User:VickiCole/Laptop charging trolley

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Summary: Laptop charging trolleys, also known as laptop trolleys and laptop carts, are mobile storage containers to charge laptops, netbooks and tablet computers on mass. The trolleys are predominately used in schools that have replaced their traditional static ICT suites of desktop computers with laptops, but do not have enough plug sockets in their buildings to charge all of the devices. The trolleys can be wheeled between rooms and classrooms so that anyone in a particular building can access fully charged IT equipment.

Laptop charging trolleys are also used to deter and protect against opportunistic and organised theft. Schools, especially those with open-plan designs, are often prime targets for thieves and laptops, netbooks and tablets can easily be concealed and removed from buildings. Laptop charging trolleys were designed to protect against these problems, as those that are constructed of reinforced steel are designed to be very difficult to break into. Although the trolleys can be moved between areas in buildings, they can often also be mounted to the floor or walls to prevent thieves walking off with investments, especially overnight. http://www.sec-ed.co.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/article/article.html?uid=83925;section=Features%22;type_uid=2 History: The first laptop charging trolley to be produced in the UK, the Mentor™, appeared in 2000 and was designed and manufactured by LapSafe® Products http://www.lapsafe.com/to be sold into the UK. http://www.technology-in-education.co.uk/features/school-ict-security-tips/ Two different kinds of laptop charging was offered, ChargeLine, in which users plug a laptop's original AC adaptor into flush plug sockets inside the unit, and patented SmartLine, which replaces AC adaptors with preconfigured charging cables to save time. (ICT for Education, March 2011, page 16) The original laptop trolley was designed to be modular so that modules could be replaced and upgraded in the future to cater for new equipment. There are now several manufacturers of laptop charging trolleys across the UK and the rest of the world, ranging from basic and budget trolleys that simply charge devices, to more sophisticated charging carts that are incredibly secure and use integrated charging. The charging trolleys can often be used as complete mobile ICT classrooms, with some trolleys coming complete with wireless routers for internet access and data cables to update all of the laptops with software simultaneously. http://www.education-today.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/3518/Managing_ICT_in_the_modern_classroom.html

Health and safety alert In 2009, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued a health and safety alert to schools with laptop charging trolleys, following an incident where a person received an electric shock. According to the HSE, the incident happened "when a 3-pin plug supplying the trolley was removed from the supply socket there was sufficient stored electric charge on the pins of the plug to give the user an electric shock. In addition some trolleys have been identified that have two supply cables contrary to good electrical engineering practice, inadequate plug and cable storage facilities and unsuitable earth terminations." http://www.hse.gov.uk/services/education/safety121009.htm

The HSE declared that, in spite of European law, some laptop charging trolleys by certain manufacturers had been supplied and sold without going through the correct health and safety processes, and this had resulted in an individual receiving an electrical shock. The HSE explained that, "When electrical equipment is placed on the market in the UK the manufacturer / supplier should have established that the equipment is safe for intended use, constructed in accordance with good electrical engineering practice in relation to safety matters and that it is in conformity with the principal elements of the safety objectives for electrical equipment as set out in the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994." The body stated that any laptop charging trolley that had not been through the above process, or been affixed with a CE Certification mark, should not go on sale within the European Economic Area (EEA). Despite the health and safety scare, the HSE made clear that not all laptop charging trolleys are dangerous, only those that do not conform to CE Certification. The organisation advised that schools and other companies looking into purchasing charging trolleys should check with the manufacturer that these products display the CE mark. http://www.hse.gov.uk/services/education/safety121009.htm The safety issue created a lot of furore throughout the industry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy9l0FUWpeA&feature=related

Variations: There are now lots of variations to laptop charging trolleys on the market, with some organisations preferring to use static laptop charging lockers or cabinets to store and charge their equipment in a centralised location. Lockers that track, manage and charge laptops are also available using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to identify when a laptop has been removed, replaced on damaged. More recently, charging trolleys for tablets have also been introduced. http://www.buildingtalk.com/news/bse/bse110.html However, not all of these products are manufactured to the same quality, and individuals should carefully examine the product’s safety, sophistication and level of security before making a purchase.

Manufactures of laptop storage and charging trolleys: • LapSafe Products (www.lapsafe.com) • Bretford (https://www.bretforduk.com/cms/cms.jsp?menu_id=4663&category=pg%5FLaptopTrolley) • LEBA (http://www.note-cart.com/) • LapCabby, Monarch Education (http://www.lapcabby.co.uk/) • Keep IT Secure (http://www.keepitsecure.co.uk/) • Loxit (http://www.loxit.com/laptop-security) • Top-Tec (http://www.top-tec.co.uk/Laptop_and_Netbook_Trolleys.html)

External links

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