Skyview High School Approves Ekahau RTLS

Following up on last week's post, Skyview High School has since undergone extensive user acceptance testing in the form of a campus-wide lock-down drill, according to the Ekahau Blog. The Ekahau RTLS WiFi Tag passed with flying colours, with student Toby Anderson commenting “from the time I pulled it [panic switch], to the time the announcement went off, it was probably 15 seconds. And then less than a minute before Officer Ford walked in, so it was very fast”. Police Chief Craig Kingsbury agreed, stating that “there’s no waiting. There’s no explaining. You’re not going to lose precious seconds trying to justify why you need help. Help’s just going to come.”

Ekahau RTLS Badge Tag

When the panic switch or ripcord is pulled by a staff member, a message is sent to all other badge tags on-site and a lock-down is initiated immediately. The school resource officer (and police dispatch) are notified of the location of the tag initiating the alarm, and can immediately respond without confusion. This information is viewed in real-time and every staff member with a tag can be immediately located on a pop-up floor map.

The system has already been in use since its deployment. English teacher Terri Bentley said “I actually used it [Ekahau RTLS] a week ago for a health emergency that happened in my class, and they came really quick for that too. So this is actually the second time I was able to use it, and it was really fascinating”.

Skyview High School is the first of its kind to trial the Badge Tag, with Kingsbury hoping to get Ekahau RTLS into every Idaho school.

For more information on Ekahau's applications in Australia, click here!

Sandy Hook Elementary Massacre Spurs Student Safety Focus

With the recent attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, it has become clear that mass shootings are not a thing of the past. In fact, according to news.com.au, mass shootings in the US have doubled from 4 between 1990-2004 to 8 between 2005-2013. This has not yet been the case in Australia, largely thanks to Howard's gun laws put in place after the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996. Over the past 10 years, however, gun imports have increased steadily, with Australia now replacing the million guns destroyed in '96 (ABC News).

According to 6 News in the US, a resource officer at Skyview High School in Nampa has decided to act, taking student security to the next level. "We wanted to do something where it was not evasive into the school, where we didn't want to create a prison environment for the students,” says resource officer Brad Ford. “We wanted to keep them safe, but at the same time, it's a learning environment. It's a school.". The result? Ekahau.

Ekahau is a specialist WiFi vendor in the US providing WiFi tags worn around the neck to not only raise duress, but also locate the person in duress to within 3 metres. Skyview staff can now lock-down the campus in just four seconds with a simple tug of the device, as well as call for assistance or medical help. 

 

"Parents want to send their kids to the schools to be safe,” says Skyview High School building administrator Will Barber. “They want to trust that when they leave their homes, they're going to return that night. Any time that we can explore an avenue that's going to increase that, is going to be a positive."

Schools in the US are taking a re-active approach to school shootings; Australia now has the chance to be pro-active. Integrated Wireless resell Ekahau products in Australia and offer 24 x 7 support to our customers. If you already have WiFi on-site, we can leverage off that network to operate the Ekahau tags, reducing costs and complexity.

For more information, click here!

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Hospitals Set To Splash Out on IT

According to the Ekahau Blog, the Spring 2013 edition of the Economic Outlook survey states that 43% of hospital executives list IT and telecommunications as their largest capital investment over the coming year.

530 hospital C-suite executives, materials and practice area managers were surveyed who, over time, are coming to terms with the benefits IT in a healthcare setting can provide. Just two years ago, only 21% of hospital executives came to the same conclusion.

Another recent study found that the RTLS (Real-Time Location System) market is expected to mature from $256 million in 2011 to $4 billion in 2022, a 1462.5% growth rate.

Hospitals are becoming increasingly aware of the ROI provided by RTLS, which delivers hospital-wide tracking solutions with business intelligence helping their scheduling, patient care, supply chain process and much more. 

Assuming the WiFi system has been properly configured, assets and people can be tracked anywhere within a facility to within 3 metres, reducing the time spent searching for something in the wrong place. 

Integrated Wireless use Ekahau RTLS to bring these benefits to the Australian health and aged care market. For more information and a free live on-site demonstration, click here!

• Read a recent Ekahau Case Study

 

New Interactive Help Point In Australia

Integrated Wireless (IW) is pleased to announce the launch of it's new Interactive Help Point with multi-touch technology. This product has been developed by IW partner Trans-Data Management (TDM) in the UK, and is available for sale Australia-wide.

The new unit builds on TDM's previous Interactive Help Point using VoIP to provide added functionality and scope. The interactive screen can display the company website of the train operator as well as real-time passenger information including live departure times, delays and journey planning functions. With pinch-to-zoom and swipe action technology, the everyday traveller can navigate through the intuitive interface with ease. 

The Help Point can be monitored and configured remotely and integrates with existing investments such as surveillance and control systems (CCTV and alarms).

There are multiple applications for the Help Point, including:

• Station platforms
• Tourist information
• Journey planners
• City centres
• Emergency assistance
• Service updates

For more information, please visit our website or get in touch with one of our friendly sales representatives.