Security & Safety in the Era of IoT

We’ve recently published several blog posts about the internet of things (IoT) and building smart factories. We posted about how sensors and analytics play a role in building the smart factory. We detailed how companies like Harley Davidson and Nobilia are utilizing sensors, tags and Industry 4.0 principles to create their own smart factories. In today’s post, we’ll discuss how sensors, tags, and the iVEDiX Platform can be used to ensure the safety and security of smart factories and public venues such as government buildings or universities.

How iVEDiX works with IoT Devices

An automated tracking system is an effective way to ensure the security of facilities and the safety of workers. When pairing tags and readers with the iVEDiX platform, organizations track assets to make sure they are where they’re supposed to be.

Tags can be placed on people (ID tags), vehicles, machinery, replacement parts, and pretty much anything that you would want to track and trace. Security rules and alerts can be customized within the iVEDiX Platform to suit your specific use case.

If the security risk for a specific action is extremely low, an alert can be sent by email or SMS message. If an action is deemed to be a greater security threat, an alert can be a loud alarm or siren, or even an automated M2M call to shutdown a machine.

Ensure the Safety of Your Workers

Here are a few examples of how IoT combined with the iVEDiX Platform can improve safety.

In a manufacturing plant, machines and people can be tagged. When a worker wanders near a machine they are not permissioned for, like a crane or a CNC mill, an alarm or siren will go off to alert that the worker was too close. The system ensures that only qualified operators are in the proximity of those machines.

Every worker at an oil refinery can be given an ID tag that contains a sensor which automatically sends data to an iVEDiX-powered tracking system. If there’s an emergency like an fire or a spill, the system lets managers know in real time where workers are located and if they are near a danger zone.

Secure Your Facilities with Precision

Improving security at a government facility or a public university involves precisely monitoring and tracking deliveries and personnel. Facilities are implementing systems that use RFID tags and sensors, coupled with iVEDiX. The Platform and tags are used to schedule deliveries so that managers will always know exactly who and what is entering and exiting their buildings in real time.

For example, a delivery truck is scheduled to deliver a box of office supplies at 8:45 am at Bay Door C. The Platform is programmed to know the identity of the driver, their driver’s license number, the license plate of the truck, and how long it should take for the truck to travel from the entranceway to the correct bay door. If the driver goes to the wrong bay door or takes too long to arrive at the designated door, the system can send alerts based on the programmed rules.

Machine to Machine (M2M)

The iVEDiX Platform is uniquely suited for M2M communications. The platform can set off an alarm if the driver goes to the wrong door. A gate can be triggered to open and close automatically based on the M2M rules set in the system. Machines signal machines, using the platform as the communications conduit.

iVEDiX Works with Tags of Any Type

iVEDiX works with a variety of tags- RFID, GPS, any type of tag you require, and iVEDiX visualizations render beautifully across devices and screen sizes. View real-time data visualizations on your tablet or desktop anywhere at any time, or on a wall-size monitor for a spectacular view of the activities happening in your facility.