RTLS – New Way to Safely Track Objects and People

RTLS – New Way to Safely Track Objects and People

rtls

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One way today’s enterprise organizations, cities, and campuses tackle the pressures of being prepared at any moment is by implementing solutions that utilize real-time location systems (RTLS). RTLS is used to automatically identify and track the location of objects or people in real time, usually within a building or other areas; like GPS but indoors. While GPS is able to track vehicles as they move across the globe, it is unable to track hundreds, or even thousands of devices in a fixed space, especially indoors. This is where RTLS comes in. RTLS has the ability to read wireless devices automatically and continuously, making it a more ideal fit for security purposes.

According to sourcesecurity.com, the technology is increasingly used in a number of sectors, including supply chain management, healthcare, the military and government sectors, retail, recreation and more. However, the adoption of such solutions is gaining significant ground within the security industry, where the information gathered can be critical to the safety and protection of assets and people.

RTLS has long been used in several other industries to help business managers protect critical assets. Fleet tracking is one such use, and this is often utilized by rental car companies, automotive dealers, postal and courier services, supply chain and trucking companies. The technology also can be used on delivery trucks to track packages in the event the truck is stolen or unexpectedly goes off course.

The technology also can be used to locate and manage assets within a warehouse or a healthcare facility.

In terms of security, thanks to the use of smartphones and mobile devices that send a signal to a central monitoring platform, security officials know where people are located within a specific area, and can alert them in the event of an emergency using their devices without having to install an application. All location data is stored for forensic purposes to verify information; for example, how many times an assailant may have visited a location previously, or to provide a “breadcrumb” visual of his/her path through the campus during the event.

RTLS can be used to quickly and automatically account for all staff after or during an emergency event or evacuation by using the location-enabled mobile devices already in place without requiring a mobile application.

Additionally, this technology can be used to communicate instructions to staff during an incident. For example, in the event of an active shooter or intruder within a school, administrators can send a message to all staff quickly and easily that communicates the importance of locking their doors and taking precautions to move students away from doors and windows.

An integrated communication network that uses RTLS offers unified messaging through in-app and text messaging, e-mail and voice – and can be used even for routine communications within an organization.