Companies are Making the Switch from Toughbooks to Tablets
Toughbooks® are exactly what they sound like. They are rugged and used in a wide variety of industries, like construction, emergency services, manufacturing, oil, gas, utilities and more. While Toughbooks have long been considered ‘king’ of mobile devices in these industries, tablets are quickly catching up. Companies are making the switch for these reasons:
Toughbooks are expensive. They can cost upwards of $3,500 per device, which can be cost prohibitive for small businesses. Meanwhile, the cost of an iPad with a highly protective case could cost only $900, or a Toughpad® could cost as low as $1,200 (half the price of a Toughbook). In an effort to save money, companies are making the switch.
Toughbooks are bulky and heavy. The average weight of a Toughbooks is around 8 lbs. The average weight of an iPad is around 1.5 lbs, making it much easier to carry and handle. A mobile employee who relies on their tablet will have an easier time carrying around a tablet than a Toughbook.
Tablets can connect directly to multiple technologies. Toughbooks can connect to wifi, while tablets and Toughpads have multiple options of networks to connect to such as 4G, LTE, Wi-Fi and GNSS. This, in particular, helped out the Reading Fire Department Crew in Pennsylvania, who recently made the switch to tablets.
A Toughbook is not a mobile device. It’s a mobile device in that it’s portable, but it requires (mostly) a flat surface and two sets of fingers to work with. Tablets and Toughpads can be maneuvered with one hand. This versatility is perfect for on-the-go employees.
If your organization is considering making the switch, you can transition from Toughbooks to tablets with these helpful tips:
Make a secure charging system part of your transition. Launching a comprehensive mobile device program requires more than just rolling out the devices themselves. It’s imperative to also consider how the devices will be charged, stored, secured and distributed. For optimal productivity, employees must know exactly where to find a fully-charged device before leaving for a job, as well as know where to secure the device at the end of their shift so that it’s ready for the next person or the next shift.
Set up a training with all team members. Make sure your employees know exactly how to use their new tablet or Toughpad devices. There might be a bit of a learning curve, but what’s great about tablets is how user-friendly they are.
Backup all your old devices. This might go without saying, but make sure all important information is backed up just in case.
Hire an outside IT company to handle the transfer of data. If you have many devices that need to be transferred, it might be worth it to hire an outside IT firm to handle data transfers. They will be familiar with this type of transfer, and you will save yourself a huge headache.
When you decide to transition from Toughbooks to tablets or Toughpads, make a secure charging station a part of your seamless transition. View the full lineup of LocknCharge Tablet Charging Stations here.
iPad Charging Stations: 10 Reasons to Use Them
Classroom learning is now highly digital with mobile devices in the hands of most students. Do you have necessary processes in place to support your digital transformation and ensure iPads or other mobile and tech devices are accessible, charged, safe and secure? iPad charging stations can be a great solution to bring order to iPad management in the classroom. Read our ten reasons why they can benefit your school below.
1. Charging stations save you crucial class time
A recent video case study found that you can save up to a staggering 70 hours of class time each year just by choosing a suitable device management system for iPads or other tablet devices that includes baskets.
The video was taken at the beginning of each lesson with a traditional style cabinet tablet storage cart. The traditional cart took 10 minutes and 3 seconds to complete deployment of 30 units. This was then repeated with a basket-based cart which took just 4 minutes and 50 seconds – saving a huge 5 minutes and 13 seconds out of just one lesson in teaching time.
2. Secure storage can reduce theft of iPads
Schools using iPads make significant investments in not only devices but ensuring procedures are in place for them to be used successfully.
This was certainly the case for Hove Park School when they had £37,000 worth of pupils’ iPads stolen from their school. iPad charging stations and storage carts reduce the risk of theft and enhance security, not only from the risk of individual devices being stolen but from the risk of cables being lost and units being mislaid.
3. They can save tech teams valuable time
LocknCharge iPad charging stations can be cabled in minutes, saving considerable time. They are simple to use for students and teachers.
They are built with quality materials and backed by best-in-class warranties to withstand heavy usage in a classroom environment. Which means they need to be replaced or repaired less often.
