One channel from the gate to the loading bay
A truck arrives, and three people who are not standing together need to know about it within a minute. On a channel, the gate says it once and the bay, the forklift and the driver all hear the same sentence at the same moment.
How many calls does it take to park a lorry
Everything in this sequence is already known to someone. The only question is how many conversations it takes to move it to the person who needs it.
PTT Talkie
A chain of phone calls
A group chat
What changes in a warehouse and on the road
Hands free at the dock and behind the wheel
A one-second hold of the volume-up key transmits with the screen locked, so a forklift driver does not have to stop the truck to answer, and a driver on the road does not have to take a hand off the wheel and look down at a screen.
Basements, cold stores and stacked containers
Coverage inside a large building is uneven and a stack of containers does the same thing outdoors. The app notices a dead connection and reconnects by itself, and what was said while someone was out of range is replayed in order when they return.
Drivers who are not your employees
A third-party carrier or an owner-driver can be added in about thirty seconds: a six-digit channel number and a nickname, with no account to create and nothing to sign. When they leave, an admin removes them from the channel.
Light on data and light on battery
Voice runs at a low speech bitrate, so a working day of channel traffic is a fraction of what the same time spent watching video would use. Background listening keeps the channel open with the screen off, and there is a built-in guide for the battery settings that would otherwise close it.
The points in a shift where it earns its place
| A truck at the gate | Gate tells the dock, the driver and the office at once |
|---|---|
| Loading and unloading | Forklift and bay coordinate with both hands free |
| Basement or cold store | The link drops and the app reconnects on its own |
| Drivers on the road | Background listening keeps the channel open on a long run |
| Third-party carriers | A six-digit number and a nickname — no account |
| Data consumption | Speech-optimised low bitrate, far below video |
| Devices | Android 7.0 and above, about 6.8 MB, no Google Play services |
The people a delivery passes through
Most depots start with one channel for the whole site and split the road traffic from the yard once volume justifies it.
Gate and security desk
Announcing arrivals and departures so nobody has to be found before a truck can move.
Loading bays
Dock staff, loaders and the office agreeing on which bay and in what order.
Forklifts and yard vehicles
Movement inside the yard communicated by voice instead of by horn.
Long-distance drivers
A driver reachable on the same channel for the whole run, hands on the wheel.
Third-party carriers
An outside haulier added for a single delivery without an account or a contract.
Depots across a region
Two or three sites staying one conversation instead of passing messages along.
Four things a busy yard needs
Standard features, not a premium tier.
Transmit from a locked screen with one hand, whether the phone is in a cradle, a pocket or a hi-vis vest.
Everyone on the channel hears the same sentence live and can answer immediately, which is what keeps a queue moving.
Online, listening or offline for each member, so you can tell whether the dock has anyone on before you send a truck over.
Lifts, basements, docksides and container stacks all break a link. The app re-establishes it without anyone being asked to restart anything.
Practical points for a depot
These are the four things worth deciding before rollout.
Questions from depot managers
The short answers, including the operational limits.
Can drivers use it while driving?
A one-second hold of the volume-up key transmits without looking at the screen, which is the same habit a radio user already has. Holding a phone to speak is still a decision each driver and each company has to make against local rules.
Does it work inside a warehouse or a cold store?
Usually, if there is mobile or Wi-Fi coverage. Where the signal disappears the link drops, and the app reconnects by itself once coverage returns, replaying what was said in the meantime.
Can we add an outside haulier for one delivery?
Yes. They install the app, type the six-digit channel number and a nickname, and they are on the channel. No account, no invitation and nothing to cancel afterwards — an admin removes them when the delivery is done.
How much data does a shift use?
Voice runs at a low speech bitrate, so a full working day of channel traffic is far less than the same time spent watching video. Exact figures depend on how much people talk and on how much of the time someone is transmitting.
Will the battery last a full shift?
Background listening keeps the channel alive with the screen off, and the app includes a guide to the battery-optimisation settings that would otherwise close it. A long day with a lot of talking is still worth checking on your own phones before rollout.
Our drivers speak different languages. Is that a problem?
The interface is available in nineteen languages with right-to-left layout for Arabic and Urdu, so each person can run the app in the language they read best.
Do we need Google Play on the devices?
No. It installs as a single APK of about 6.8 MB on Android 7.0 and above, including devices without Google Play services.
Put the gate and the bay on one channel
Download the APK, choose a six-digit number, and try it on the next delivery that would otherwise need three phone calls.