Page 35 - Security Today, January/February 2021

“A site readiness tracker was established, and communication was established with each site lead to ensure everyone was keeping abreast of ever-changing restrictions and modifications of government COVID-19 orders.”
of government COVID-19 orders.
In HID Global’s case, all products and services are deemed essential to customers in the health, medical, food and govern- ment sectors. It was critical that manu- facturing and fulfillment sites continue to operate. Readiness teams also knew that health and safety would be at the forefront of employees’ minds. It was essential to an- ticipate very real emotions and valid con- cerns. Also important was looking ahead and painting the ‘next’ normal for employ- ees by defining and providing reassurance about the new behaviors that would now occur in a familiar place. The playbook
provided this reassuring clarity.
Each site had the space and autonomy
to adjust their sites according to individual needs, but they all concentrated on four core areas: protection, cleaning, messaging and distancing. For protection and distanc- ing, HID Global turned to its own product and solution portfolio.
Site-specific distancing guidance was provided related to face-to-face meetings and the time and spacing constraints if one
had to meet this way, as well as greeting practices, dining habits and managing mail and package deliveries. The guidelines also covered activities related to meeting rooms, personal offices and workstations Site lead- ers also concentrating on how they could re- configure assembly stations and other den- sity-management challenges. Ongoing focus areas include ensuring compliance in cube arrangements, traffic flow pattern design and management, and the use of plexiglass and other barriers for ensuring separation.
PUTTING THE GUIDELINES IN PLACE
With these separation guidelines in place, HID then applied its own technologies to automate the process of compliance. Hav- ing the scale to create a complete, identity- based chain of trust in what people are permitted to do, and where, has given HID the agility to rapidly develop complete, end- to-end solutions for supporting work safety initiatives. There are two key components: • Dynamic Workplace Safety – Cloud-based
visitor management, remote employee and visitor badge issuance, and fully touchless access solutions reduce person-to-person contact. Rule-based physical distancing management provides immediate insights and alerts to keep employees compliant with safety and sanitation requirements.
•Automated Rapid Response and Com- pliance – Automated visitor compliance, contact tracing, physical distancing, and hygiene behavior removes the burden of tracking new health and safety procedures.
HID piloted its solutions with 200 es- sential workers soon after public health distancing guidelines went into effect. The solutions were deployed across a diversity of physical environments from the manu- facturing floor to cubicles, lunchrooms and lobbies. Each employee was given a Blue- tooth Low Energy (BLE) fog on a lanyard that, using peer-to-peer capabilities, pro- vided auditory behavioral feedback when it entered the recommended six-foot physical- distancing range and remained for a speci- fied time period. Simultaneously, this data was sent to the cloud for analysis and loca- tion information to identify where the inci- dent took place within the building.
As an alternative to fobs, the same ca- pabilities can be delivered using a badge/
badge holder that is easily added to existing ID cards. In either case, there is a full digital trail of an employee’s whereabouts and his- torical interactions while at work. Fobs can be issued not only to employees but also to visitors and contractors. Employers define distancing policies and alert parameters for mitigating an infection outbreak per public health guidelines, and zones can be created with geo-fences around high-traffic areas (breakrooms, hallways, lobbies) to mini- mize large congregations of people.
PLAYING A KEY ROLE
The solution also plays a key role when someone tests positive. With a click of a button, detailed reporting enables contact tracing using historical data on movement and interactions. This triggers safety pro- tocols based on reporting that includes a chronological list of all the times two peo- ple were in the same zone or had a distance incident. The facility can assess the risk of each employee exposure and minimize dis- ruption as it rapidly responds to cases and activates isolation procedures as needed.
The HID Global pilot revealed much about employee reactions to the global health crisis. They generally wanted to be part of something that could have a tremen- dous impact on the worldwide workforce. Their participation in the pilot also revealed how best to implement guidelines while also creating the optimal experience for employ- ees. Additionally, the pilot underscored how an IoT ecosystem can quickly scale and adapt to the dynamic requirements of hospi- tals, manufacturing facilities and enterprise organizations. Real-time time monitoring and analytics capabilities can help ensure compliance with a number of other safety requirements, such as hand hygiene policies and other regulations introduced as part of the “next normal.” At the same time, organi- zations can leverage their investment in these IoT solutions beyond today’s global health crisis, since they lay the foundation to easily add even more IoT appli-
cations--all of which can
be centrally managed on
a single platform.
Mark Robinton is the vice president of IoT Services at HID Global.
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