Curious - Cell Phone Jammers

[Belinda Barfield]

If you are an employer, do you have a cell phone jammer at your place of business? If so, is there one you would recommend. Shop is 14,000 square feet.

If you are an employee, does your employer utilize a cell phone jammer? Just curious on this one.

Thanks for your input?

[Dan Friedrichs]

I may be wrong, but despite the ease of buying a cell phone jammer, I think they're outright illegal in the US.

[Belinda Barfield]

Well, that answered that question. Hadn't looked into that aspect of things yet. Thanks Dan.

[Matt Meiser]

Put on a metal siding and a metal roof. That's usually pretty effective in most plants I go to. The one I was in last week actually had to install a repeater in the engineering office so phones would work there. And the repeater was still only repeating Verizon, not ATT so some of the guys had to get new corporate phones.

Out on the plant floor I'd get 1, maybe 2 bars. Everyone on our project team was mooching (in a respectful manner) data from me.

Seems like reasonable policy would be a better way to go--i.e. a policy that lets them occasionally, safely use them on breaks or emergencies. Or just ban them from bringing them out on the floor--tell them to keep them in their lockers or cars.

[Belinda Barfield]

Metal siding and metal roof already in place. I guess the next step is to ban cell phones in the shop.

[Matt Meiser]

Had the same thought and edited my thread to add that. I've been in a few places where texting is banned for the same reason texting bans while driving are happening. To easy to be distracted from safety. But having the phones there can save critical time in an emergency. One place I go banned all cell phones for a long time, then recently switched to actually keeping track of visitors' numbers for emergency. That's on a little different scale than your location though.

[Tom Winship]

.......Seems like reasonable policy would be a better way to go--i.e. a policy that lets them occasionally, safely use them on breaks or emergencies. .

Matt I agree with this since I am "old school"; i.e., be reasonable in everything. However, this won't work because when you tell John he has used up his "reasonable" limit, then he tells you that Jim uses his more. Downhill from there.

[David G Baker]

Aren't jammers used in theaters to block cell phone use? They may not be available to the public but it may be worth doing the research.

[Belinda Barfield]

David, you can order them and have them delivered, but apparently you can't actually use them.

New policy effective Monday is no cell phone use during work hours other than breaks and lunch. We've asked nicely, we've stated it verbally, it is in the employee handbook. It goes out in writing with paychecks on Thursday. I'm getting tired of paying $20 an hour for texting.

[Belinda Barfield]

P.S. it annoys me when the powers that be tell me what I can and can't do in my business on private property.

[harry hood]

P.S. it annoys me when the powers that be tell me what I can and can't do in my business on private property.

Well, the airwaves aren't your private property. But that sounds like an entirely reasonable policy to me, I'm really surprised more businesses don't have similar ones. Texting is the new smoking after all and if an employee spent their whole day sitting around smoking they'd get fired pretty quickly.

[Greg Portland]

P.S. it annoys me when the powers that be tell me what I can and can't do in my business on private property.

You would be stealing from other companies. They have purchased the right to use that bandwidth... any device that you install is considered stealing that bandwidth (just like pirate radio, etc.).

Having said that, there is nothing illegal about taking passive measures. For example, you could turn your building into a giant Faraday cage. Since you already have metal siding and a metal roof your should just need to beef up the building's connection to ground (multiple ground rods, 7-8ft deep, tied into the building's siding). Ensure that all the metal panels are electrically tied to each other. Any large holes will significantly reduce the effectiveness of the cage.

[Belinda Barfield]

You would be stealing from other companies. They have purchased the right to use that bandwidth... any device that you install is considered stealing that bandwidth (just like pirate radio, etc.).

To all who have responded to my P.S. comment, understand that I have no idea how jammers actually work, so please forgive my stupidity.

[Jason Roehl]

To all who have responded to my P.S. comment, understand that I have no idea how jammers actually work, so please forgive my stupidity.

Belinda, that's not stupidity, it's ignorance--which you have now shed by asking the question and having it answered. Ignorance is fixed by learning. Stupid can't be fixed.

Being a self-employed contractor, I make/take calls all day long. I've taken to ignoring any whose number I don't recognize--those can go to voicemail. Otherwise, some days I wouldn't get anything done. Another (very successful) contractor once told me that he has an employee who has been like a member of the family for over 20 years, and if he caught that employee on the phone during work hours, he'd only get one warning.

I'm with some of the others--get tough on the clock, but break time is their time. Emergencies can go through your front office, who can determine if it's truly an emergency or not.

[Belinda Barfield]

I'm with some of the others--get tough on the clock, but break time is their time. Emergencies can go through your front office, who can determine if it's truly an emergency or not.

Agreed, break time and lunch I don't care what they do as long a they can pass a random drug or alcohol screen. I decided that having emergency calls come only through the office could at some point lead to an issue of liability. Missed call, mom can't tell ER doc that child is allergic to penicillin, child dies. They can take their own emergency calls and the office line is the back up.