As part of its occupational health activity, Cohezio also monitors the environmental parameters of its premises to ensure optimal prevention. "We need to collect data such as temperature, humidity, light and CO₂ levels. The Proximus LoRa network gives us tailor-made data in real time. If we have to, we can adjust the conditions immediately. These 'mini-sensors' are entirely complementary to the various professional devices we already use. They allow us to optimize the use of our devices by targeting the moments when we need more complete and precise information," emphasizes Eric Fromont.

Cohezio

Cohezio is the external service for prevention and protection at work. The service monitors the health, safety and welfare of employees and supports employers in fulfilling their legal obligations.

Before they started with the Internet of Things, Eric Fromont and his team conducted a thorough analysis of the technologies available on the market. Their eye fell on Proximus. "The competence of the people we spoke to and their responsiveness to our many questions were decisive. We then made a selection of the useful sensors and we studied the ideal locations to place them in service to the network. We tested the connectivity, center by center.” Today, Cohezio manages the collected data via its own BI and reporting platform.

“Not enough organizations seem to be aware of the business applications of IoT.”

Cohezio's IT manager considers the fusion of IoT and the healthcare sector as a spectacular step forward. “We have taken the quality of our data to a new level. Not enough organizations seem to be aware of the business applications of IoT. In fact, our projects are often a source of inspiration for our customers who experience the benefits first hand.” Eric Fromont is also looking forward to the deployment of 5G. “The potential of these technologies is huge for the e-health and workplace wellness sectors.”

As a trained engineer and Level 1 prevention consultant, Eric Fromont knows the occupational health and safety sector like the back of his hand. He is a strong advocate of technology for health and has been IT director since 2007.

The digitalization of the healthcare sector is undeniable. Prevention within companies is carried out by external services using an upstream approach. These services are governed by strict legislation and have to juggle with patient data and e-health web portals. “We process the employee data of about 20,000 customers in Belgium. We designed our own data warehouse, which was recently expanded to include data collected through our IoT projects," explains Eric Fromont.

With national coverage and around 150 logistics centers, the need for automation is apparent to Eric Fromont. One of his projects linked to the Internet of Things concerns the storage of vaccines. "We manage 120 storage refrigerators. Because they are connected with each other, we can not only remote control the temperatures, but we can also detect which equipment needs to be replaced. We have a very useful dashboard which we did not have before.”

The temperature in the refrigerators must be kept between two and eight degrees at all times. Should the temperature exceed those limitations, the system sends an alert to a manager within the medical team. "As part of our ISO 9001 certification, checking whether temperatures are in order is part of the inspectors' checklists. This dynamic and proactive management allows us to focus on other priorities.”

Michel Andris, project manager at the ICT department, manages the IT of four hospitals, thirteen polyclinics & medical centers, six daycare centers and three nursing homes.

CHU Charleroi

The Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Charleroi is a public hospital managed by ISPPC. The hospital has 1,424 beds, approx. 4,000 employees and more than 500 doctors.

Among the many solutions provided by IoT, Michel Andris and his colleagues are also responding to the challenge of geolocation of equipment loaned between departments. "No more endless searches, the position of each mobile scanner or infusion pump is directly identifiable. Just like our defibrillators, which are unfortunately coveted by less well-intentioned people.”

Then, different innovation projects quickly followed at the CHU. "We set up an alert system via a connected button. In the event of a security problem, our staff presses the button and the alert is immediately transmitted, the objective being to be able to intervene as quickly as possible (every second counts). The same technology is also used for patients in sterile rooms, for example," the project manager explains.

To ensure smooth and targeted dissemination of information generated by connected objects, CHU has developed its own alarm server. "Many hospitals operate on the basis of heterogeneous systems. Our strategy is to standardize information. Connected objects are therefore one of the entry points for this server. Optimization is as beneficial internally as it is for patients," Michel Andris emphasizes.

Michel Andris has various projects on his plate: parking space management sensors, interactive patient guidance terminals and fall sensors. "We consider every new idea and discuss it with the relevant department. If it can be integrated, we look for the most suitable IoT sensor. In the future, 5G will help us absorb larger volumes and heavier data (such as video) with a lower response time. But for now, my priority is to know how to receive and send information, whether through Wi-Fi coverage or through LoRa.”

Michel Andris recalls the first project that led to the integration of IoT at CHU. "We started with a fairly simple request: monitoring the temperature of our refrigerators, freezers and laboratory ovens as part of drug monitoring. The reading manual was not very accurate and we needed to gain in reliability, consistency and reporting. We were able to do this thanks to connected objects. We even managed to identify non-compliant equipment.”

“We consider every new idea. If it can be integrated, we look for the most suitable IoT sensor.”

• The sensors are ready-to-use and watertight. 

• They monitor temperatures down to -55 °C or -90 °C.

• They work with an accuracy of up to 0.5 °C.

• They can be installed without major modifications.

• They automatically send an alarm signal if the temperature deviates from the set values.

• They are connected to the MyThings management platform via the Long Range (LoRa) network. Backup of the network is done via local gateways.

• They adapt to the desired temperature of the different vaccines

L’AViQ

l' Agence pour une Vie de Qualité is committed to the health and well-being of citizens in Wallonia. L'AViQ places four essential values at the heart of its actions: justice, solidarity, quality and efficiency.