Dispatch Communications Platform for Railroad Freight

Proven

For more than 40 years, Avtec has set the standard for dispatch communication systems that perform without fail. That’s why today, most railroad networks choose our Scout dispatch consoles, including:

• 70% of Class I railroads in North America
• Hundreds of short-line, regional, and transit railroads in the United States
• All the leading freight railroads in Mexico and South America

Scalable

Whether for a main line, yard, disaster recovery, intermodal, or maintenance operation, Scout is a pure VoIP solution that can meet your specific dispatch requirements. Innately scalable, its components can be distributed over a LAN/ WAN infrastructure using standard Ethernet technology without the need for a centralized time-division multiplex (TDM) switch. Also, Scout can grow in capacity and capabilities as your requirements change over time, including remote and “pooled resource” dispatch console usage capabilities.

Reliable

When hundreds of employees work alongside tons of locomotives and freight cars, exceptional audio quality, high availability and fail-safe operation are absolute must-haves. Scout provides exactly that with its robust voice communication architecture. And its built-in redundancies for critical components and functions ensure that your railroad communications are always on.

Because on the tracks, every day is a mission-critical day.

Safety

U.S. freight railroads have lower employee injury rates than most other major industries—even lower than grocery stores.* Technology and automation have certainly played a role, but clear communication is and always will be the key to safety. From a Scout console, your dispatchers can safely and efficiently manage:

• Locomotive and track-side two-way radio communications to the dispatch center
• Yard, intermodal and maintenance facilities activity
• Disaster recovery operations

IT-Friendly

Your IT directors and managers will appreciate the flexible setup and simplified maintenance of a Scout system. We’ve developed our dispatch software with IT in mind, with features that include:/p>

• Open standards architecture, so you are not locked into a proprietary system
• Compatibility with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) PCs, servers and monitors
• Optional virtualized (VMWare) back-office functions to leverage enterprise server environment
• Support for USB peripherals (both Avtec designed/manufactured and COTS)
• Dashboard-based performance monitoring/reporting and alarm notifications
• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) message exporting

*Source: Association of American Railroads

Technology Integration

Scout dispatch consoles integrate with legacy and Next Gen third-party technologies to provide one-touch access to locomotive/wayside radios. They support rail industry DTMF calling as well as common radio and telephony interfaces, including:

• Standard analog FM
• NXDN for both conventional and trunked modes
• DMR Tiers II & III
• MOTOTRBO complete system suite
• P25 for both conventional and trunked modes
• Traditional and IP-based PBXs

Support

Avtec ScoutCare™ is our subscription-based maintenance and support program, which provides your Scout system with automatic access to the latest software releases. Put simply, it provides a valuable safety net for your mission-critical communications. With ScoutCare you get:

• 24/7/365 technical support from Scout system experts
• The latest Scout software releases and patches with new capabilities and enhanced security
• Annual system administrator training (new and refresher)
• Access to Avtec Connect—our web-based information portal—featuring product guides, software release notes and training videos

Scout EX

Avtec Scout EX is our most robust solution and is able to monitor up to 250 audio streams and 2,000 channels. If your railroad operation needs a secure, scalable and redundant console solution to manage hundreds of resources on a daily basis, you can depend on Scout EX.

Scout E8

Avtec Scout E8 can monitor up to eight audio streams and eight channels at a time, providing maximum value for a minimal investment. And because it is compatible with all Scout Enterprise products, you can easily expand this system as your dispatch communications center grows.

Scout E4

The Avtec Scout E4 console manages up to four audio streams and eight channels at a time. This cost-effective solution is compatible with Scout EX and E8 consoles, so you can add additional software licenses when you need them.

Broadband PTT

WAVE is the industry’s broadest portfolio of LTE and Wi-Fi devices for instant communications and radio network interoperability, enabling the perfect fit for your railroad organization’s needs. For example, this subscription-based group communication service offers many push-to-talk (PTT) options, so your employees can be easily connected no matter their device, network or location.

Emergency Call Management

Both the VESTA^® 9-1-1 and CALLWORKS call handling solutions provide a suite of software and services that cost-effectively manages the process of receiving and dispatching emergency calls. In fact, over 60% of all 9-1-1 calls in the U.S. are processed by these solutions. Help your railroad police and/or security departments take the crucial first step toward integrated, multimedia communications, while providing seamless workflows, technology migration and deployment options that assist those tasked with security and safety in saving time, money and lives.

Video Security and Analytics

The video security, video analytics, access control and license plate recognition solutions provided by AVIGILON& and VIGILANT ensure your operation receives the right information at the right time. For example, Avigilon and Vigilant cameras can be deployed wayside, in rail yards, or key vehicle entry points, providing your dispatchers with visual insight to improve overall security.

Situational Awareness

CommandCentral Aware is a cloud- based location and mapping solution that serves as an enhanced centralized integration point for your Scout dispatch communications, WAVE Broadband PTT, MOTOTRBO Radio Systems (other systems are planned), and Avigilon and Vigilant video solutions. Keep your people connected when it matters most, quickly providing situational awareness and effective responses. View critical environments, then locate and notify your railroad teams instantly of dangerous situations, inclement weather, workplace violence, among countless other situations.