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Remote time-and-attendence and access control
The centralized control and monitoring of systems is both cost effective and practical. This is especially the case where you need to obtain near real-time information from multiple remote systems. With Multenet's PocketPAD Router, combined with a GSM/GPRS modem, this has become a whole lot easier to implement and has proven itself to be a solid, functional solution.
In the scenario illustrated below, an Access Control Unit at a remote location is connected via GPRS to its Access Control Software running on a PC at a central site. The PocketPAD Router provides the GPRS connectivity to the remote location. This enables the security and time-and-attendance functions to be controlled remotely over the GPRS network
Although this may seem like a complex arrangement, it is easy to set up; and with the GPRS technology, where you only pay for data that is transferred over the always-on connection, cost effective too. Legacy solutions included connecting to your remote sites via a modem on the POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) network. With that technology you would need phone lines to be installed to all new sites with scheduled connections for updates or require a permanent leased-line connection to the site amounting to thousands on your phone bill every month.
Fire alarm protection manager
Effective fire prevention management systems need to be put in place to decrease the risk of losing your stock. As experience will tell, some systems fail even though regulatory fire systems are in place. In the case of Makro, an international wholesaler, the risk management system failed to detect low water pressure levels in the sprinkler systems. This drastically compromised the effectiveness of the fire prevention system resulting in a huge loss, which could have been prevented.
Using the EtherPad Digital I/O , four Digital Inputs and one Analog Input can be monitored. Two Digital Outputs are also available to switch states (this could be an alarm light to indicate a problem). Alarms or state changes can be sent via email or SMS to notify persons of the event. SMS is sent via an external GSM modem attached to the additional serial interface.
In Makro's case, water pressure levels and events needed to be detected. For example, generators are activated to maintain water pressure levels in the sprinkler system. Digital Inputs monitor the start/stop states of the diesel and electric pump motors, which start when a fire is discovered. The Analog Input was converted to a Digital signal in the script, which monitored power to the system.
With the EtherPad Digital I/O, SANscript was used to create customized WebPages on the embedded web server. In the demo script, WebPages include a Status page showing the current I/O states; a History page revealing the latest alarms; and a Configuration page for setting up the alarms. A GSM modem is attached to the first serial interface to allow SMS to be sent to mobile phones. An Ethernet interface allows a networked workstation to download log files, view alarms and receive email alerts.
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