American Time Blog

Accurate, synchronized clocks in your building, school or facility are more than a convenience. When clocks display the wrong time or different times from each other, major disruptions and even risks can happen, such as….

• Meetings, classes or shifts start and end at different times, causing confusion and inefficiency
• Wages or compensation are disputed
• Critical tasks like surgeries, food prep or manufacturing processes aren’t tracked or reported accurately
• Maintenance staff spend too much time on clock repairs and adjustments

When you’re searching for new technology to help students learn better or for a school to run more efficiently, there are countless options. Which technology will live up to its promises? How does a school evaluate differences?

A student is called to the office but the PA system disrupts the entire school to make the announcement. A student has a medical emergency in a hallway but there’s no way to communicate with nearby classrooms. Instructions for fire, lockdown and tornado drills aren’t clear or specific to each area of a building.

No single emergency notification system can cover every scenario and communicate in every way possible, as explained in a recent survey and report by Campus Safety: “… several mass notification systems should be deployed so that the weaknesses of one solution can be compensated for by other so­lutions.” In fact, most K-12 and higher ed survey respondents use multiple systems to ensure that emergency communication is clear, redundant and reliable.

As manufacturers race to stay competitive in an uncertain market, the importance of using digital technology to support efficient operations and engaged employees becomes more urgent. According to Manufacturing Global, “Many CIOs in the manufacturing sector view increasing operational efficiency and transforming the business as imperative to driving technology investments. With this in mind, IT platforms should provide the integration and coordination required for success.”

When someone walks into a building, their experience is essential. Occupants and visitors should feel safe and secure. Technology should support efficient work and precise, real-time communications.

Digital communication and signage in a building is an effective way to achieve this. In addition to sharing important daily news and messaging capabilities, modern communication platforms can deliver emergency alerts and clear instructions for keeping individuals safe and secure. In other words, a communication platform is most valuable when it can be used for both routine daily messaging and to bolster and reinforce critical emergency alerts. Let’s look at a few specific examples.

We know there are a lot of factors when it comes to choosing the right clocks or clock technology for your building. That’s why we created our
Clock School On-Demand Webinar Series.

For some purchases, the quantity you need is easy to determine. Car tires or shoes? Piece of cake. But other consumer decisions require a little more thought when you're figuring out how much to buy.

If you're outfitting your manufacturing facility with a synchronized clock system, determining just how many units you need isn't a straightforward proposition. The answer depends not only on the size of your space but its layout and purpose.

Here are some ways to gauge how many clocks you need in your facility, where to place them, and which types of devices are the best fit.

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:

When an emergency strikes a bustling hospital, there's no time to think. In medical facilities, such as hospitals, that are constantly welcoming new faces, it can be even more chaotic. By their very nature, hospitals don't have the luxury of conducting comprehensive emergency drills, but you can still have a plan. That's where an emergency communication platform, like American Time's EverAlert®, serves a critical role.

We've all heard a lot about this enigmatic entity called "the cloud,” something you probably use every day for computer applications, data storage, or entertainment, whether you give it much thought or not.

And that's the beauty of it — the cloud is seamless, making it feel like the software you use and the data you consume is coming directly from your device, and not from … somewhere out there. You rarely think about it because you rarely have to.