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Surviving Blackouts: Essential Steps for Maintaining Business Operations

01.02.2023

  Are your business operations affected by blackouts and you do not have a blackout management plan in your company? With increasing incidents of electricity and other power sources going out, companies worldwide are feeling the pressure and it is having an impact on their day-to-day activities. 

Whether you are dealing with a sudden blackout or frequent disruptions, understanding how to deal with this issue can mean the difference between keeping operations running and potential damage to valuable resources. In this article we will discuss the implications of enduring a blackout and how businesses can prepare for such an event.

Through preventative steps like inspecting wiring systems regularly, being aware of current weather conditions that may lead to power loss, and investing in backup batteries or generators when possible, companies can better protect themselves from unexpected blackouts. Important to note that as businesses become increasingly dependent on technology, there is an ever-present risk of a sudden and total blackout. Blackouts can stem from natural disasters, human error, or even cyber-attacks – all resulting in serious disruption to your business operations. 

From communications breakdowns to IT system outages and data loss, a blackout can spell disaster for any company’s digital foundation. In this blog post we will be exploring the impact of blackouts on companies, how they can be prevented and steps that businesses should take if they are affected by one.

Business risks if a blackout happens 

As many companies depend on electricity to keep their operations running and accessible to customers. A blackout in the company can thus lead to disastrous results, both in terms of financial loss as well as customer service. There are a number of risks associated with a company blackout:

  1. If you lose electricity, the disruption of services and processes can be severe and long lasting.
  2. Undue stress on employees working during the outage.
  3. Interrupted computer systems do not allow you to continue your operations.
  4. Permanent data loss can be extremely dangerous for business if you do not have backup systems in place.
  5. Damage caused by generator malfunction. 
  6. Costly delays – depending on your business model the delays can cause a lot of financial damage during the blackout.
  7. Health issues. Blackouts do not only cause stress and irritation, it can be extremely dangerous and even life threatening especially in construction and business operations where people work in difficult environments.
  8. Burglaries. There is a risk of burglaries and thefts during a blackout if suddenly all your security infrastructure is offline.
  9. Spoiled goods. If your business is in the food industry, during a power outage you can lose huge amounts of frozen food.
  10. Loss of trust. If your business can not continue their operations during power outages, your clients may lose trust in your company and business. 

Furthermore, if sensitive financial services like credit card transactions need electricity to continue functioning correctly, a blackout could pose the risk of fraud. Although spotty electricity is an unavoidable reality in some industries and regions, businesses must make sure they are appropriately prepared for a complete blackout so that they can manage it quickly and reclaim lost revenue.

How to prepare your business for power outages

As a business owner, it is your responsibility to prepare your business in the event of a power outage. When it comes to planning for unexpected power outages, the first step is to create an emergency checklist with contingencies and safeguards. This should be done before disaster hits and include items such as investing in a various solutions:

1.Putting together a Business Continuity Team made up of key personnel from all the essential departments (Legal, Operations, HR and Finance) can help ensure your business emerges even stronger in uncertain times.

2. A generator or durable battery packs for mobile devices – a generator reacts instantly to any power outage and allows you to keep working even in long lasting blackouts.

3. Backup data plans with cloud storage services – it is extremely important to save all your data and business continuity management plans can come into help here.

4. Prepare a communication plan for a blackout situation. It is essential to business that people working in a company know how to react, where to go for help and who is responsible in such a situation. Unnecessary panic and chaos can cause even more damage.

5. Evacuation plans help to leave the buildings and offices in an orderly manner not causing any extra damage.

6. Prioritization plan. You must know what parts of your business are most important to save and bring to life first.

7. Water-resistant containers for vital documents and important assets.

8. Portable flashlights and candles with matches in case the outage happens at night.

9. Extra supply of non-perishable food for a situation where your employees or clients have to spend extended time in your premises (snow storms, floods, other disasters).

Whatever the situation may be, having a plan in place ahead of time will allow you to mitigate any potential losses or long-term impacts on customers or operations.

Effective communication among your employees can help to avoid any unneeded stress and dangerous situations. A detailed backup plan will help you not only to continue business processes, but as well avoid data loss, employee stress and can even save lives. 

An extra electricity source as a power generator or powerful batteries and a data backup plan will allow you to avoid huge business recuperation costs.

Business plan after a blackout

It is important not only to know how to work and continue business processes during a blackout, but also how to come back to full scale operations afterwards. After a blackout, businesses can feel paralyzed and unsure of what to do next. 

However, with the right strategy in place, businesses can make sure that comebacks are successful and not detrimental to their profits. Staying organized is crucial when getting operations back on track since there may have been some disruption due to the power outage. 

