Highlights
Added Occupancy Threshold Setting
- Alarm Sounds When Over Threshold
Updated: May 8, 2020
We’d like to tell you about some changes that we’ve recently made to our RTC-P3 Electronic People Counter, in regards to tracking occupancy and the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
Current Customers:
Please note that customers who already use the RTC-P3 can have their system reprogrammed to take advantage of these occupancy changes.
Supermarkets and other Essential Businesses:
Supermarkets and other essential businesses have been contacting us lately, asking if our systems can track occupancy. Many of these businesses are being required to track and limit the number of people in their building at any given time, in order to promote social distancing during this COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
Non-Essential Businesses:
We also recognized that non-essential businesses may also be required to track and limit their occupancy once the economy opens back up. Even if these non-essential businesses are not required to do this, it may be a good idea for them to track occupancy in order to promote social distancing and to provide customers with peace of mind.
System Enhancements:
To that end, we recently made enhancements to our RTC-P3 Electronic People Counter to better track in-house occupancy. The system already had basic occupancy capability. It kept an occupancy total; however, the total was not saved if power to the system was disrupted.
The following changes have been made to the RTC-P3 system, in order to achieve a more comprehensive and robust handling of occupancy. This firmware version that reflects these changes is 5.1.6. The previous version was 5.1.5. (Please don’t confuse occupancy total with occupancy threshold.)
Occupancy Total Saved to Flash Memory: As we mentioned above, the occupancy running total would previously reset back to zero if the power was interrupted. We now store the running total in Flash memory in order to preserve the value, even if the power is interrupted.
Ability to Adjust or Clear the Occupancy Total if Needed: Previously, the current occupancy total could be reset back to zero via a menu option. We modified the system so that you can now adjust the current occupancy total to any value you’d like, including zero.
This flexibility is nice to have in various situations, even though it probably won’t be needed very often. For example, customers may have interrupted the beam accidentally a number of times. Or what about an employee working in the entrance area accidentally triggering hits on the system? That’s no problem. In order to modify the current occupancy total, the five-digit security code is required.
Added Occupancy Threshold: Perhaps the most important change is the addition of an occupancy threshold setting. It can be set/adjusted via the menu mode. This is also saved in Flash memory, so that it is not lost or reset if the power is interrupted. This occupancy threshold setting works in conjunction with the next point.
Buzzer Sounds when Occupancy Passes Threshold: If the occupancy threshold is set to zero, then no buzzer will sound. Of course, the current occupancy total is still available at all times.
The RTC-P3 electronic people counter uses this buzzer/alarm feature when the occupancy threshold is set to a value greater than zero. In this scenario, when the current occupancy total is greater than the occupancy threshold setting, a series of beeps will sound after every time someone enters or exits, as well as approximately every 30 seconds when there is no activity. This instantly notifies employees that they are currently over the occupancy threshold setting.
Display Occupancy Total and Occupancy Threshold on Main Screen: The occupancy total and occupancy threshold, as well as the day’s current total traffic count, are now displayed on the main LCD screen of the people counter. Previously, the user needed to enter the five-digit security code to enter the menu mode to see this information. There is now no reason for the employees to have to touch or interact with the system in any way in order to view this information.
Summary:
Maybe you have a supermarket or other essential business, or maybe you have a non-essential business. There’s no reason to get in touch with us to learn more about how the RTC-P3 electronic people counter can help your business during this difficult time. Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments, or to brainstorm the possibilities. Call 570-289-0989 or e-mail [email protected] and we’ll be ready to help.
