OK, so I know that my NFC reading mobile device has been close to an RFID tag. So what? Well, it is also relatively straightforward to develop an app that requires a user to be logged in using a unique ID and password. So, if we use said app to read the RFID tag while logged in as a particular person, then we now know that said person has been a maximum of 5cm away from the tag. And with the addition of a few other fairly simple pieces of functionality to the app, we also know exactly what time that person was there.

​Just to expand on the last point a little, sometimes we get asked if it wouldn’t be pretty simple for a smart person to adjust the time on a phone thereby making it appear that a tag had been swiped at a different time to what it was in reality. Well in fact no, because as long as you ensure that the activity is ultimately recorded by sending information to a secure remote server, which cannot be tampered with and is constantly synchronising with the atomic clock, it is very easy to know that the phone is either lying, or has been tampered with to make it appear like it is. Adjustments can then AUTOMATICALLY be made, server side, to the activity log. Trust me,  we are smart on this one, and there is no way around it!

Alright, so now we know that a particular phone with an identifiable person has been in close proximity to an RFID tag at a certain time… what about the tag itself? How do I KNOW that it is unique, and hasn’t just been cloned so that somebody who is purporting to be doing our firewalks isn’t in fact swiping cloned tags in their front room? Well this is where some further explanation is required relating to the nature of RFID tags and why they are especially appropriate for this kind of solution. Firstly, there are 4 memory banks contained within a (UHF Gen 2) RFID tag memory bank. Each bank is labelled with a number that is assigned by EPCglobal®. In case you are interested, EPC global, is a GS1 initiative to innovate and develop industry-driven standards for the Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) to support the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). A kind of self-appointed regulator, if you like. The memory bank that we at TourTraxUK read to prove attendance is the TID memory. The TID is commonly known as the “Tag Identifier” and is typically 32-80 bits in length, and contains the chipsets type and manufacturer. It is alphanumeric and is almost certainly unique to any RFID tag. The TID number is read only and cannot be rewritten.

We believe that any proof of attendance solution should not be writing information to tags, because this would mean that potentially secure, sensitive information could be stored in an environment that is NOT secure and could be copied or replicated. By this I mean the tag itself. All we do is read the TID of the tag, send it to our servers, and at that point we know that a person has visited the tag and at what time. Giving us our bullet-proof activity log. We may also send instructions down to the phone that things need to be done (checks need to be carried out in that location, or maybe a form needs to be completed), based on functionality that is associated with the TID of the tag. But just to be clear, all of this is done at the server level and no information is stored on the tag itself. The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed that I said previously that the TID of any RFID tag is almost certainly unique. In fact, it is up to the manufacturer of the tag to generate the TID and therefore there is the remotest possibility that two different manufacturers COULD generate a TID that is the same. But bearing in mind that TID’s are typically 32-80 bits in length and alpha-numeric, this is mathematically bordering on impossible. It’s a bit like that old story that if you tied a monkey to a typewriter and gave it enough paper, eventually it will type a Shakespeare play. Assuming it is immortal, and never inclined to give up, of course. But we are pretty confident that if it came to a court of law, where proving attendance and compliance activity would need to be proven beyond reasonable doubt, RFID technology used correctly in conjunction with NFC PROVES attendance and activity. Combine it with GPS locating, then there is no reasonable doubt.

What is without doubt however, is that it proves it a lot more than writing it down in a log- book. I would also like to point out that it is also completely fire and water resistant!

For more information about how we can help you to prove your compliance activity, mitigate your risk and save you money on insurance premiums… please contact Richard Dickety on 07779 563 678 or 01634 757 088.

According to the UK Home Office, there were 596 fires in hotels or guest houses between April 2015 and March 2016 in England alone. Fortunately, this resulted in only one fatality but there were still 47 casualties requiring hospital treatment as a direct result of these incidents.
 
