American Time Blog

In an era when funding school improvements can be quite a challenge, a creative partnership between a school district and its internet service provider is especially noteworthy. Thanks to their unique collaboration, the district's new school has a state-of-the-art emergency communication network, and the ISP has increased visibility throughout the new complex.

It all started when Rushford-Peterson, the school district in Southwestern Minnesota, began planning its new centerpiece facility, a 170,000-square-foot complex that would serve pre-kindergarten through grade 12. When it came time to think about their synchronized clock system and in-school communications network, district leaders decided on American Time's EverAlert®, which utilizes integrated displays and audio communications to quickly disseminate information across a facility for emergency scenarios and day-to-day messaging.

It's back! American Time is excited to announce the 2nd annual Maintenance Hero Contest. This contest is open to any organization - private, public, nonprofit, educational or others - that wishes to nominate their invaluable maintenance professional.

At American Time, we take recognition seriously. And recognizing Maintenance Heroes is a passion of ours because they keep businesses humming in just about every industry imaginable. You know who they are, our ghostbusters, our supermen and superwomen, there to save the day when something is (quite literally) falling apart. Unfortunately, often times their heroism is behind the scenes and goes unnoticed. Maintenance professionals and are an integral part of any successful business and juggle a wide variety of skills to make sure everyone can keep moving.

George Wilkes, president of American Time says, "We're happy to to continue the contest and spotlight more Maintenance Heroes who are making a difference in their workplace." Take this chance to nominate your maintenance superhero and give them the recognition they deserve!

Technology is like sand on the beach. It has a way of getting everywhere.

There was a time when a phone was just a phone and a TV was just a TV, but technological advances have ways of seeping into the everyday objects around us. We have smartphones, smart TVs, even smart toasters. This also extends to clocks.

Advances in timekeeping have made it easier for people to manage and tell time, but some digital clocks are now portals to the outside world.

Here are some functions beyond the basics of timekeeping that can be integrated into a synchronized digital clock system:

Anytime Chuck Ehler, Superintendent at Rushford-Peterson Schools in Minnesota, gives a tour of a classroom, people say, “Wow! I really like the clocks that you have here. That is really impressive.”

Rushford-Peterson opened its new, state-of-the-art school in 2017, after flooding and aging buildings necessitated the project. But the district not only received a new building, it upgraded technology, too.

“We have everything in this building technologically — from programmable LED lighting to programmable heating and ventilation,” says Technology Director Corey Mattson. “We have wireless access in every corner of the building. We have a secure building with secure entrances.”

For anyone who takes direction from someone else — so, virtually all of us — it can be comforting to realize that your boss has a boss.

You might be told what to do every day and work under intense scrutiny, but the person scrutinizing you is also under pressure. See? Your boss is human, too.

But not all authority figures are human. Take, for instance, the clock on the wall. In a time-sensitive scenario, the clock is your boss, and if it's part of a synchronized system, the time it displays supersedes all other competing sources, such as phones or computers.

There are few moments during the day as precious as lunchtime. Lunch is supposed to be a refuge from the day's obligations, a time to decompress, regroup and recharge.

Any grown-up with a hectic daily schedule appreciates this, but for young learners, lunchtime is even more vital. It's their time to fuel their brains as they learn about the world around them.

That means people like Joshua Poveda, chef and food service director at Evergreen Charter School in Hempstead, New York, play a vital role in students' education. When Poveda realized lunchtime at his school wasn't the nourishing respite it was supposed to be, he optimized Evergreen's lunch schedule with the help of synchronized clocks.

Clocks and wire guards go hand in hand. It's like buying a screen protector for your cellphone. Installing a synchronized time system is an investment that most organizations will expect to see a return on. The best way to ensure this is to buy wire guards to protect your clocks. This will make sure your organization always stays on time. 

There are two primary types of guards: metal and polycarbonate. Metal is the traditional wire guard with steel rods. Polycarbonate is a clear and hard material that can either cover the entire clock, or be open on the sides. Which ever one you choose, there are many situations where a wire guard is necessary. 

When you think of choreography, you probably picture your favorite music video or your kid's dance recital, or anything with a lot of synchronized twists, steps, and spins.

But there are a lot of things that have to be choreographed, such as a typical day on a college campus. It can be a beautiful thing to watch the teeming masses scurry across a stately campus in the pursuit of knowledge, and like any graceful production, it requires an eye for detail.

When you think about the clock system that ties your campus schedule together, one detail you must consider is which type of clock you should install. Also, it's important to know that in the world of synchronized clocks, Wi-Fi and wireless mean two different things. Let's explore which type of clock works best for you, depending on the size of your campus.

The end of the school year is here, which means it's time to exhale. Those freshly emptied hallways and classrooms will bring some much-deserved peace and quiet after a long nine months, but they also provide a prime opportunity for routine maintenance.

Now is a good time for building workers to ensure everything is in working order, including looking at the facility's wired clock system. We'll walk you through a checklist to make sure your clocks are in tip-top shape.

Have you ever taken on a major project in your home and wished you could just start from scratch and rebuild the house from the ground up?