Utilizing the benefits of location technology, startup Lighthouse.io has developed a cloud-based workforce management platform that allows employers to accurately locate and interact with their employees, who may be dispersed over a wide location.
Managing employee efficiency and workflow when dealing with medium and large teams is a complicated task, especially when operating in facilities like airports and shopping malls, where it becomes nearly impossible to track an employee’s movements over the premises.
Lighthouse.io is a real-time location system that makes it simple to find, interact with, and optimize workers and assets across a range of industries such as the cleaning, security, health, and mining industry.
To make the most out of the location and analytical features, the app is targeted at businesses operating within industries where employees are required to move around a lot, such as cleaning and security.
The independent software company is headquartered in New York with offices in Melbourne and service clients across the globe. The Lighthouse.io platform ranges from simple integration of the Lighthouse API into end-to-end industry specific solutions. As co-founder Ben Howden explains,
A manager is able to view the collected data via a web-based management console, informing one the app’s key benefits of helping to optimize employee efficiency. Existing app-based solutions in the same space typically don’t take into account a staff member’s exact location when presenting or collecting information.
Train stations, large corporate campuses, airports, hospitals, and stadiums are among the startup’s target sites. Taking a shopping mall as an example; the app would work by first having each worker within the, cleaning team, provided with a mobile device and Bluetooth beacon at the beginning of their shift.
Howden explained that the startup can provide businesses with phones that have the app installed, but they do also support a “BYO devices” approach. The Lighthouse.io mobile app installed on the mobile device is able to detect signals being broadcast by Bluetooth beacons deployed at a site. He further added,
The range of the beacons is configurable and usually set anywhere from two metres to 30 metres, but we also use GPS where beacons aren’t appropriate, such as large outdoor environments.
The employees continue with their shift, and if a Bluetooth signal is received, Lighthouse.io will record the employee’s location and search for any new content that can be sent to them, such as task lists, reminders, messages, and safety alerts.
Location isn’t the only type of data Lighthouse.io tracks, however, as the app can also detect if KPIs are missed during a shift. Howden stated,
For example, if a bathroom at a train station should be checked by a cleaner every 30 minutes to maintain cleanliness and eliminate risks, our system can monitor if this occurs.
Following the launch of version one of Lighthouse.io, the cofounders were approached by Australian facilities service provider Spotless to understand if the tech could be used to manage a cleaning workforce. Howden also says,
Through our engagement with Spotless we realized there was significant opportunity in facilities management and decided to make that our focus for the product.