Setting plans for restocking, communication with customers, re-establishing normal practices, and developing a schedule should be the first priorities from the moment electricity is restored. By taking these steps in the wake of a blackout, organizations can ensure that their business does not lose its footing.

You have to as well assess what went wrong during the blackout: did your generator generate enough power? Did you lose your data? Was the communication between co-workers efficient and chaos was avoided?

All these questions must be answered in detail, so you can prepare even better for future blackouts and can simply continue your work even if such a situation arises.

New Voice International experience in blackout management

New Voice International has over 30 years experience installing different security infrastructures for all kinds of hazardous situations and business continuity management with backup plans is a big part of our business.

We can prepare you an extended backup plan so all your employees will stay safe during a power outage and will know how exactly to react and what to do in such situations.

We will assure the safety of your data with backup cloud solutions, we can help with communication plans and detailed evacuation plans.

With our MobiCall and MobiCall.App solutions we can assure that even in electricity loss situations we can support you with information via internet connection. A well thought detailed blackout management plan should be a part of  your safety infrastructure.

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Business Continuity Management

Incident management – how it works and benefits for your business

27.01.2023

Intro

Effective incident management is a fundamental part of keeping any organization’s systems running smoothly. It involves both proactive and reactive measures designed to ensure that outages don’t happen in the first place, but if they do occur then they are discovered quickly and dealt with effectively. Without such measures in place, organizations can suffer serious business losses as customers cannot access services and products reliably. In this blog post, we’ll explore what incident management is, incident management benefits and why it matters for businesses and how to implement an effective strategy within your organization.

Types of incidents in the businesses

In any company of any size, it is important to be aware of the types of incidents that can occur. These range from minor office problems such as the loss or misplacement of documents to major workplace disasters such as natural disasters, accidents and security breaches. We would like to outline few possible incidents:

  1. Nature disasters: floods, earthquakes, blizzards, etc.
  2. Fires
  3. Health problems of your employees
  4. Thefts and burglaries.
  5. Hacking attacks
  6. Blackouts
  7. Broken machines
  8. And many other situations which influence a normal business day and cause a downtime

Lost time due to these incidents can severely impact a company’s productivity by slowing down otherwise efficient workflows and increasing overhead costs. In addition to this, there are also moral issues which need to be taken into account when dealing with incidents in the workplace such as sexual harassment or bullying. All business leaders should take measures to ensure their respective companies are prepared for all potential risks and crises which may arise in times of uncertainty or adversity. Companies should consider a variety of reactions; ranging from active responses such as insurance policies or data backups, to preventive measures like employee training programs or installing a full scale security infrastructure. Planning ahead is essential if a company wants to be well-equipped when something goes wrong.

Implementing incident management structure in your company

Incident management is an important part of any organization’s overall risk management approach. It involves proactively identifying, analyzing, and responding to potential security issues in a timely manner. The process starts with identifying an issue. During this phase, organizations must determine the structure of their incident response plan, the potential impact on customers or services, and the root cause of the issue. Next, the intensity of the incident must be analyzed to assess the severity and urgency. From there, proper measures must be taken to contain and mitigate the damage it has caused. Finally, effective follow-up steps need to be taken after all affected areas have been addressed to ensure minimal disruption in service. By implementing these steps efficiently and consistently, companies are taking better control of their cyber security environment with fewer opportunities for incidents to occur in the future.

5 steps in incident management

Logging

Recording incidents doesn’t have to be a time-consuming hassle. Logging all relevant details in one comprehensive tool allows your team to process any incident efficiently, no matter the urgency or caller. Streamline this workflow further with automated email updates and standardized fields for even more smooth sailing throughout your organization’s operations.

Notification and escalation

Responding to an incident can be a delicate operation that requires prompt attention. When appropriate, quick action is taken after the initial logging of details and if necessary triggering an official alert for more urgent cases. Skilled personnel are assigned with responsibility for managing any alerts that arise until their resolution, ensuring careful escalation measures when needed.

Incident prioritization

Proper allocation of resources can make all the difference when it comes to responding quickly and effectively to incidents. With a clear priority system in place, businesses are able to ensure that time-sensitive issues remain at the forefront, ensuring continued service for customers as well as employees without any disruption.

Investigation and diagnosis

The IT team should always help with any technical issues. They will provide an in-depth analysis and a solution, or escalate the incident for further investigation. Either way, they’ll be sure to get your employees back up and running quickly.

Resolution

Effective communication can be the key to quickly resolving and closing out tickets before they get bogged down. With automation, not only can resolutions come more swiftly but also there will be a better understanding of how future incidents might best be avoided or handled with greater speed.

