During my time as General Manager at Messaging Software Solutions (MSS), I was responsible for leading the design, implementation, and successful delivery of critical infrastructure and safety technology projects across multiple provinces in South Africa. These initiatives supported police, fire, and emergency response operations in both urban and remote regions.
Each project required deep cross-functional collaboration, vendor negotiation, team coordination, and full-spectrum delivery oversight, from scoping and technical planning to client training and final handover.
Projects were highly sensitive in nature, and while detailed specifications are restricted, formal acknowledgements of success were issued and are included below.
Tlokwe Local Municipality – Fire and Emergency Dispatch Integration
- Led the rollout of a multi-layered GSM switching and emergency notification platform.
- Designed and implemented a unique fire bell activation system with differentiated tones for fire and ambulance alerts.
- The bell system triggered immediate alerting at fire departments upon call receipt, even before full dispatch details were collected, saving critical seconds in rural emergency responses. Different siren tones alerted different teams.
- Integrated call centre software with client dispatch systems using FTP protocols.
- Trained the client’s internal IT team in technical support and delivered full shift-based training for control room operators on system use and escalation processes.
Nkangala District Municipality – Radio Paging & SMS System Deployment
- Delivered a customised solution focused on dedicated radio paging as the primary alerting system due to unreliable GSM coverage in outlying areas.
- The system included SMS redundancy, but radio was prioritised for reliability and range.
- Collaborated with stakeholders to ensure robust integration into existing dispatch workflows.
- Unlike Tlokwe, auto-ring fire bell systems were not deployed, but the paging backbone shared a similar architecture.
- Recognised for practical design thinking in difficult terrain and for improving frontline activation without requiring additional infrastructure investment.
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