Ekahau Real-Time Tracking Increases Safety for Tunnel Workers Underground

    
    Spanish Construction Companies FCC and ACCIONA Implement Employee
    Tracking Solution for Tunnel Workers' Safety, With Ekahau's T301BD
    Wireless LAN Staff Badge and Pager
    

RESTON, VA, Dec. 1 /CNW/ - Ekahau Inc., the worldwide leader in High Performance Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), today announced that together with its Spanish integration partner, BAUTEL Comunicaciones S.L. (http://www.bautel.com), it has successfully implemented a solution to track workers in underground tunnel projects as a joint venture with the construction companies FCC (Fomento de Construcciones Y Contratas, S.A.) and ACCIONA S.A.. The implementation is based on the Ekahau Wi-Fi RTLS solution that provides real-time location information on the whereabouts of people and assets anywhere within a sites Wi-Fi network coverage area, using the existing enterprise Wi-Fi network as the infrastructure platform.

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"This was the first deployment we have done using Ekahau's new T301BD badge," comments Mr Fernando Carnicero, Manager at Bautel Comunicaciones S.L.. "Ekahau is an ideal solution for this purpose, as it provides both the real-time location of the worker in case of an emergency, but also two-way communication with the workers in the tunnel, through the badge's text messaging capability. This has a very clear value to the construction company to increase the safety of its employees, as the construction site is operational 24/7 in 3 work shifts."

The current implementation is operational in the Vigo, Galicia, construction project, where FCC - ACCIONA is excavating 2 tunnels both 8 kilometers (5 miles) in length. The Wi-Fi network is installed in the tunnels using fiber optic cabling for data, voice and tracking purposes. As the workers enter the tunnel in the beginning of their shift, they check in their ID cards for an Ekahau wireless T301BD safety badge. In case of an emergency, management is immediately alerted with the last known location of each worker in the tunnel. The solution also enables workers to call for help by pulling the emergency switch on the badge itself. Once the switch is pulled, safety personnel and management receive the help request with the location information of the incident.

"We have seen an increasing demand for personnel safety applications in several industries." comments Mr Arttu Huhtiniemi, Ekahau VP Product Management. "This Spanish tunnel work site is an excellent example of the value Ekahau's technology can provide in safeguarding the day to day well being of individual workers in these types of environments. Unlike other similar active RFID solutions, Ekahau uses the existing Wi-Fi network as the infrastructure, so the customer only needs to deploy Ekahau software and tags, which makes the deployment very fast and cost effective. In addition, the system provides a full 2-way communication capability for workers through text messaging over Wi-Fi, which is not available from any other RTLS vendor."

Ekahau RTLS for tunnel and mine construction projects include the T301BD wireless badge for workers, the Ekahau Positioning Engine (EPE) server, and Ekahau Vision, a browser based application for business rules, event processing and alarming through and intuitive set of list-based and geographical location and status information displays. Ekahau RTLS is available today through Ekahau and its resellers worldwide.

About Ekahau Inc.

Ekahau Inc. is the industry leader in providing Wi-Fi-based RTLS solutions. Ekahau's customers, including several Fortune 500 companies worldwide, are realizing the benefits of Wi-Fi based location services and innovative Wi-Fi network planning and optimization tools. Ekahau's solutions are being used in more than 150 hospitals around the world, as well as by manufacturers, mining/oil/gas companies, government agencies and the military. Ekahau partners include wireless software developers, leading system integrators and international OEM partners, who develop and market wireless enterprise applications. Ekahau is a U.S. based corporation, with offices in Saratoga, Calif.; Reston, Va.; Helsinki , Finland ; and Hong Kong , China . For more information about Ekahau, please visit at http://www.ekahau.com.

About BAUTEL

BAUTEL is one of the world's leading companies in communications systems in underground environments, specially in tunnel construction using Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM). The perfect adaptation of the BAUTEL solutions to the demanding and complex environment in which the TBMs reach distances of more than 15km from the surface has earned the confidence of construction companies, that have implemented the system in more tha n 100Km of tunnels. BAUTEL also offers customized telecommunications solutions in mining environments, industrial plants and countryside areas. For more information about BAUTEL, please visit at http://www.bautel.com.

(c) Copyright 2009, Ekahau, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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For further information: Media Contact: Annina Pierson, Marketing Director, Ekahau, [phone], [email protected]; Fernando Carnicero, Director Tecnico, BAUTEL COMUNICACIONES, tel [phone], [email protected]