Incident management benefits

Restore services and production faster

It is very important to react and resolve all the incidents in the company, so you can continue on working and serve your clients

Reduce costs

Incidents can be a very costly event with huge consequences, but if you have an incident management system installed in your company – you can react swiftly and avoid these costly mistakes.

Ensure workers safety and health

With an indoor positioning system or lone worker protection function, you can react fast and help your employees in a fastest manner. Evacuation plans, panic buttons and all other measures will ensure the best possible security to your most important asset – your team.

Collect important data

While tracking all the data you can identify involved parties in the incident and prepare yourself for the next such event.

Create a better overall process

By utilizing continuous integration and delivery techniques, organizations can deploy changes at an increasingly quicker rate. This works to both decrease the number of incidents that arise due to bugs or technical debt as well as accelerates their resolution time – thus setting up a virtuous cycle for continued improvement in complex systems over the long-term.

New Voice experience in incident management

Our team has more than 30 years experience in various incident management projects and infrastructures. We have installed many incident management platforms and we are ready to help you in any possible security matter: from sand storms to lone worker protection, from burglaries to business continuity management.

We have developed and still daily develop and improve our own security softwares: MobiCall, NVX and MobiCall.App. A full scale incident management infrastructure is our passion and we would be more than happy to help you.  

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Incident Management

What is a panic button and how it benefits your business

18.01.2023

Intro

Have you ever been in a situation that felt out of control, too overwhelming, or even dangerous for your personnel or clients? If so, then you know how important it is to have the best security measures – and the perfect tool to help develop one might be the panic button.  This device has become increasingly popular among businesses as a way to protect their employees, belongings, and customers during emergencies. Panic buttons can seem intimidating at first glance but understanding what they are and how they work can give valuable peace of mind in any uncertain situation.  In this blog post we will explore exactly what a panic button is, who benefits from its use, and some tips for choosing the right one for your business. Read on to learn more about this essential safety essential!

What is a panic button

A panic button is a security measure which informs the local authorities or your security personnel about a dangerous situation immediately. A panic button must be pushed or pressed, then it automatically sends a signal to responsible entities (local police, emergency services or security personnel) who can react and help you in dangerous situations. Panic buttons can be placed under the counter (in banks, shops or other business places), on the walls (for hazardous situations in the working place) , on people (wearable panic buttons can be used in lone worker protection situations) or anywhere else where your personnel can reach it fast in a dangerous situation. Panic button works perfectly with a silent alarm as it can inform the security personnel without any sound or visual distraction, so the intruders will not be able to notice the alarm and will not escalate the situation. Further reading: Benefits of a silent alarm

In what situations you may need a panic button

Panic buttons can be used in many dangerous situations, but probably the most popular ones are robberies and other situations where a person’s life is threatened. But actually panic buttons can be a very valuable security measure in many more industries and situations:

  • Doctors, nurses and other employees in hospitals who are at risk of aggression
  • Medical emergencies for patients in need
  • Lone workers who are working alone in remote places
  • Personnel working with dangerous equipment and who are constantly at risk of an injury
  • Housemaids working alone in hotel rooms
  • People who work with very expensive assets (money, jewelry, electronics, etc.)
  • Taxi alarm – for drivers who feel threatened at work
  • Dangerous weather situations: storms, floods, earthquakes, etc.

A panic button is an important asset in a company if you have people working in possible dangerous and life threatening situations. A panic button reacts in the fastest manner and can help to save your employees lives.

How does a panic button function 

Once triggered, a panic button automatically sends an alarm to security personnel. It provides your security personnel with accurate information about the precise location of an alarm. Panic buttons work perfectly with an indoor positioning system as it allows them to detect the accurate location of a person in need even in closed areas and buildings. Such information is perfect for lone worker protection situations as people are mostly working in areas where GPS signals are not able to detect a precise location. Installing a thorough indoor positioning system which covers every part of your buildings allows you to find the personnel in need in the fastest possible way. As mentioned before, panic buttons can be installed under counters, walls, or other locations in the building, but as well panic buttons can be in cars, on a person (wearable panic button), so this way you can provide help to as many people as needed in your company.

Benefits of a panic button for your business

As panic button is one of the fastest option to react to a dangerous situation, it can provide many benefits to your company:

  1. Save lives. Your employees are the most important asset in the company, so taking care of them is the top priority.
  2. Avoid burglaries. Panic buttons send an instant alarm to the security personnel, so it helps to avoid costly robbery situations.
  3. React fast to assaults. A panic button can help to avoid assaults as your personnel can send an instant alarm if they feel threatened.
  4. Lone worker protection. A panic button helps your lone workers if a dangerous situation arises.
  5. Avoid dangerous weather situations. It can help to react in a fastest way to evacuate and move to a safe location.