4. Charging stations can save money
Not only can iPad charging stations help you save money in the long run by reducing theft, they can also help save money by reducing the need for extra resources in order to manage and maintain the devices, loss of chargers and accessories or on breakages.
Many units are also portable, so can be moved from classroom to classroom meaning you need fewer iPads in total for your school, at a lower cost.
5. They can encourage student responsibility
Charging stations not only ensure pupils are taking responsibility for iPads but can help provide many positive benefits to a classroom environment. One particular benefit of mobile device charging stations that include baskets is that they allow children to “own” and take responsibility for their dedicated devices and to gain independence from both using and distributing these devices.
Devices are not cheap, and schools need to ensure that they are looked after with care and compassion. By empowering children with tasks that they are capable of carrying out alone or with the help of their friends, tools like these baskets increase their self-esteem and encourage a great environment for learning.
6. They keep accessories intact and tidy
No more messy cable ties, or lack of plug sockets. With an iPad charging station, you can charge multiple units using just one plug, and keep leads and cables safe inside the charging station housing cabinet. This not only reduces the likelihood of cables getting lost but provides a health and safety benefit for the user.
7. They assist with classroom management
The seemingly simple task such as keeping order in the classroom generally accounts for 13% of all teachers’ time. So teachers need to find ways to channel their resources. Charging stations can take time away from tasks to do what teachers do best, teach!
8. Organized storage can free up classroom space
Charging stations can help to store iPads in one place, reducing space needed for wires, plugs and other equipment that would need to be in one place. With compact or wall mountable designs, it provides extra space for additional desks or learning stations. Maximum efficiency, minimal space. Many are also fully portable so can be moved into other office areas and transported from classroom to classroom safely and efficiently.
9. iPad charging stations with Baskets encourage safe distribution to students
Some charging units have unique ways in which to distribute iPads within the classroom, such as the innovative basket design from LocknCharge. These allow deployment of up to 10 iPads in separate “mini” stations which mean there is less risk of damage through accidental error. They also have the added benefit of easy collection at the end of a project and can be carried outside or wherever necessary.
10. They allow for learning outside of the classroom
Many charging carts are fully portable, meaning they can be stored outside the classroom and wheeled in when required. Or with specialized basket designs, some charging stations encourage portable learning outside of the classroom environment. With a battery that can last all day, and integration with iCloud you can work from anywhere and not be limited to just the classroom. Baskets allow students to transport iPads outdoors – on school trips, to the playground, conservation areas – wherever their imagination takes them!
For more information or to request a quote on suitable iPad charging stations, visit LocknCharge at www.lockncharge.com
Rally Health Simplifies Loaner Laptop Check Out for Remote Employees
Background of Rally Health
It takes vision, coordination and innovation to make life easier. Ironically, it’s a lot of hard work. Rally Health knows full well that simplifying an industry–specifically the consumer health industry–is a complex job.
It all started when founder and CEO Grant Verstandig faced surgery to correct a chronic sports injury. What he had believed to be a minor setback to his college lacrosse career, proved later to be career-ending. Verstandig set out to solve the all-too-common disconnect between individuals and the realities of their own health and healthcare needs.
In a matter of a few years, Verstandig’s company caught the attention of healthcare giant, UnitedHealth Group. They were purchased and have since continued their rapid growth, now employing 1,000 people in offices across the U.S. They’ve also quickly broadened their scope of responsibilities, as they transition into becoming UnitedHealth’s primary digital services platform.
Challenge: Reliably Equipping Remote Employees with Loaner Laptops Around the Clock
Rally Health provides subscribers with online and mobile tools to compare insurance benefit options, search for healthcare providers and participate in employee wellness programs. As they make it easier for consumers to take health matters into their own hands, they too were looking for ways to empower their own growing staff.
For instance, every employee has a company-issued laptop–an essential tool for productivity. Many employees need access to their work remotely, whether from home or a meeting on the other side of the country. IT Operations Manager Gareth Stonebraker and his team are in charge of making sure those employees are reliably equipped, even when it means someone needs a spare laptop on a Sunday evening before a Monday morning flight.
