherever personnel are. It is very important
to have a scalable system like MOTOTRBO that can
grow with our needs.
 
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SCPD

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Has anyone had time to digest their system?. Last I heard it all was ENC, but I live too far north to get a reliable copy to run DSD. More Motorola patting themselves on their back on such a good sale to MOA.
 
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