All in all, a panic button is a great business tool to avoid dangerous and costly situations.

New Voice International experience with panic buttons

New Voice International has more than 30 years experience in various security projects where we installed comprehensive security systems including panic buttons, lone worker protection tools, indoor positioning systems, nurse call systems and many others.

Our own developed MobiCall.App has a panic button function which immediately or even automatically reacts to dangerous workplace situations. MobiCall.App can be installed into your existing security infrastructure or can be the main platform for your new security measures.

We would be more than happy to help you with any security solution and if you have any questions, please contact us.

 

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Benefits of a silent alarm

16.01.2023

What is a silent alarm?

If you’re a business owner or are responsible for the safety of your employees and assets , you know that full scale security is essential for your company’s success. An important part of maintaining this security are alarm systems – and one of the most effective type of alarm available is the silent alarm.  But what is a silent alarm? Silent alarms allow businesses to be protected while still providing customers with a subtle, non-intrusive experience; they have also become increasingly popular in recent years as companies look for better ways to ensure incredibly reliable security measures.  A silent alarm is an automated system that sends out an alert if it detects a security breach without making any noise or visual sign — making it very difficult for intruders to detect and hard to ignore as it sends an automated signal to the police or informs your security services. It is the most important aspect of the silent alarm – intruders do not suspect anything until the police come and arrest them, keeping your employees safe in the meantime as intruders would not panic hearing loud alarms in the premises. In other cases your colleagues and staff as well can react swiftly and come to help the people in need. Silent alarms can be integrated into your security unit or can be a stand-alone solution for your company. In this blog post, we will explain exactly what a silent alarm is, why it’s so effective, and how you can use them in your business. By understanding what makes these alarms work best – and making sure that your premises are adequately equipped – you can rest assured knowing that your company will remain safe from potential threats at all times.

How does a silent alarm function?

Silent alarms can be triggered by a panic button or an automatic system (installed sensors in the area) which detects intrusion or any other specific peculiarities in your premises. Most important thing is: the silent alarm is silent and no one can hear it. Silent alarms can be triggered by a person if he or she pushes a button: the best examples are security buttons in the banks or jewelry stores. This way a person in danger or a person who notices a dangerous situation can trigger the silent alarm themselves. That is perfect for burglary situations. Another way to trigger the silent alarm can be automatic. If you set up your silent alarm to be triggered once someone opens the door, the windows or any other parts of the building in a suspicious or unconventional manner, or simply outside of pre-defined office hours – the silent alarm system will automatically send the information to the police or other pre-defined groups.The automatic silent alarm is perfect for defined situations where changes in normal routine and pattern can be easily noticeable by a system and the input of employee is not necessary. Silent alarms can be set up for other security reasons as well: changes in humidity in the laboratories, lone worker protection, it can be a part of your indoor positioning system, nurse call systems, and many other dangerous or hazardous situations. Silent alarm is a perfect solution if you want your security system to react fast and avoid hazardous situations.

Benefits of silent alarm for businesses

Intruders are not aware

Silent alarm is a perfect solution if you want to catch and arrest the intruders, as the whole time they are in your premises – they hear no sound, no alarm, no panic. If burglars do not panic, it gives a much better chance that they will not harm your personnel or do any other irrational harm to your property

It does not bother your neighbors

Especially if you have an automated silent alarm security system, it is important that changes in your humidity or nurse call system does not wake up all the neighborhood. Silent alarm is as safe as a loud alarm and will inform the people in the fastest manner to react and solve the problem – no need to inform all the people around in the middle of the night.

It automatically informs the police

Silent alarm system automatically informs the local authorities and they will act accordingly. The automatically sent signal helps to avoid dangerous situations when your employees are physically not able to call the police as they may need to hide and stay silent or are even threatened. Your personnel can be sure and feel safer knowing that no matter what – the police are on the way.

Allows CCTV to identify the intruders

If you are using a CCTV system in your security platform, a silent alarm can be in great help identifying the burglars. As a silent alarm gives any sound or visual signals, intruders are completely unaware of the alarm and spend time in your premises behaving in a relaxed manner. This way you can get much more footage of them and later on it will be a great help for the local police.

It is easy to integrate silent alarm into your existing security infrastructure

If you already have your own security infrastructure, do not worry, silent alarms can be easily integrated in your system while making your company even safer. Silent alarm solutions perfectly work with all the security systems and different setups.

