PAtour

About PAtour Android App

PAtour™ BLE Beacon Guard Tour System for Security & Maintenance Personnel

PAtour provides real-time logging* of physical presence and inspection tours conducted by guards / cleaners / grounds & maintenance staff / in fact any personnel activity that requires a record of presence at any particular point or in any particular area.

* by Praesidia Alliance alarm monitoring stations, or by use of a dedicated cloud server provided by Praesidia Alliance for your organisation's sole use

Overview

Small, long life battery operated, electronic devices known as BLE Beacons are installed at strategic points around your building, grounds, even in your vehicles. These beacons broadcast a continuous, 24 hours a day, specially coded Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) message - tour personnel use a smart phone or phablet with installed PAtour app to automatically receive (and transmit to the monitoring station) specific details broadcast by each individual beacon as users go about their inspection tours.

As tour personnel conduct their inspections the PAtour app listens for beacons; when the user comes within range of a beacon the app sends a specific message to the monitoring centre based on the content being broadcast by that particular beacon e.g. User ### has entered Area ##. When the user goes out of range of that beacon the app again sends a specific message to the monitoring centre, this time logging that User ### has exited Area ##.

The broadcast range of beacons may be adjusted to suit client requirements, if there's a need to log presence near a particular door the nearby beacon would be set to just a few metres range, if the need is to log presence all along the side of a building then the beacon for that area would be set for up to 30 metres range. Longer range beacons are available, for example 100m range to log presence during fence line inspections.

One of the best features of PAtour is that users do not have to handle their mobile device in order for the system to operate, smart phones may stay on the users belt or in their pocket, phablet may stay in its carry bag. This enables users to concentrate on the real task, inspection of the point or area concerned. (without the distraction of taking out their mobile device and looking for a button or tag to touch) This feature also means a reduction in the risk of damaged mobile devices from drops.

Users have live notification that the system is operating as they go about their tour -
when entering a beacon area their mobile device vibrates and sounds a triple beep, when exiting a beacon area their mobile device vibrates and sounds a double beep.

Operational Simplicity

for the user -
When starting a duty shift the user clicks on Commence Tour, the button displays On Tour and a voice message confirms status. During the course of the shift the user does not need to remove their phone from belt or pocket, PAtour automatically handles activity logging & reporting of area presence by processing beacon broadcast signals as the user progresses through locations. At end of shift the user selects Tour Completed, PAtour logs off.

for the deploying organisation -
Emailed daily activity reports are issued by the monitoring station, basic details include user shift start and finish times, timing of presence at locations / areas and by which user. Additional details may include areas not visited, failed check ins, user device events such as bluetooth and data connection faults.

Economical Deployment

A typical PAtour system comprises beacons mounted at various points in single or at multiple locations, user mobile devices with installed PAtour app, and a monitoring station to process, and action as necessary, signals sent from user devices.

For detailed information and FAQ's visit the PAtour web site