The explosives magazines of Magchecks Ltd.'s customers are located in extremely remote areas, beyond available power supply and where winter temperatures reach -40°C. Ensuring remote power supply for collecting and sending data while working within low transmit power safety guidelines presents a compound challenge.
An explosives magazine is similar to a bank vault with reinforced walls and a heavy door with high-security locks. To monitor door activity — the system's primary job — Magchecks Ltd. utilizes a modem mounted within a NEMA 4x-rated box with a solar panel on the outside for battery charging. It is paired with an interior BLE component to generate a signal when the door is opened.
The system continuously monitors, detects, and notifies the storage magazine owner of conditions on set schedules. Standards require that systems check-in and report status at least once every 24 hours. Magchecks Ltd. customers have the option of receiving packets at 6- or 12-hour intervals. In addition, Canada ERD safety guidelines limit monitoring systems at 40mW transmit power. With 3G and 4G data connections operating near or above 100mW, a basic challenge is the sourcing of hardware with enough power to run the system without introducing too much RF power to the process.
In the typical course of operation, NFC cards or FOBS identify authorized users accessing the explosives magazine. NFC data, along with device state data, feeds the IoT platform, which generates events such as an open door signal, battery level reading, or armed status report, and the platform begins sending text messages via Twilio to 3 contacts via contact loop until one or more responds. Another connectivity configuration based on locale and conditions may utilize a Globalstar one-way satellite SBD modem to send data to the platform, with solar-charged cold-weather batteries powering the modem. Magchecks Ltd. cites the Losant platform's sturdy display dashboard feature and individual logon capability as essential. Assurance that clients receive and view only their data is critical to security and confidentiality. Losant's assistance with HEX to BIN to DEC data translation and overall adaptability of the platform's templates and function nodes also contribute to system effectiveness and ease of use.