New Voice International silent alarm experience

We have more than 30 years experience in different security solutions and silent alarm is a big part of our security platform. Our own security platform MobiCall enables silent alarms,flexibly via the existing PC and communications infrastructure, to be triggered covertly. All alarms are processed quickly and reliably. Emergency teams are informed via phone calls or PC pop-up messages. Automatic telephone conferences support in the assessment of the situation and the determination of appropriate relief measures. MobiCall thus ensures protection of persons and employees and for a fast response to rapid response to operational alarms.

How MobiCall functions in silent alarm situation

Different options for silent alarm alarm triggering are available. Triggering via the PC client can be done by an individual key combination (e.g. Alt+1), or in the form of a panic alarm by pressing at least 3 arbitrary keys, by mouse click via the MobiCall application, as well as by using an externally connected Bluetooth or USB button. The central MobiCall server can control the client via computer or user name, IP or MAC address or the the access point and locate it. In case of an emergency, MobiCall initializes an individual or group related alerting scenario. Thereby MobiCall transmits MobiCall, according to alarm and schedule, transmits the event multimedia, for example to internal and external extensions, smartphones, PC clients, IP loudspeakers, to the defined to the defined group of persons.  Depending on the configuration of an alarm, a room-based, skill-based, prioritized and simultaneous or sequential information transmission. To ensure the highest possible security a predefined number of recipients must acknowledge the alarm. If these persons are not reached, the system can the system can initialize an alarm escalation in order to notify further additional subscribers. MobiCall logs detailed information about the entire alarm process. The alarm report can be sent automatically or retrieved at any time from the alarm center.

Silent alarm function via telephone

 An emergency call is triggered by pressing a specific button button on the desk phone. This can happen inconspicuously and is not acknowledged, so that the intruder does not notice that an alarm has been triggered. After the terminal has made the emergency call, it switches to the listening function. This enables the automatically members of the “alarm group” to listen into the room in question in order to the room in question to assess the threat situation. At the same time, the system automatically initiates an emergency conference call between these users so that they can discuss suitable countermeasures. If you need any help with silent alarms, we are more than happy to help you.    

 

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Silent alarm

A full guide on how to implement an indoor positioning system

21.12.2022

What is an indoor positioning system?

An indoor positioning system allows you to locate your personnel, clients, and assets in closed areas while assuring the highest level of security and helping companies to avoid hazardous and dangerous situations.

Indoor positioning systems are becoming increasingly popular for businesses, as better rates of accuracy can now be achieved in environments where satellite navigation fails. As technology continues to evolve, so too do the ways companies use it to benefit their operations and increase efficiency. In this article, we will take a closer look at what an indoor positioning system is and how it works, and how you should prepare for an indoor positioning system implementation. We’ll also discuss some different possibilities and ways to install the system in the most efficient way. So whether you’re completely new to indoor positioning or looking to take full advantage of all the possibilities it offers, read on to learn more about one of today’s most promising technologies!

How does an indoor positioning system work?

An indoor positioning system is one or a set of different technologies installed in closed areas that allows locating not only assets or people in fixed positions, but as well moving personnel or devices.

Indoor positioning systems can be implemented using 5 different technologies: WiFi, Bluetooth, DECT, GPS, and NFC Tags. Important to note: GPS is mostly used for outdoor positioning.

Indoor positioning systems using different signals emitted from the above-mentioned technologies are able to find and locate beacons, tags, smartphones, or other indoor positioning devices. This way you can locate any tracker, smartphone, or tag which is carried by the personnel or installed on a device.

An indoor positioning system allows you to assure the highest level of security for your people (perfect for lone-worker protection), increase business efficiency, reduce costs, and much more. Have a look at our article on indoor positioning benefits.

We have as well prepared an article for you about the pros and cons of different indoor positioning technologies: Indoor positioning technologies.

Indoor positioning system implementation

Before you want to install the indoor positioning system in your premises, you would have to consider a few things, so you are fully ready and the process of indoor positioning system implementation would be as smooth as possible.


We have prepared a full list of 15 aspects that are important before we can install a full-scale indoor positioning system.

