CARPS Email: Task Confirmation and Beyond...
We have introduced a feature whereby email notifications can be sent when tasks are created in CARPS.
For the first deployment of this feature, our client requires a confirmation email to be sent to the person booking the task via the telephone helpdesk. This gives them a record of the task in their email inbox, creating an audit trail and allowing the caller to follow up on the task easily and efficiently.
They will also see the details of the task as entered by the helpdesk operative, allowing them to confirm that the task details have been captured correctly.
This new feature has potential for other uses, depending on the requirements of your site.
CARPS Emails could be used to alert the relevant managers or supervisors when a task of a certain nature is created; for instance if the task is of a particularly high priority or will require special attention or additional action.
If you would like to know more or want to discuss any ideas you have for the new CARPS Email feature, please get in touch.
Indoor Location Tracking: Where It's At...
You will no doubt remember from our Newsletter of October 2016 (you must do, surely?) that we are able to implement affordable indoor location tracking features for CARPS.
Using iBeacon or other Bluetooth LE technology, CARPS can track the location of the devices (radios or smart devices) carried by Operatives. So rather than CARPS telling you the last known location of an Operative based on their last active task, you will know their actual location based on their proximity to the beacons installed within the site.
The same principle can be applied to assets, such as wheelchairs. Controllers can inform Operatives of wheelchair locations, saving time spent searching for them and improving response times as well as patient experience and safety.
Our ambitions for these features have taken a huge step forward thanks to our discussions with the smart cookies at Beaconzone, a UK company at the cutting edge of indoor location tracking technology. We have produced working models of CARPS integrating with their "BeaconRTLS" (Real Time Locating System) software to provide extremely exciting possibilities.
CARPS can work in sync with Beaconzone's software to produce a graphical display of Operative and asset locations on site. Furthermore, Beaconzone offer an impressive range of Smart Beacons, including movement, temperature and pressure sensitive models, which can supply additional environmental data to increase the range of possible applications and to contribute to improved safety on site.
Once the beacons are installed, there is of course no reason that the system could not be used for applications outside of CARPS itself, sharing the benefits of the investment with clinical or other departments.
We are incredibly excited about the potential of this powerful new integration and moving CARPS into the era of IoT (Internet of Things). We would love to speak to anyone who is interested in exploring these possibilities with us. It could cost far less than you might think and we are willing to offer a pilot implementation at a reduced rate. Please get in touch.
Raising the Bar(s)
It's not exactly radio but we have the expertise to help with your mobile network reception too!
Buildings are constructed with energy efficiency in mind, but the insulation and other materials used to achieve this also reduce the strength of cellular signal coming in from outside. Dead-spots, dropped calls, patchy data and poor voice call quality are common causes of frustration in the busy workplace. Increasingly, they could also be seen as a safety issue.
Recent changes to Ofcom's licencing policy on boosting cellular signal indoors has led to the availability of cost effective and legal means of improving mobile network signal strength inside buildings.
Cel-Fi are a company at the forefront of this revolution, offering a range of intelligent signal boosting solutions that we can supply and install for you.
Their products include filtering, equalisation and echo-cancellation techniques to ensure far-reaching and stable connectivity. Network safe technology and Automatic Gain Control ensure that their products don't interfere with other indoor wireless devices, like Wi-Fi routers, and that they can handle more simultaneous calls and higher data speeds. Cel-Fi products even have a dedicated app, Cel-Fi WAVE, which allows for management, troubleshooting and performance analysis of the system.
Cel-Fi Solo (pictured above) is suitable for boosting signal within a limited area (up to 1500m2), a group of offices within a single building for example, and is capable of eliminating all dead-spots within this area.
For larger areas with problematic coverage, for instance the basement levels of a hospital building, Cel-Fi Quatra is an all-digital, active DAS (Distributed Antenna System) that offers truly scalable signal boosting. The system can provide uniform, high quality cellular signal from one or multiple carriers throughout a building and is carrier approved and guaranteed network safe.
If you are tired of poor mobile reception and want to discuss how Cel-Fi's products could help, please get in touch.
NHS National Standard for Cleanliness: TopCat is on top of it
As a key software provider to NHS hospital support services, we were asked to assist with the development of the new NHS National Standard for Cleanliness. The new standard is expected to be released in the next few months and to become the primary guide for cleanliness monitoring across the NHS. Due to a non-disclosure agreement, we cannot divulge any details of the new standard that are currently under discussion.
However, involvement in this process means that we are able to stay ahead of the curve and will be able to ensure that TopCat includes new features required to cater for any changes or recommendations that the new standard brings.