These numbers sound small but imagine if this happened in the hotel where you are the FSO nominated Responsible Person.  The resulting investigations will involve a great deal more than having to answer a few awkward questions, as evidence will be required to prove that you carry out your compliance checks on a regular basis. By this, we mean that you will need to be able to show that…

• Adequate fire risk assessments were carried out on an annual basis;
• Fire alarms and emergency lighting were working;
• Competent person(s) had been allocated;
• Emergency exits and signage were clearly visible;
• Furniture and furnishings that meet (Fire Safety) Regulations 1998 were in place;
• All fire doors were closed, working and accessible;
• The fire sprinkler systems were functional;
• Fire extinguishers were present, working and in the right place;
• You have conducted regular…
  • PAC tests;
  • Health & safety checks;
  • Fire-walks;
  • Night security checks;
  • CCTV camera checks.

Of course, you do all of the above on a regular basis, because you are a professional business operating in a sector where customer satisfaction, along with their personal safety and that of your staff, is of paramount importance and cannot be ignored.
But if the worst has happened, we must assume firstly that something has gone wrong (either in terms of process or equipment), also that much of the compliance documentation that you were in the habit of keeping so diligently may have been destroyed in its entirety. Your insurance will cover the cost of the physical damage all being well, but what about any third-party litigation claims or prosecutions that you may have to endure?
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TourTrax provides a solution to ensure that all of the above checks are recorded and backed up automatically. All you need to do is instruct your competent persons to touch a basic Android smartphone to strategically placed RFID tags, on a regular basis. Information is then sent to a Microsoft Azure secure remote server, which is fully mirrored and backed-up. You can access this information daily if you like, just for peace of mind. But then if your worst nightmare becomes a reality? Well it just might keep you out of jail.
We can also set the system to alert you when ANY of the above activities have not happened as regularly, or at the times that you have specified that they should.
All this will cost you little more than the savings we will make using our specialist brokers and underwriters to lower your annual insurance premiums. So, ask yourself… why on earth wouldn’t you?
For more information or a demo call Richard Dickety on 01634 757 088 or email rdickety@tourtrax.ca.

​We spend a great deal of time talking to customers and prospects about compliance, and most importantly about how they manage and monitor it. What systems and processes do they have in place?  How often do they review said processes? And when all is said and done, are they happy that everything that needs to be done, like fire walks and critical maintenance checks, ARE getting done.
We get an overwhelmingly positive response from businesses that they are confident that their compliance obligations are being met, because they have trusted and competent persons in place to do the checks and monitor them. This then means that all of their critical fire and other associated safety equipment is in good working order, which in turn means that their staff and customers are residing and working in a safe environment.

This is of course has a significant impact on insurance premiums, because without said systems and processes in place, no reputable insurer is going to provide them with cover. Right?
Well yes this is true to a large extent, but what has become evident to us is that many insurers are “happy” to take paper log-books and maintenance sheets as proof of due diligence. Yet it seems to us totally incongruous that the very proof that is being used by the insurer to enable them to provide cover, would not survive the very disaster that the checks are supposed to prevent.

So let’s consider something… if you are carrying out daily fire walks and maintenance checks in your business, AND keeping all of the data that PROVES that you are doing so, with 100% certainty, in an off-site, digital, secure, backed up and mirrored environment… why would you pay the same insurance premiums as someone who (let’s face it, may or may not) do it once or twice a month and “proves” it by writing stuff down on scraps of paper?
The point is pretty simple. YOU know that stuff is getting done in your business by your staff… but how do you know that it is being carried out to the same level of diligence by your competition? If they are not, they are clearly more likely to make a claim, either because of a potentially avoidable disaster befalling them, or because an angry customer or employee is suing them because a faulty piece of equipment has injured them.
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TourTraxUk works closely with specialist brokers and underwriters alike, to ensure that businesses who are diligent about compliance, and who take the trouble to PROVE it, pay less to insure their premises and staff than businesses who don’t. Because they make fewer claims. It’s not about Big Brother spying on your trustworthy staff, it’s about proving that you are better and more diligent than the competition. And we all know that being better than your competition saves money, and keeps customers loyal, whatever aspect you apply it to.

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