  1. Floorplans/Indoor mapping.  For the indoor positioning system to accurately locate your personnel or assets, we need to have all the drawings of your building: of all rooms and areas you want the system to work. The floorplans can be in PDF, DWG, or any other format.
  2. A number of buildings. It is important to know how many buildings you have on your premises. Is it one building or 15? The bigger the number, the more beacons, Wifi stations, and anything else will be needed. 
  3. How many floor plans and provide plans for each floor? It is very important to know if different floors differ and we need to get as accurate floor plans for each floor as possible.
  4. Level of accuracy.  This is one of the most important parts of your indoor positioning system. Do you need to know where a person is exactly in the room or simply the whole floor? This helps us to know which technology to use for your project. Bluetooth technology allows us to know where exactly in the room the person is, but Wifi or DECT technology is much better if you simply want to locate people in the whole floor or bigger open area. Please have a look at our project where we installed more than 1500 beacons and assured the highest possible accuracy: EPI Klinik.
  5. Define outdoor positioning needs. It is possible to combine outdoor and indoor positioning. You can not only locate people inside but people outside as well. That is a perfect solution for huge areas where people or assets constantly move between buildings. If you need outdoor positioning, you should provide a map with all the buildings in your area.
  6. What exactly do you want to position? Do you want to locate personnel, patients, devices, or anything else? For different situations, different solutions can be implemented. You should prepare a list of all personnel, patients, and devices you want to locate, so we would provide you with the most efficient technological solution.
  7. Existing infrastructure. Most companies already have Wifi stations or DECT antennas, which can already be helpful to install an indoor positioning system. We can not only use your existing infrastructure but combine it with newer technologies to assure the highest possible accuracy for you. Please have a look at our hybrid solution for indoor positioning at Zugersee Klinikum.
  8. What technology is the right one for you? Depending on the level of accuracy you need and your existing infrastructure, we can help you to choose the best indoor positioning system technology for you.
  9. What kind of operating system do you use on the phones? Smartphones are often used for indoor positioning and it is important what operating system you use in the company. Is it Android or iOS?Our MobiCall.App is perfect for both.
  10. What kind of tracker do you want to use on moving objects or personnel? Smartphones, tags, or trackers can be used for moving objects and personnel. If you want your personnel to be reactive, smartphones is the best solution, but if you just want to locate your staff – trackers or tags can be sufficient. Please read about our event triggers.
  11. What kind of other functions and features does the company need? Do you need an alerting system, vertical loss, silent alarms, or anything else? All can be implemented via MobiCall.App and you can not only locate your personnel but as well be reactive if a dangerous situation arises. Please have a look at our alarm solutions.
  12. Camera feed. Do you need not only to locate people or assets but as well get a live feed if a suspicious situation happens? If yes, we can easily combine the indoor positioning system with a camera feed.
  13. Water leaks, temperature changes, humidity, light, movement, etc. All of these sensors can be as well supervised and your security team will be warned immediately.
  14. Beacon installment plan. If you decide to implement the highest accuracy Bluetooth technology, we will need to install a lot of beacons which can be put on the walls, ceilings, or anywhere else you need it. Before installing an indoor positioning system we need to know where exactly the beacons will be situated so we can place them on your floor plans and locate personnel and objects in the most efficient way.
  15. Variations in accuracy. It is possible to have multiple levels of accuracy for each floor plan: some higher, some lower. If you need very high accuracy in some sensitive areas like laboratories, you may not need it in a relaxed area or cafeteria.

Conclusion

The implementation of an indoor positioning system has a lot of moving parts, so the preparation phase should be carefully planned, as it would help to avoid mistakes, reinstallments, and other costly situations.

To ease up the process, take into consideration the most important points: the existing infrastructure in your company, all floor plans, the level of accuracy, and other features you would like to have.

We are happy to help you all the way during this process to implement the most efficient indoor positioning system benefitting your safety and business.

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Indoor positioning

Indoor positioning system technologies

14.12.2022

Indoor positioning is the process of determining the location of a device or person inside buildings or closed areas and 5 different indoor positioning system technologies can be implemented in your business. 

Indoor positioning systems use one technology or a combination of technologies, including WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, NFC, DECT tags, and GPS, to triangulate the position of a device or person. GPS, for example, is a perfect technology for outdoor positioning, while others are more used for indoor positioning. 

Indoor positioning systems are becoming increasingly common as businesses look for ways to improve customer experiences, ensure safety for employees and optimize operations, especially in bigger factories, storage facilities, or hospitals. 

For example, indoor positioning systems can be used to provide turn-by-turn directions inside a large building or campus or track the movement of inventory in a warehouse. While indoor positioning systems offer many benefits, they also come with some challenges, including the need for accurate mapping data and a potentially extensive installment process.

To ease up the decision of which technology is the best for your project and company, we have listed all possible indoor positioning technologies with their advantages and disadvantages.

At the moment 5 different indoor positioning technologies are used in a wide array of different projects: Wifi, Bluetooth, DECT, GPS, and NFC Tags.

Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses and we will do our best to advise you which technology is the best for indoor positioning.

