Real-Time Location System
Accurate location of vehicles, assets and personnel
In critical situations it is not always enough to know the general area of an important asset (be it workers, vehicles or objects), but a more precise approach is needed. We provide solutions that can locate almost anything with a precision as high as 0.5 meters.
Here you can find more details of what we provide in terms of Real Time Location.
If the track&Trace solution is our most enthusiastic approach in terms of applicability, our RTLS solutions are bold in terms of precission and accuracy. This means that, at any moment in time, you can pinpoint the location of an asset, with absolute precision, just like if you were standing right next to it, or were permanently wathcing it on a TV monitor.
Permanent, Accurate AND Instant visibility!
Functionalities & Features
01.
Position Tracking
In essence, the main functionality of an RTLS solution is the permanent tracking of position and/or movement (with varying degrees of accuracy and refresh rate*). All other functionalities are build upon knowing the location of the asset at precise moments in time, and by combining that knowledge with other information or complex filters (type of asset, zone category, access level, alarm & alerts, etc.). So, no matter the combination or the final solution, please remember: RTLS always means Position Tracking!
02.
Asset Management
Having all your assets tagged and their location known, one can expand on the functionalities of an RTLS solution: assets can be separated by category, followed when they pass from one area to another, or from the responsibility (command) of one person-in-charge to another, when they enter or leave the workflow or if they are complying with the designated procedures, according to their category, destination or purpose. This entirely automatic, without the need of constant supervision.
03.
Evacuation Monitor
When dealing with hazardous situations, dangerous substances or heavy processes, in case of emergency, the evacuation procedure needs to be clear and followed to the letter by all employees according to their tasks. By knowing their location, you can asses the result of the training drills and prepare accordingly for when the need arises. Much more, in time of trouble you can monitor how the evacuation is progressing and, if one worker remains behind, the rescue team has the information for a swift intervention.
04.
Security
By having designated zones, with different access levels, and knowing the location of each employee (and of major assets) can prove a powerful mean to enforce security rules. This solution can aid your CCTV system and anti-burglary security solution, and combined, they can ensure the proper enforcement of your security rules. Moreover, just like in the case of the two mentioned surveillance systems, the RTLS solution can be configured/ programmed to react to pre-defined events and issue alerts and alarms.
05.
Geo-fencing
Geo-fencing offers you the possibility to make sure of three things: first, that key/expensive assets do not wander off outside the perimeter; second: that personnel remains during the working hours inside their assigned working premise and third: that the same personnel does not enter restricted or dangerous areas (for incidence where heavy machinery is performing excavation or other dangerous activity) or to areas that are above their access level (for incidence if an area is not designated for construction and your company is performing renovations). Everything can be performed automatically and permanently recorded; the supervisor can be notified only when certain events occur.
06.
Lone-worker
It is generally acknowledged that people working alone, in isolated environments (roof-tops, basement or reservoirs), are more exposed to serious harm, just because they are usually working without direct supervision or colleagues near-by. By having your employees constantly monitored, you can ensure that even by working alone, you still have some means of supervision by tracking their movement or change in position and be prepared in case of emergency or other unexpected situations. Lone-workers can be contacted or made to report their status, via radio or phone, if they haven’t moved or changed position in a certain amount of time.
07.
Social Distancing
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, in areas when work-from-home is not possible (i.e. construction sites, factories, etc.), besides the hygiene measures we are all responsible for, a new type of conduct has become necessary, in order to prevent contracting or spreading the virus: social distancing and contact tracing. By having workers tracked at all time, you can ensure those measures are respected and also when there is an infection outbreak on one of your sites, you can easily check with whom that employee came into contact so that you can limit the spread of the virus, or take appropriate health measures ahead of time (testing & quarantine).
08.
Man-down
This solution allows a worker or any tagged person who is in trouble, in need of help or urgent care to issue a call towards his colleagues and the supervisor monitoring the work environment. While this functionality is extremely useful in the case of lone-workers, that have very limited means to communicate something is wrong, it might also be beneficial to other employees especially those that work in very harsh conditions where a few seconds might mean the difference between and emergency and a disaster. In time, this can help prevent a lot of work-related accidents develop serious consequences for the people involved, their colleagues and their family.
*For the various degrees of accuracy, please consult the list, with the main types of RTLS solutions we provide, bellow.
Types of RTLS Solutions*
*Based on accuracy and technology.
01.
Room Based
BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) is a new technology which has made possible (cheap and efficient) functionalities up to this day restricted only to industrial environments. One of these functionalities is using low-cost tags and beacons to provide “cell-based” location, either indoor or outdoor. The accuracy depends on the calibration performed during installation and the number of beacons placed, but it can go from a few meters squared to the entire range of the BLE technology (a few hundred meters for BLE 5.0).
This solution is destined for environment that are not so demanding as to require precise location all the time, as the accuracy and refresh rate puts strain on the tags’ battery. It is used when it is sufficient to know, once every few seconds or so, that an asset is in a certain room or area.
02.
Trilateration
Tri-lateration (similar to tri-angulation) is a technology which allows to pin-point the location of an asset based on the distance (or angle) between that asset and at least three reference points (usually Access Points).
Based on the conditions and especially the interferences/ obstructions along the path this technology can reach a precision of up to 1 meter, either by using WiFi for the location infrastructure or some implementations of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard (such as LoRa, Zigbee, XBee, etc.).
This is a much more accurate and also much more demanding solution that the BLE implementation and it requires extensive testing, design and configuration to achieve its full potential in terms of accuracy and functionality, but in terms can benefit of the existing WiFi infrastructure.
03.
Enhanced GPS
We are all familiar with GPS, most of us use it everyday in our commutes, or on vacation in order to save time. GPS (with its alternative implementations and enhancements) has become really accurate, and a tag with a good hardware and firmware can provide accurate position of up to half a meter.
This is our most accurate solution and it provides the best results in the most demanding environment. It only depends on two factors: GPS (or similar) coverage and a minimal WiFi coverage for the down-link (position reporting, man-down, etc.). This is why this solution is the most suitable for dangerous work-conditions, when precise, near-real-time location can really make a difference (construction, oil & gas, chemical plants, etc.)
04.
Combined
Because a working environment is not always composed of only one type of medium, with one type of working personnel, it might become that some assets need better tracking than the other. Some employees might always spend their time in the office, while others need to move between department with different security or safety procedures. Some objects/tools might be cheap and rarely move, while others change hands rapidly and are very expensive, or require maintenance often.
That is why it might be beneficial to implement a solution where different RTLS technologies are combined, in order to provide custom accuracy and functionalities, depending on the specific needs for each asset type, helping you achieve a better cost / benefits ratio and drive sales and profits.
