Question

Answer

Who should look at the Monitoring System menu?

The buttons in the Monitoring System menu are designed for someone such as an operations manager who needs to monitor site statistics, devices, and components.

Why should I monitor site statistics?

For a variety of reasons, you will want to stay informed about site statistics. For example, at any time, you can view the Status to see if all the sites are open and functioning. If there is a bill jam or a low bill warning, the site icon in the software will appear yellow. By clicking the icon, you can see which component generated the error.

If you operate numerous sites, and cannot be at every site, the Monitoring System can be your remote eyes and ears. Site managers may not accurately report problems. If a device, such as an Auto Sentry Flex, stops working, the site manager might simply throw a switch, open the gate and collect money at the tunnel. That device icon in the software will turn red so you can investigate and help the site manager troubleshoot the issue.

Can I track failure rates for my devices?

The system is monitoring every component inside every device at each site. This data helps to determine the failure rate of any single component. For example, at a bill dispenser the system tracks how many bills were dispensed and counts each one as either a successful, impaired or failed attempt. If the device dispensed 6,000 bills, you can see how many were successful. The errors are segregated into system errors, user errors and informational alerts.

What can an error code tell me?

If a component fails, for example, you can receive an email alert with an error code. The error code links to an online database with step-by-step troubleshooting instructions. Additionally, an ICS Support Technician can receive the same email alert, and then contact your site manager to tell him. For example, if the Auto Sentry Flex is not communicating with the bill acceptor. ICS customers are amazed when a technician calls to report an issue before anyone at the site knew about it.

Can I eliminate recurring problems?

Recurring problems are identified because the error history for a component is available for whatever date range you select. After time, the system will include enough historical data to identify these recurring problems. For example, you might see that a bill dispenser has reported the same problem every two months for the past year. This data is collected by ICS to improve future designs. Knowing about system problems, what the problems are, and when they occurred gives ICS the fact-based data necessary to improve our products and eliminate components with a high failure rate.

Can I tell if my software is up-to-date?

The Version History includes an historical upgrade schedule for each hardware and software component at your site. You can see each date a firmware version changed, for example. After a firmware upgrade, you can see if the errors for that component went away. The version history also helps ICS technicians troubleshoot issues. Since each site has numerous components, and each component must be synchronized with all the rest, a component that appears to be failing may simply need an upgrade to correct the issue.