Indoor positioning system technologies pros and cons

Wifi technology for indoor positioning

Pros

  • Wifi signal is constantly very stable
  • Low installation costs
  • Usually, the infrastructure already exists for common internet usage 

Cons

  • Accuracy is much lower than Bluetooth technology. Wifi can be able to define in which room you are in the building, but not your position in that room. That can be crucial for hospitals and other sensitive areas.
  • Expensive installment and project price if you aim for higher accuracy.
  • Overall installment is quite complicated as you need a lot of cables, expensive Wifi stations and managing drilling works.

Bluetooth technology for indoor positioning

Pros

  • Bluetooth beacons are usually not an expensive devices, so with a bigger amount of beacons you can aim for very high accuracy 
  • High accuracy not only in the building but in separate rooms. Bluetooth technology is easily able to determine your position in the room.
  • Availability to use Bluetooth technology system for indoor positioning together with a smartphone
  • Easy to install
  • You will not need any cables or drilling works, because Bluetooth beacons use batteries.
  • Bluetooth beacons are as well very easily portable – so you can not only use them on walls, and ceilings but on devices as well.
  • DECT devices can read the Bluetooth signal, so it is very compatible and easy to work with both technologies.
  • Easy to use existing beacons infrastructure if you have one already in your building

Cons

  • Beacons require to put new batteries every few years
  • If you do not need high-level accuracy in a huge area, the investment is not worth it

DECT technology for indoor positioning

Pros

  • The signal is constantly very stable
  • They are compatible with the Bluetooth signal
  • Very long-range signal

Cons

  • Hard to get a high level of accuracy, because you have few antennas in the closed area (placed far away from each other). The further away the antennas are located, the harder it is to acquire high accuracy.
  • Expensive technology if you aim for high accuracy
  • Old and not trendy technology. Not being constantly developed.
  • Is not usually used for asset tracking.

GPS technology for indoor positioning

Pros

  • Excellent for outdoor positioning
  • Cheap technology
  • Always up-to-date technology and constantly developed
  • Usable for huge outdoor areas
  • Compatible with smartphones
  • Can be combined with higher accuracy indoor positioning such as Bluetooth to cover not only inside areas but outside as well.

Cons

  • Very low accuracy for indoor positioning
  • Not possible to distinguish between different floor plans. If a building has more than one floor, GPS technology will not be able to determine on which floor is your colleague or asset.

NFC Tags technology for indoor positioning

Pros

  • Very easy to install
  • Cheap technology
  • Compatible with smartphones
  • Portable 

Cons

  • Only good for a fixed position (do not follow moving objects)

New Voice International business cases

New Voice International has developed multiple indoor positioning projects in Europe.

We have created an indoor positioning system for Zugersee Klinik in Switzerland using a hybrid method. Zugersee Klinik already had DECT technology installed on their premises, so it was very easy to install new beacons and create a seamless indoor positioning system that covers the whole area.

Further reading here: Zugersee Klinik indoor positioning business case.

Another good example of using different technologies is EPI Klinik in Zürich.

In a huge area that covers more than 70 football stadiums, and has dozens of different sizes buildings we installed more than 1500 beacons for the indoor positioning system which assures very high accuracy. Not only that, for the outdoor positioning we used a combination of specific BLE beacons designed for outdoor and GPS technology, so the personnel is able to see the position of their colleagues and patients not only in the indoor places but outdoors as well.

Further reading here: EPI Klinik indoor positioning business case.

Conclusion

An indoor positioning system can be a perfect solution for companies who want to position not only their assets but colleagues as well (it is a perfect way for your company’s lone worker protection).

Using the newest technologies we are able to aim for very high accuracy in your premises, which will help to avoid stressful situations and react to occurring emergencies.

So what indoor positioning system technologies are the best for your business?

If you are looking for a very high-accuracy indoor positioning system, we advise using Bluetooth technology.

If you are looking for the best outdoor positioning system – the GPS is the way to go.

If you happen to have existing Wifi or DECT systems already in your building – let us take advantage of that and reduce your project costs.

If you have any questions about indoor positioning, we would be more than happy to assist you.

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INDOOR POSITIONING

Indoor positioning benefits for business

07.12.2022

What is Indoor positioning?

Indoor positioning is the process of determining the location of something or someone indoors within a building, in this article let us review indoor positioning benefits.

Indoor locations are usually characterized by limited space, so the technology used for indoor positioning needs to be able to work accurately in small and big areas. Indoor positioning can be used for a variety of purposes, such as tracking inventory in a warehouse, a hospital, or a clinic and as well locating people or things in a building during an emergency. Indoor positioning can be reactive or active. Reactive indoor positioning reacts to changes of an object: for example if the device started to move (or was moved by someone) and that triggers the alarm. Active indoor positioning is used in situations where personnel or patients must be constantly supervised.

