Online visitor management system goes global
Being evacuated from a building in 2007 was a watershed moment for LocatingUs founder, Darren Whitaker-Barnett, and posed several serious questions.
Safety and security starts with knowing where your people are!
Being evacuated from a building in 2007 was a watershed moment for LocatingUs founder, Darren Whitaker-Barnett, and posed several serious questions.
- How would safety wardens verify the safety of people from our building if they don’t know who is in the building in the first place?
- If the safety warden is injured there is no one left to clear the floor. What’s the backup plan?
- In a real emergency how could anyone know which visitors and contractors are on-site?
“I knew these issues were not being addressed in any meaningful or cost effective way by existing solutions,” says Whitaker-Barnett.
Historically businesses use tools like visitor books, on-premise electronic visitor management systems, contractor sign in registers, access control, and staff in and out boards to manage the presence of people. “Given none of these systems has proven to be of any real use in an evacuation, the answer lay in addressing the fundamental flaw in systems which leave the information inside the building you just evacuated,” says Whitaker-Barnett.
They say every cloud has a silver-lining and in this case the silver-lining was ‘The Cloud’. New cloud technologies let you access information from mobile devices outside the area at risk. In 2008 LocatingUs launched ‘WhosOnLocation’, the world’s first cloud service designed to track the presence of people in and out of buildings.
Initially a cloud visitor management system used by receptionists, WhosOnLocation has now grown to become a world leader in cloud people presence management. In 2011 there was a record 1.5 million transactions through government departments, global corporates, high security sites, construction sites, manufacturers, prison services, and industrial operations.
One of the breakthrough developments in WhosOnLocation is ‘mobiEvac’. Launched in Late March, mobiEvac is the real-time people safety verification service, a result of user feedback after the Christchurch earthquakes in New Zealand.
“Our mobiEvac users can verify the safety of visitors, contractors, and employees from the assembly areas using an iPhone, Android, or Blackberry,” says Whitaker-Barnett. “This not only helps them meet their compliance obligations for managing people safety but, because you can advise the Fire Service with 100% certainty of who is verified and who is not, it can save lives- a world first.” Says Whitaker-Barnett.
“Throughout our short life as a company we have had great support from Grow Wellington who have mentored us through two successful grant applications. More importantly we have also received valuable advice on launching new features like mobiEvac, as well as assistance and advice on strategies for launching into new markets,” says Whitaker-Barnett. “I would recommend any business looking to expand their markets to approach Grow Wellington; they’ve been an invaluable asset to LocatingUs.”
With great reference sites established in most areas of the globe, LocatingUs is focused on expanding its presence in Asian, European, and North American markets. “Our point of difference is a combination of functionality, rapid deployment, and relative low cost. These are all characteristics of a great Cloud application service,” Says Whitaker-Barnett. “We are delivering on our mission: To let you know who is allowed onsite, who is coming onsite, who is onsite now, and who was onsite.”