AXLR8 have launched a free eBook about GDPR in highly regulated staffing industries. Examples include guards and security officers, close protection services, airports and care services. It is also covered by a podcast for those with time to listen, e.g. whilst travelling. The eBook is full of check lists and references. You can cut and paste them straight out. Some may be reminders for experienced professionals but many will be new. Also, there are links and references to the legal sources and template “model” agreements and policies you can use.
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Paxton Net2 Integration improvements coming up
With the arrival of the new football season and other stadium management challenges, we have a short window of dev time for major enhancements.
We will be using the new Paxton development and test kit we have purchased. This will speed the programming and testing cycles up enormously.
This is a mature integration. It has run at live high traffic staff check in locations for several years now. However, it needs to evolve with changing business and systems requirements. We have identified many areas for improvement.
We will be focussed on robustness, reliability, auto restart to heal problems caused by onsite systems maintenance, power failures, etc. Also, we are improving the alerts system telling us when something has gone wrong at a client site.
We have many new ideas including utilities to match up card data which is sometimes not the same in AXLR8 as in Paxton – a common problem we know happens in other stadium systems. So that will be a great step forward. A recent site visit identified 12 ideas that would make the system better for the end user both during the high pressure match day and also in pre- and post-match administration.
Thanks to our clients for their patience and diligent feedback and understanding.
Thanks also to our great partners like Computer Care, FSL and Paxton. Without your help and specialist expertise, this would have been tough. We really appreciate the open discussions and constant attention to detail and cooperative, problem solving approach.
Please read more on our specialist staffing website.
AXLR8 Checkpoints
As well as many other forms of Proof of Attendance (Check in/ Check out) systems: Geolocation, continuous tracking, Intergation to leading biometric and other hardware such as Almas and Paxton, AXLR8 Checkpoints are proving themselves year after year in different locations.
We have some exciting new videos about the popular AXLR8Checkpoints product on our Specialist staffing website.
Click here to head over and check out the article.
AXLR8 SMS Pricing 2020
AXLR8 have reduced the prices again for 2020.
Text messaging is ever more used by companies to remind or alert people and organise activities quickly. It is more effective and faster than email.
The reason for this price reduction is the multi-million volumes now purchased by the AXLR8’s “buying club” of clients. Also, to a lesser extent, we reduced administration with small price rises for buyers of lower volumes that cause proportionately more admin. Prices now start at under 2p/unit for our very high volume clients. Very low volume clients buying 1000 occasionally for example pay more than four times that cost per unit but have a low entry point, a low MoQ (1000 for £85 plus VAT to cover admin) and “pay as you go” preference.
Most commonly, staffing agencies or businesses that need to alert clients or others to events, buy 10k units as “stock” for their AXLR8 Text Tank. The price for 10k texts if you are a buying club subscriber is £294 plus VAT from 1st December 2019 (instead of £323 plus VAT till end November 2019). Partly this is achieved by reducing admin costs. The minimum order quantity (MOQ) is 10k for these prices. This has a couple of implications. First, you are less likely to run out and secondly, we suggest you change your low units alert levels to 3000 and 1000 minimum reminder level so you have enough time to order a top up. You can log in to https://sms.axlr8.com to change these parameters and see the level of texts in your tank as well as many other facilities.
Hopefully , you will join other clients who are using AXLR8 apps for iPhones and Android devices so that AXLR8 Chat to reduce messaging conversation costs further.
Use cases
- Appointment reminders
- Tactical instructions for mobile workers
- Tracked assets moved to unexpected locations (usually outside geofence)
- Security alerts for night guarding
- Stock replenishment in FMCG, warehouses or medical supplies
- Informing BSL translators of work opportuities
- Power cut alert as UPS kicks in
- Refrigerated goods below a pre-set temperature
- Alerting staff to new work shifts you need to fill
- Staff booking confirmations
- Surveys for clients and staff
- work completion or pre-ordered item availability
- and may more
AXLR8 Checkpoints Rev 4
We are delighted with the field testing of revision 4.0 of this device following client feedback – mostly from the security and retail field marketing industries. More information on the dedicated AXLR8 Event Staffing website.
All weather
AXLR8 Checkpoints are weather resisitant even in a very rainy country like the UK. We will also test them in cold countries soon to see if they can get through minus 30 cold snaps in Canada or Scandanavia. Not sure we will bother testing at 10m under the sea – even if it would make a good picture! The AXLR8 Checkpoint would survive in high pressure salt water for around a year, we believe. We would need to research sealants for longer than that. However, if you had mobile guards or countercover staff down there, then the scanning device would also need military specification sealing. We think about these things so you don’t have to.
Surface Attachment
It seems that small seemingly insignificant changes are more expensive than you would imagine but also more satisfying for us when done. If your client does not allow you to attach your proof of attendance check in and check out devices on to the walls with screws (the original designs) then we have 100% back surface for adhesive or double sided tape or velcro. Too many options to list. The AXLR8 Checkpoints may be customer installed. Obviously, do a “patch test” on a single device first if you use glue with chemicals that may contain acids or other corrosive chemicals. This caveat applies to the client’s wall or other surfaces too, of course. Some of these devices are under counters and several are in cupboards.
No power or network cabling
These devices are passive and so they do not need electricity or any network cabling. Staff checking in, out or about, just need a BYOD device (reasonably up-to-date iPhone or Android device) which virtually all of your staff carry with them, anyway.
Low deployment costs
Live powered networked intelligent scanning devices are expnsive to install and maintain. Where you need an intelligent networked device internet and electric suply plus battery back up and plenty of local memory, the costs are normally £1000 minimum to purchase, install, wire up and connect to the net. They are then vulnerable to weather, power and internet interruption, vandalism, etc. So insurance and maintenance are necessary. They do help if you have hundreds of staff with swipe cards as the cost per staff check in is low. We have relationships with Paxton and Almas Industries if you need this sort of swipe/ biometric device installed and we keep up-to-date on new products on the market all the time. However, AXLR8 Checkpoints are around £150-£300 installed and maintenance is basically occasional replacement due to landlords or clients restrictions on adesion methods on their walls or other surfaces. There are also cheaper share survices where AXLR8 have identified, for example, that three countercover agencies and one security firm all have staff working at the same location and all need the same check in, out and about recording functionality when their staff are working.