How does it work?

• Employee carries NFC-enabled mobile phone (e.g. Nokia 6131 NFC) containing Business Acuity RFID application
• Visits locations (office, warehouse, customer, vehicle,  assets, etc) that have pre-positioned RFID tags
• Touches tag with phone, which identifies who and where they are
• Phone displays a set of location-sensitive options that worker chooses from – may be a simple list of choices, or a data entry request (job number, mileage, status, etc.)
• All data is immediately transmitted via GPRS telephone network in real-time to the client’s other IT systems

Variations on the same theme

• “Touch & Go”. Whereby the worker simply touches a tag and walks on. For example, tags for security guard tour or homecare night shift workers. No user input is needed because they have proved their presence just by touching
• “Tag comes to Phone”. An alternative scenario whereby tags are used to identify individual people (they are ID tags), and the tag goes to the phone – the phone then becomes a “mobile clocking machine”. A good example of this would be a construction site where the manager has a phone and the workers clock in/out on his phone using their ID tag
• “Lone Worker Protection” (LWP).  The worker also carries an Alert tag - it could be a seperate plastic card or keyfob, a tag stuck behind their id card, or concealed inside a pen or matchbox - even woven into their uniform! But as soon as they are in danger, they simply touch the tag with their phone (or discreetly place the Alert tag in the same pocket as the phone, for example) and an instant silent alarm is sent to the control room. The application can then also dial a pre-determined number and leave the phone line open.

Typical Users

• Security guards - static sites, mobile patrols, keyholding - guard tours, incidents, vehicle reports
• Contract cleaners - time in/out, work done, products used, competitors products on site, etc. 
• Domiciliary homecare - proof attended, work done, incidents, follow-ups, well-being
• Care homes - night tours, incidents, residents well-being
• Construction sites - workers in/out
• Property maintenance - work done, inspections
• Equipment maintenance & inspection
• Asset management & stock checking
• Holiday reps - time in/out hotels/offices, reason for visits
• Recruitment/contracting agencies - working times

 .....and anyone with a mobile workforce that needs proof-of-attendance and location-sensitive data capture.

Main features

• Fully configurable mobile user-interface builder to create context-sensitive phone menus for whatever types of users are required in whatever sector the customer is in – property management, security guards, holiday reps, homecare workers, cleaners, supervisors, etc. Different users can touch the same tag and get different menu options relevant to their job type at that location
• Over-the-air software distribution to multiple groups of users. Need to add new functionality? Just amend the appropriate menu options and mass transmit in seconds to all relevant users
• Off-line feature that queues transactions should the user be out of mobile signal range - underground, for example. When in range again, outstanding data is automatically transmitted
• Web-based Business Acuity back-office for management reports and to administer phone menus, mobile users, web-users, location tags, etc. No software is installed on the client’s system; it all runs over the Internet
• Easy integration to the client’s own IT systems via standard XML/SOAP interfaces that communicate with operational databases. Data is passed in real-time from phone to client back-office applications

Benefits of Business Acuity RFID

• One device - the user only needs a mobile phone to prove where they went, when, and what they did while there. Lone Worker Protection (LWP) can quickly be configured as standard. 
• Cost-effective, simple to install and maintain, and very easy to use - little or no training necessary
• It means a "clocking machine" (a cheap RFID tag) can be placed anywhere the employee visits – office, customer, vehicle, warehouse, asset, etc, to give guaranteed proof-of-attendance and allow small amounts of location-specific data to be entered
• It therefore fits the gap between pen/paper and PDA for data capture purposes, solving the problem in many cases where PDAs would be overkill for the users needs. Simplicity is the key phrase
• Unlike GPS (SatNav), there are no civil liberty worries and it works where there is no mobile signal – e.g. underground or indoors. Furthermore, RFID tags can be used to identify individual assets, people or products present at the same location