Check Wi-Fi coverage before rolling out the tablets: a room where a guest’s phone gets a good signal will not necessarily support a whole fleet in service. Plan charging points, one spare unit and a re-enrolment procedure. A tablet out of action mid-service costs more than the device itself.
Procedure
Survey wireless coverage first
Walk the dining room, the terrace, the cellar and the stairs with a test device. A single access point rarely covers a whole venue, and a poorly covered area often shows up in the middle of service.
Build one reference tablet
Fully configure one unit: network, software, accounts, lockdown, brightness and sleep. It becomes the template for the others, and the comparison point when one device starts behaving differently.
Plan charging before going live
Decide where units charge, who puts them back and at what point in service. Without a dedicated charging point, tablets run flat mid-service, and the reseller is the one who gets the call.
Keep one spare unit
A tablet dropped or drowned mid-service has to be replaced in minutes. Keep one already-configured unit on site, and check that it starts correctly at every maintenance visit.
Write the re-enrolment procedure
Describe how to reconnect a unit to the network, sign back into the software and retire a lost device. Leave these few pages on site: they prevent an emergency call over a two-minute fix.
Check these before calling support
- Coverage has been checked at the worst points of the room.
- A configured spare unit has been left on site.
Useful terms
- Rugged tablet
A rugged tablet is a tablet built for professional use.
- IP rating
The IP rating is the standardized measure of how well an enclosure is sealed.
- Capacitive or resistive touchscreen
A capacitive touchscreen is a screen that senses the conductivity of a finger: it is precise and supports multi-touch, but ignores a thick glove.
Hardware involved
- DG870GB (Tablets)