Over the last few months Cork County Council has been rolling out a Loc8 Code signs on every ringbuoy across the county. Ringbuoys are a vital part of water safety as promoted by Irish Water Safety via the Local authorities, and putting a pre calculated exact location in the form of an easy to communicate Loc8 Code on the buoys helps with public safety.
In the event of an emergency, there is no need for a special app, just ring 999 or 112 and just read out the Loc8 Code as displayed on the buoy to give your exact location. Loc8 Code was fully adopted by the National Ambulance Service in 2017 to cover all those places which have no Eircode or where the Eircode does not work for any reason. Loc8 Code is integrated into the ambulance service’s emergency call answering system, their mapping system and their vehicle navigation systems in the same way as Eircode is.
Loc8 Code was developed over several years from 2005 onwards by a small company in Crosshaven, Cork. It became the 1st non-national coding system adopted on a mainstream navigation platform with Garmin for testing in 2007 and on all their SatNav devices from 2010.
Loc8 Code has a long term commitment from Garmin for continued support as a free standard feature on their devices serving both the Republic & Northern Ireland also. Loc8 Code can also be used via a web app which requires no downloading or installing. It is used like any web page on any device and it is at this link www.loc8.ie/point8 ; - just bookmark it on your phone in case you need to generate a Loc8 Code or navigate to one at any time.
Loc8 Code is also used by the HSE for major emergency planning and was 1st used by the Gardaí to position resources at Cork Airport on the day of the Manx Air crash just over 10 years ago this year. It is also used for rail emergency access points, major gas and electrical installations and emergency infrastructure at industrial sites. Loc8 Code can be put on any safety signage anywhere which can be energy, construction or industrial related and it is also being used on signs around remote farm yards and farm buildings.
To check and ensure your Loc8 Code or Eircode are correct for Location and Routing before you need to rely on them in an emergency go to www.checkyourcode.ie where you will also find handy advice for making signs to display the codes so as to ensure they are available to all in an emergency.
For more about Loc8 Code you can call Loc8 Code at 021 4832990 or email info@loc8code.com