Babcock’s search and rescue (SAR) team is boosting the service it provides offshore workers by replacing hard-wired helicopter intercom with a new wireless network.
The new system, provided by GlobalSys, gives the entire team wire-free communications through their helmets.
And it doesn’t just keep the on-board team in communication. It also extends to doctors and winchmen as they are lowered out of the aircraft onto vessels or into the water to help people.
The new system can link up to eight helmets at the same time and is engineered specifically for the team’s needs.
It has been formally accepted after a detailed series of tests and trials and has now been installed on both Babcock’s AW139 SAR helicopters based at Aberdeen.
Babcock SAR operations manager, Paul Walters, said: “This wireless network is unlike anything I’ve seen used in a SAR aircraft before and will help us provide a truly world-class service for men and women working in the North Sea for years to come.
“Search and Rescue is all about teamwork so communications are critical but helicopters are noisy and we often work with the door open over rough seas.
“This new system blocks out the noise and makes it effortless to speak and be understood without any wires getting in the way.
“It feels like we are just talking normally – whether we are in the pilot’s seat or hanging from a winch 50 feet underneath the aircraft.”
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