Real-time location systems
RTLS, explained.
A practical guide to real-time location tracking on industrial sites: what RTLS is, the technologies behind it, and how to choose between zone-level awareness and precise positioning for evacuation, mustering and safety.
A real-time location system (RTLS) continuously determines and reports where tagged people or assets are within a defined area, in real time. On complex sites it underpins evacuation and mustering, lone-worker welfare, induction and access, and asset tracking, turning a live picture of who and what is where into faster, safer decisions.
The technologies
How real-time location tracking works.
Every RTLS pairs tags carried by people or fixed to assets with readers placed around the site. The technology you choose sets the trade-off between cost, battery life and how precise the location is.
RFID
Radio-frequency tags read at fixed points such as gates and muster points. Ideal for zone-level awareness and head counts, low cost and long battery life.
UWB
Ultra-wideband gives metre-level, real-time positioning. Used where you need precise location, for example collision avoidance around plant and vehicles.
BLE
Bluetooth Low Energy beacons offer room or area-level location with cheap, widely available tags. A middle ground between RFID zones and UWB precision.
Wi-Fi
Existing wireless infrastructure can estimate location without new readers, useful for coarse tracking across buildings already covered by Wi-Fi.
Choosing an approach
Zone awareness or precise positioning?
Zone-level awareness
Knowing which building, floor or muster point someone was last detected in. Enough for evacuation, mustering and compliance, and the most cost-effective option for whole-site coverage.
Precise positioning
Metre-level UWB location for collision avoidance, exact asset positioning and high-risk work areas. Add it where the precision genuinely changes the decision.
RTLS built for safety, not surveillance.
The Salvus Network delivers reliable zone-level awareness across your whole site using discreet Safety Detection Points and the safety tags people already carry, with optional UWB for precise location where you need it. It is a complete, off-the-shelf platform for evacuation and mustering, lone-worker welfare, access and asset tracking, with no turnstiles, no manual roll-call and UK data residency.
Frequently asked questions
What is RTLS?+
RTLS stands for real-time location system: technology that continuously determines and reports the location of tagged people or assets within a defined area in real time. On industrial sites it is used for evacuation and mustering, lone-worker welfare, access control and asset tracking.
What is the difference between RTLS and RFID?+
RFID is one of the technologies an RTLS can use. RFID typically reads a tag as it passes a fixed point, which gives zone-level awareness. A full real-time location system may combine RFID with UWB, BLE or Wi-Fi to add continuous or metre-level positioning.
Do I need precise real-time location tracking, or is zone awareness enough?+
For evacuation, mustering and personnel accountability, zone-level awareness, knowing which building, floor or muster point someone was last detected in, is usually enough and is the most cost-effective option. Precise, metre-level UWB tracking is worth it where you need collision avoidance or exact positioning of high-value assets.
How does RTLS help with evacuation and mustering?+
When the alarm sounds, an RTLS shows who is still inside a hazard zone and counts people in automatically as they reach a muster point, replacing paper roll-call with a live, timestamped and auditable record. This is the core of personnel accountability under regimes like COMAH.
How does The Salvus Network approach real-time location?+
The Salvus Network uses discreet Safety Detection Points and safety tags for reliable zone-level awareness across the whole site, with optional UWB for precise positioning where it is needed. It is a complete, off-the-shelf platform focused on safety and accountability rather than surveillance, with no turnstiles and no manual sign-in.
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A guided live walk-through of what the platform can do.