Stonebraker was looking for a method of managing their loaner fleet of laptops in each office. He needed a 24/7 customer service solution that could make life easier for both employees seeking access, as well as his own team granting it.
Solution: Streamline Device Management for Employees with Time-Saving Technology
Stonebraker was first introduced to the LocknCharge FUYL TowerTM at a reputable conference trade show. He saw a live product demo and believed the intelligent charging locker with 15 individually lockable compartments might be just what they were looking for. So, he did his due diligence, consulted with a few key players and brought a 5-bay demo unit back to the office in D.C. for a test run.
It was a hit. Not only was Stonebraker impressed with the ease of working with LocknCharge throughout the process, he also found implementation to be a breeze.
Results: Ready-to-Use Loaner Laptops Anytime They're Needed, 24/7/365 Utilizing Smart Charging Lockers
Unlike many of his projects that are met with mixed reviews from the team, the FUYL Tower Smart Locker was fully and immediately embraced. Everyone was on board with the easy-to-use digital keypad and prompts that let employees help themselves to an assigned, fully-charged loaner laptop.
The tower also serves an important secondary purpose as secure overnight storage for many interns who don’t have their own locking filing cabinets for laptops or other mobile devices.
Even the design of the tower fits perfectly into the tech company’s culture. It’s sleek, it’s durable, it’s innovative and yet, it’s simple. With ever-evolving software and firmware upgrades and a limited lifetime warranty, which is vital for an agile, gumptious company like Rally Health.
They’re currently in the process of doubling the size of their D.C. office and expanding upon the theme of user self-service by adding a computer accessory vending machine.
To download a PDF of this article, click here.
For more information about how LocknCharge is improving workflow for managing employee devices, click here.
Patient Satisfaction Scores Are Improved By Successful Mobile Device Deployments
The research is overwhelmingly in favor of using mobile devices in hospitals. Hospitals seem to be seeing overall higher patient satisfaction scores, and a recent study done by Vanson Bourne (commissioned by Jamf) confirmed just that.
The study surveyed 600 global healthcare IT leaders on their use of mobile devices–from the Netherlands and France, to Germany and the United Kingdom, to the United States. 9 in 10 said their organizations have implemented or plan to implement a mobile device initiative, and nearly all (96%) reported an increase in patient experience scores when mobile devices were deployed, with a third of those claiming major improvement.
Healthcare Dive summed up the study: “When it comes to use cases, the highest support is for clinical care teams, with 91% of respondents saying these would benefit from a mobile device initiative. For example, 67% said mobile devices improve communication among a patient’s care team and 52% said they increase access to medical records. Other areas that stand to gain include administrative staff (73%), nonclinical staff (54%), long-term patient stay (47%) and short-term patient stay.”
The Jamf study also concluded that 47% of organizations plan to increase their usage of hand-held technologies within the next 2 years. Read more on this study here.
Mobile devices are most often used in nurses stations, administrative offices and patient rooms, but can also be useful in countless other places when it comes to patient care. A new Zebra Technologies study found recently that mobile devices are likely here to stay; 97% of nurses and 96% of pharmacists at acute care hospitals said they expect to use mobile devices by 2022. This same study found that 7 in 10 hospitals say IT solutions improve patient care, while 55% cited reduced costs. It also found nurses credit mobile devices with improving staff communications, and 61% report fewer medicated administration errors.
With healthcare becoming dependent on mobile devices, it’s more important now than ever to have devices fully charged and ready to use at all times. A recent study confirmed that 91% of current LocknCharge customers prioritize having quick access to mobile devices. LocknCharge laptop and tablet charging stations charge, store, secure and streamline workflow for mobile device deployments of any size.
Mobile devices make hospitals run safer, faster and improve patient satisfaction scores. If you use multiple mobile devices in your establishment, we can help keep them safe, secure, and charged up for the critical times that your staff needs them. Learn more about LocknCharge secure charging devices in healthcare here.
Charging Lockers: Solution for the French Mobile Ban – LocknCharge
UK News | LocknCharge
Charging Lockers for the French Mobile Ban
This month, as students head back after the summer break, schools in France have been busy implementing a mobile phone ban, which has come into force after a new law was passed forbidding the use of phones, tablets and smart watches by children on school playgrounds and at break times – or in other words, as soon as children arrive at school until the end of the day when they leave.
