Radios and intercoms have been factory communication staples for decades. They're familiar, inexpensive, and require no special infrastructure.
But they have real limitations that become painfully obvious in busy manufacturing environments. This article covers the specific problems—based on how manufacturers describe their own experiences—and what to look for in alternatives.
The Noise Problem
Factory floors are loud. Presses, conveyors, grinders, compressors, and HVAC systems create constant background noise that drowns out audio communication.
Radio calls that work perfectly in an office become inaudible on the production floor. Even at full volume, the chirp of an incoming call gets lost when you're standing next to running equipment.
The Workarounds and Their Limitations
Earpieces help but aren't always practical. In environments where hearing protection is required, wearing an earpiece under earmuffs is uncomfortable at best. In clean rooms or food facilities, personal electronics may be restricted.
Volume at maximum works until it doesn't. You either have it loud enough to hear over equipment (and annoying in quiet moments) or quiet enough to be tolerable (and missed when noise picks up).
Vibrating alerts solve the audio problem but require the person to actually have the device on them—which brings us to the next issue.
The Missed Call Problem
"I had one guy the other day go into our other building. And for an hour and a half, he wasn't—he didn't know that they're pressing."
That's how one medical device manufacturer described a communication breakdown. A technician was out of range, and operators kept calling. No one knew the calls weren't getting through.
Why Calls Get Missed
Out of range. Technician steps outside, goes to another building, or works in a dead zone. They don't receive the call, and there's no indication to the caller that it didn't go through.
Battery dead. Radio sat on the charger overnight—except it didn't seat properly. Now it's dead at 10 AM.
Not carrying it. "Right now it's like a light or a radio—not everybody carries the radio." If carrying a radio is optional, some people won't have one when you need them.
Busy on another call. Radio conversations are one-to-one. If the maintenance tech is already on a call, your call to them doesn't queue up—it just doesn't happen.
The Invisible Failure
The dangerous part: the caller doesn't know the call failed. They pressed the button, heard the transmission go out, and assumed someone would respond. From their perspective, they did their part.
This creates silent failures. Operators wait for help that will never come, and no one realizes there's a problem until much later.
The "He Said She Said" Problem
"You wouldn't know which ones had been responded to."
That's how one aerospace manufacturer described their situation with traditional communication. Calls went out, responses happened (or didn't), but there was no record.
No Record of Calls
Radio conversations disappear the moment they end. There's no log of:
- When a call was made
- Who made it
- Who responded
- How long it took
No Record of Response
When a production manager asks "how long did operators wait for maintenance yesterday?" the answer with radios is: "I don't know."
This makes accountability impossible. If someone claims they responded quickly and the operator claims they waited twenty minutes, there's no data to resolve the dispute.
No Metrics for Improvement
One manufacturer described their legacy system plainly: "No metrics tracking."
You can't improve what you can't measure. Without data on response times, call volumes, and patterns, continuous improvement efforts have nothing to work with.
The Accountability Gap
"All just respond to calls whenever they get it."
That quote captures a common problem with broadcast communication like radios and intercoms: everyone hears the call, but no one is specifically responsible for responding.
When Everyone Is Responsible, No One Is
A call goes out over the intercom: "Maintenance to Line 3."
Who responds?
- Maybe the closest tech
- Maybe the one who's least busy
- Maybe no one, because everyone assumes someone else will handle it
Multiple Responses, Wasted Effort
Sometimes the opposite happens. Three technicians hear the call and all head to Line 3, leaving other areas uncovered. By the time they realize they've triple-responded, time and effort have been wasted.
Calls Fall Through the Cracks
Without assigned ownership, some calls simply don't get answered. Everyone heard it. Everyone assumed someone else was closer or less busy. The operator waits, and waits, and eventually gives up or walks off to find help themselves.
The Escalation Gap
"It's been 5 minutes and no one has came to cell two."
What happens then?
With radios: nothing automatic. The call just sits. Maybe someone notices and sends a reminder. Maybe they don't.
No Automatic Escalation
Systematic escalation requires knowing that a call went unanswered. Radios don't track whether calls were answered or how long they've been waiting.
This means escalation—if it happens at all—depends on someone manually noticing and taking action. That's not a system; it's a hope.
Calls Sit Indefinitely
Without escalation, an unanswered call remains unanswered until:
- The operator gives up
- Someone happens to walk by
- The shift ends and someone notices during handoff
When Radios and Intercoms Work Fine
To be fair, radios and intercoms aren't always the wrong choice.
Small Facilities
If you can see your entire operation from one spot and have only a handful of people, complex communication systems may be overkill. Shouting across the room works when the room is small.
Low-Noise Environments
In quiet offices, labs, or low-volume operations, audio clarity isn't an issue. Calls get heard.
Few Simultaneous Calls
If calls are rare—maybe a few per day—the limitations matter less. The occasional missed call or lack of records isn't catastrophic when volumes are low.
Records Don't Matter
Some operations don't need documentation. If no one will ever ask "how long did it take to respond?" then the lack of records isn't a problem.
If your operation fits these criteria, radios may be perfectly adequate. The problems emerge at scale, in noisy environments, or when accountability matters.
What to Look for in Alternatives
When radios and intercoms fall short, what should you look for instead?
Direct Notification to Individuals
Instead of broadcast calls that everyone hears (and no one owns), route alerts to specific responders. The maintenance call goes to maintenance, not to everyone.
Automatic Logging
Every call should create a record: when it was made, who made it, when it was acknowledged, when it was resolved. This enables accountability and improvement.
Escalation When Calls Aren't Answered
If a call sits for a defined time without response, the system should automatically notify a backup or supervisor. This ensures nothing falls through the cracks.
Data for Continuous Improvement
"We'd be looking obviously for improvement over that. I'd like to have call buttons that give you the option to track the metric."
That's what manufacturers want: the ability to measure, analyze, and improve. Systems that capture response time data enable this.
Notification That Works in Noise
Vibrating wearables, visual displays, or digital notifications work where audio fails. If responders can receive alerts without hearing them, the noise problem disappears.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are radios completely obsolete?
No. For some applications—security, management communication, emergency coordination—radios remain useful. The issue is using them as the primary mechanism for production support calls.
Can we use radios alongside other systems?
Yes. Many facilities use radios for ad-hoc communication while using dedicated alert systems for production support. The systems serve different purposes.
What about smartphone apps?
Smartphone apps can provide logging and routing, but they have their own limitations: screens crack in industrial environments, notifications get lost among other app alerts, and not all workers carry personal phones.
How much does noise really matter?
It depends on your environment. If your production floor is quiet, audio communication works. If it's loud—and most manufacturing is—missed calls become routine rather than exceptional.
Moving Beyond "Good Enough"
Radios and intercoms have served manufacturing for decades. For simple operations, they still work.
But as facilities grow, as accountability requirements increase, and as continuous improvement becomes expected, their limitations become harder to ignore.
The problems aren't theoretical. Manufacturers describe them in their own words: calls missed for an hour and a half, no records of who responded, everyone responding to the same call while others wait.
Better alternatives exist. The question is whether the problems are painful enough to justify the change.
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