https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • WHY ATTEND
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Registration Opens April 2019-Join Our Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Commentary Newsletters


Experience is the best teacher

Experience is the best teacher

I jumped at the chance last week to participate in firefighter training at the University of Illinois. Each year, Motorola brings product managers, marketers and design engineers to the training facility. The belief is that product design shouldn’t be conducted in an ivory tower; ergo, the opportunity to experience what firefighters experience, albeit in a controlled environment, will provide valuable insights that will help them to develop products that are more effective in the field.
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 5th November 2009

I always wanted to be a firefighter. I didn’t become one because I was born about 10 years too early. No one in my family ever had attended college, and my blue-collar parents believed that a college degree was the key that would open the door to a better life. They insisted that I be the first. Unfortunately, few — if any — colleges at the time offered fire service — oriented curricula. So, I became a journalist. But the dream still lingers within, like a faintly glowing ember.

Given that, it should come as no surprise that I jumped at the chance last week to participate in firefighter training at the University of Illinois. Each year, Motorola brings product managers, marketers and design engineers to the training facility. The belief is that product design shouldn’t be conducted in an ivory tower; ergo, the opportunity to experience what firefighters experience, albeit in a controlled environment, will provide valuable insights that will help them to develop products that are more effective in the field.

That’s quite important, said lead instructor Mark Krizik — a Motorola systems engineer who doubles as a lieutenant with the fire department in the Chicago suburb of Posen, Ill. — as there’s just too much to deal with when on the fireground. Equipment must be donned, breathing gear must be working properly, instructions have to be understood and myriad hazards must be avoided — for instance, it’s generally not a good idea to fall through a floor, especially if it means landing in the basement where the blaze started — a common occurrence, I was told, as basements generally are where heat-generating devices such as furnaces and clothes dryers are located. Then there’s the weighty matter of knocking down the fire and rescuing victims.

“The radio is the last thing a firefighter wants to think about,” Krizik said.

After an initial orientation, we were divided into teams and issued gear, including helmets, air tank and mask, turnout coat and gloves — everything but the pants and boots. Then we were put through the paces, replicating over several hours the duties of an engine company, a ladder company and incident command. After one of our rotations, I overheard one of my teammates, a Motorola marketing manager, tell a colleague, “I had to take off my gloves in order to use the lapel mike.” She added that the experience was an eye-opener, as she discovered that using the lapel microphone while wearing heavy gloves was much tougher to do than she had thought.

The day was filled with other similar revelations. The Motorola people learned a great deal about the rigors of firefighting and how those rigors affect how firefighters use their products — what works and what doesn’t. And I learned a little something about Motorola.

What do you think? Tell us in the comment box below.

Tags: Commentary Newsletters Mobile Voice Commentary Networks & Systems Commentary

Related


  • Ransomware? Let's call it what it really is: extortionware
    Just as the targets of these attacks have shifted from individuals to corporations, so too has the narrow focus given way to applying force and pressure to pay. No one needs reminding that ransomware has reached incredible proportions; one widely reported statistic from Purplesec suggests that $20 billion was paid out in 2020. That’s almost double its […]
  • Redefining communications for today’s mobile workforces
    Communicating with personnel was already a challenge for companies with workers in the field, deskless staff who travel, as well as widespread workforces in siloed divisions and office locations. Now that COVID-19 has all but eradicated traditional in-person relationships and many in-office team members are now working remotely, keeping everyone synced is an even more […]
  • Hi-tech sewer can help safeguard public health, environment and economies
    In the wake of the coronavirus, economic recovery is top of mind for all city leaders, the majority of whom believe that investing in infrastructure and technology can spur a rebound. Yet current analyses indicate that we only have funding available to cover approximately 57 percent of infrastructure system improvements through 2029, leaving an investment gap of $2.6 […]
  • Public safety needs a better way to triage emergency calls
    The overarching goal of the public-safety community is to ensure that 911 callers receive the most appropriate emergency response as quickly as possible. Lives often are on the line in an emergency, and every second matters. Achieving a balance between sending the optimal response to an emergency and having it arrive as fast as possible […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Coronavirus is a wake-up call. Are you listening?
  • Verizon, AT&T withdraw from smart-city efforts
  • 3 tips for mitigating the ransomware threat to government offices
  • In a new data decade, constituent experience reigns

Commentary


Ransomware? Let’s call it what it really is: extortionware

21st February 2021

Redefining communications for today’s mobile workforces

18th February 2021

Hi-tech sewer can help safeguard public health, environment and economies

18th February 2021
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

Intel, Microsoft aim for breakthrough in DARPA encryption project dlvr.it/RvFcRV

9th March 2021
UrgentComm

Ericsson pulls the plug on MWC Barcelona again dlvr.it/RvFcQM

9th March 2021
UrgentComm

Intelsat and SES: C-band calm hides a brutal legal storm dlvr.it/RvCnwl

8th March 2021
UrgentComm

Securing the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) dlvr.it/RvCllK

8th March 2021
UrgentComm

ADRF targets smaller facilities with new in-building public-safety repeater dlvr.it/RvClgF

8th March 2021
UrgentComm

Microsoft adopted ‘aggressive’ strategy for sharing SolarWinds Attack intel dlvr.it/Rv9vmp

8th March 2021
UrgentComm

How SolarWinds busted up our assumptions about code signing dlvr.it/Rv25kB

5th March 2021
UrgentComm

Senate American Rescue plan calls for more than $60 million in direct aid for counties dlvr.it/Rv1wGF

5th March 2021

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • Microwave/RF
  • T&D World
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X