The efficiency of inspections at base station sites, which monitor electromagnetic emis-sions, can now be materially improved, claims the developer of a tablet and Web interface software program that gathers data on site and sends the information to the operator’s office.
Base stations are inspected to ensure that cellular operators comply with international safety standards.
EMSS Consulting, the parent company of software developer Field Office, says its new SiteInspector application has been developed to allow for the background transfer of information between field workers and office workers.
MD Marnus van Wyk says the tool has been designed to address the challenges associated with paper-based data capturing, which is time consuming and expensive.
“One system had to be used for the hetero-geneous data. We set about expanding our software development competence to include the required skills through our subsidiary, Field Office, which has since adapted this competence for different business and sales applications,” he states.
Office workers flag a site for inspection and all data relating to the site is then transferred to the tablet of the assigned inspector. The tablet captures all the data and once the inspection is complete, the data is made available to the office for assessment, without requiring the inspector to find an Internet connection to transfer the data.
Field Office MD Sam Clarke says the application replaces the need for a suitcase of equipment, such as global positioning satellites, cameras, phones and clipboards, and combines the technology into one device.
“SiteInspector is a proven and complete solution that helps network operators and compliance assessment companies to establish and maintain electromagnetic fields compliance. The solution has reduced data capturing errors, which allows for shorter planning cycles. It has also removed printing, courier, data capturing and filing costs, and has eliminated using two devices with all the attendant cables and brackets,” Clarke says.
SiteInspector runs on the Android operating system and is available on a range of device sizes and types.