There are many different technologies that can be used for indoor positioning, including Bluetooth low energy (BLE) tags or smartphones, WiFi-based indoor positioning systems (IPS), WiFi, DECT, NFC tags, and GPS. Each of these technologies has its own advantages and disadvantages, so the best indoor positioning solution for one application may not be the best accuracy.

How does an indoor positioning system work?

Indoor positioning is the process of determining the location of various devices or people indoors in enclosed areas. This can be done using a variety of methods, including GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, DECT, NFC tags and RFID. Indoor positioning is often used in conjunction with indoor mapping, which is the process of creating a map of an indoor area. Indoor positioning can be used for a variety of purposes, including asset tracking, navigation, lone worker protection, emergency management, and other situations.

BLE beacons and WiFi are the most commonly used technologies for indoor positioning. GPS signals are as well able to penetrate buildings and can be used to determine the location of a device indoors, but that is not the most efficient solution for indoor positioning mainly because it‘s not possible to distinguish between different floorplans inside the same building.

Both WiFi and Bluetooth signals can be used to triangulate the location of a device. RFID is another method of indoor positioning that uses radiofrequency identification tags.

The other very effective indoor positioning technology is Bluetooth. Bluetooth beacons (MobiBeacons) can be placed on devices or people, and their location can be tracked using an RFID reader.

Usually, beacons are placed in fixed positions in the venues and then their signals are read from devices that send the beacon’s signal to be located to the location engine.

Indoor mapping is often used in conjunction with indoor positioning. Indoor maps can be used to help people navigate an indoor space. indoor maps can also be used for asset tracking and safety purposes.

What do you need to install indoor positioning?

In order to create an indoor positioning system, you will need a few key components.

If you decide to use Bluetooth technology, first, you will need a network of indoor positioning beacons. These beacons emit low-power signals that can be detected by nearby devices, allowing them to triangulate their position. You will also need a device management system to configure and manage your beacons. Finally, you will need an indoor mapping solution to visualize your indoor space and track the position of devices within it. With these components in place, you can begin to roll out indoor positioning in your facility.

Indoor positioning can become a crucial tool for your business to locate your employees or patients.

It can help you to react fast to any emergency situation and solve disastrous situations in the fastest manner.

Here are the five benefits of indoor positioning for companies that you need to know.

Indoor positioning benefits for businesses

1. Improved safety and security of your staff:

With indoor positioning, you can keep track of your employees or patients at all times. In case of an emergency, you will be able to locate them immediately and take the necessary steps to ensure their safety. Once you are able to locate people in the fastest manner, you can as well provide help in the most efficient way.

2. Increased efficiency:

Indoor positioning can help you to optimize your workflows and operations. For example, if you need to locate a particular employee, patient, or asset, you can use indoor positioning to find them quickly and efficiently.

3. Better customer service:

Indoor positioning can improve the way you serve your customers. For example, if you are a retailer, you can use indoor positioning to guide your customers to the products they are looking for.

4. Enhanced security:

Indoor positioning can help you to improve the security of your premises. For example, if you are a hospital, you can use indoor positioning to track the movement of patients and staff members while enabling security or emergency personnel to react faster.

5. Reduced costs:

Indoor positioning can help you to reduce your operating costs. For example, if you are a retailer, you can use indoor positioning to track the movement of inventory and optimize your staffing levels. You can as well add an indoor positioning system to your existing infrastructure and adapt it accordingly to your needs in the future. The whole infrastructure of your indoor positioning system can be used even if some changes will be implemented.

New Voice International indoor positioning business cases

New Voice International has many years of experience in indoor positioning and our team shares a great passion for indoor positioning projects.

We have just finished a project where we installed a whopping 1500 beacons to track the staff and the patients in the local hospital in Zürich. In this indoor positioning project we as well combined indoor positioning with outdoor positioning – it is a perfect solution when you can track your people or assets not only in the buildings but outside them as well. Please have a look at the full story here: EPI indoor positioning.

Another project we have done is in Zugersee Klinik where we combined two technologies: DECT and Bluetooth. Please have a look here: Zugersee Klinik indoor positioning.

Indoor positioning is a crucial business tool that helps you to ensure the highest level of security while at the same time minimizing business costs and avoiding stressful situations.

If you are interested in indoor positioning benefits and are looking for business solutions, we would be more than happy to help you.

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Indoor positioning

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