French President Emmanuel Macron made it clear from his election campaign that he wanted to outlaw children’s phones in nursery, primary and middle-schools (or until around the age of 15), in what he called a ‘detox’ law for a younger generation that was increasingly becoming addicted to screens. Legislation was already passed in 2010 stating that children should not use phones in class. Now that phones are banned anywhere on the school premises, his political party says that children have the legal ‘right to disconnect’ from digital pressures throughout their school day.
It is hoped that the ban will help children make friends more easily and help to tackle online bullying during school time. It could also encourage children to be more physically active at break time.
With more than 90% of French children aged between 12 and 17 now owning a mobile phone, it has long been debated how these devices should be managed in schools. Opposing parties have questioned how French schools are going to successfully enforce the ban, and it has been left up to individual schools to decide how to deal with it.
A key recommendation from politicians to schools is the use of lockers – in the same way that Government ministers place their phone in a box before cabinet meetings, they think children should place their mobiles in some sort of secure multi device charging station. Because the new law will still allow mobile phones to be brought into schools, teachers need to find a way of securing and storing them so that they can be kept safely away from individual students.
An ideal solution would be the FUYL Tower charging locker from LocknCharge – an intelligent powered locker designed to individually store, charge and secure almost any mobile device, including mobile phones. Through a simple and easy to use secure digital locking system, children can charge and secure their devices until they collect them at the end of the day. Teachers can rest assured that mobiles will be ‘surrendered’ at the beginning of the school day, there is a much lesser chance of devices being either lost or stolen, and children have the added benefit of leaving school with a fully charged phone.
The FUYL Tower is made up of 15 compartments that throughout a school day can service up to 100 students. Children enter a four-digit PIN from the digital keypad, and the FUYL Tower will automatically allocate an available compartment. They then insert and connect their device (USB or outlet), close the compartment and enter the four-digit PIN again. The same four-digit PIN re-opens the compartment when the student comes to collect their device later.
Where the FUYL Tower becomes unique is in what it can do ‘behind the scenes’. Teachers have control to remote access admin, where they have the opportunity to see how many locker compartments are occupied or available in real-time. If a student forgets their PIN, teachers can unlock compartments from a remote location. The FUYL Tower provides schools with a full audit trail and time-stamped events. For schools who are concerned about budgets, they will know how often the FUYL Tower is used, when it is used and more. This intelligent data logging and statistical analysis is unique to LocknCharge and will help schools to make future purchasing decisions. Staff can use the ‘master override’ options to control the FUYL Tower both on-site and off-site, safely and securely.
What about mobile phone use in schools around the world?
Not every country believes mobile phones are a hindrance to learning – in fact, in 2015 the mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, lifted a 10-year ban on phones on school premises to ‘enable parents to stay in touch with their children’ and ‘end the inequity under the current ban, which was enforced mostly at schools with metal detectors in low-income communities’.
In the UK, school policies on mobile devices vary massively, from outright bans to some teachers actually encouraging personal phones and tablets to be used as part of lessons. In fact, a ‘bring your own device’ (or BYOD) scheme can be a fantastic cost-saving solution, with 29% of UK secondary schools now having some form of BYOD in place and a further 26% exploring it.* Some schools choose to ban phone usage amongst younger students, but let older students use them as a way of treating them as responsible users. Some teachers encourage students to take pictures, do some filming or look something up with their own mobiles.
In this case, the FUYL Tower is the ideal solution for children who are turning up to school with mobiles and tablets that need charging. Gone are the days of children sitting by plug sockets, charging their devices while using them!
Ultimately, we are sure that as technology is constantly evolving, policy may change in the future. To ensure our unit is ‘future proofed’, FUYL Towers are upgradable so that schools can benefit from software/firmware updates as the product evolves. Only time will tell the effect the French mobile ban will have on its future generation.
For more information about the use of the LocknCharge FUYL Tower in schools, click here.
*Research by RM Education