Marion County Indiana Implements Battery Test & Replace™ from GTS
Marion County, Indiana surrounds Indianapolis and is the most populous county in the state. Overseen by Sheriff John R. Layton, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) utilizes a fleet of over 800 Motorola XTS5000 radios to stay in contact and complete critical tasks. Sheriff Layton recognized that MSCO’s aging battery fleet was limiting critical communications and wasting valuable time and money. He tasked Major Hank Bosworth with finding a cost effective way to identify the health of their failing battery fleet. Sheriff Layton and Major Bosworth found a solution in Test & Replace™—a battery management service—from GTS.
After testing a random sample of batteries from the field across Marion County, GTS created a profile of the overall health of MCSO’s battery fleet. Using data from the analysis, they set custom thresholds to define the health of each battery in the field. Over the course of 3 days, GTS deployed independent field auditors from RGIS to locations throughout Marion County. Scheduling around shift changes, even at 4:00am, they tested each battery in the field without disruption to county operations. The batteries that fell below the agreed-upon critera were immediately replaced on-site with healthy ones. Marginal batteries were deployed in non-critical applications, allowing the county to maximize the useful life of their batteries.
Following Test & Replace™, Marion County now has a healthy fleet of radio batteries to properly power their critical radios. With GTS high performance batteries, MSCO benefits from longer runtimes and reliable, safer communications. During daily routines or in times of emergency, the sheriffs can rely on their radios to power through multiple shifts. The data compiled about their batteries gives Marion County the insight they need about their fleet, enabling efficient communications and accurate budgeting.
“For the first time we are able to properly budget for replacement batteries while ensuring our users have the batteries they need to properly power their radios. Test and Replace gave me the data and insight needed to avoid costly surprises.”
Julie Ann Keen
Chief Financial Officer
Marion County Sheriff’s Office
“We knew GTS manufactures a quality product, having used some GTS NEOCELL batteries for the past two years. The key for us was getting rid of the chirp in our deputies’ ears as their batteries were dying 8 or 9 hours into their 12-hour shifts. Deputies were pleased to be getting a new battery that weighs about half as much as their old ones and allows them to get through two 12-hour shifts without recharging.”