As much of the UK is looking to the future and the possible return to the workplace and with predictions leaning towards covid-19 being around for a long while to come (let’s hope they are wrong), it is important that businesses look at their health and safety and staff welfare policies to ensure a safe return to work for their employees, writes Camilla Kirkham, Director of Sales, Security and AV at the distributor Nimans.
There are many emerging technologies that have been developed in recent times to help safeguard employees and members of the public and some old ones that suddenly find a new use case to help support the safe return to work.
The latest AI cameras have been positioned as vital screening and monitoring services to help people back into the workplace and feeling safe. Others are able to monitor crowd density and accurately determine if social distancing guidelines are being adhered to, or not. While there’s lots of debate on the effectiveness of temperature detection – some see it as the belt and braces – there’s the perception of how seriously businesses are taking the return to work. The notion being, you’re more likely to be drawn to companies or feel more secure in the workplace where visible health and safety measures are in place.
Amazon, which announced that it has procured over 1,115 thermal cameras worldwide are among the companies that have announced that they are already using or trialling the use of thermal. Amazon of course are no strangers to adopting this type of technology. The Amazon supermarkets use a combination of video technology, sensors, and deep learning AI to power their human interaction-free shopping experience.
Another important area to consider is access control and occupancy monitoring. Not just to reduce the amount of physical contact that occurs between workers when entering buildings to reduce risks but also streamlining and maximising available workspace as we emerge from lockdown. Advances in technology have led to occupancy management features, where by combining technologies such as cameras, AI, access control systems, and other devices, employers or building managers can limit the number of people in the building or specific zones or control efficient utilisation of the workspace. This is another great example of the emerging technology that is supporting a safe return to work.
While some of this is perhaps old news to many readers, it’s worth appreciating the implications the adoption of this type of surveillance might have for many businesses. There are potentially key considerations businesses might have around HR and legal matters affected by those coming into view of those cameras. I’m not sure Matt from Marketing will appreciate the thought of colleagues seeing the thermal glow coming off him when he enters the building after riding his bike to work. And when he does, who in the organisation should challenge him on entry? This is an area where you can gain an advantage, by offering support and guidance in these areas, to ensure that your customers are compliant with all of the latest legislation, and to help reduce their perceived barriers for adopting tech, or by steering them to the most appropriate solution for their business and culture.
Another consideration brought about by the pandemic is the short supply of key components. Glass is being used in large quantities to manufacture vaccine bottles causing possible supply chain problems for monitor manufacturers. We are hearing from a number of manufacturers about potential shortages in different areas. To ensure the continuity for supply of monitors and AV equipment, we, like many others have stocked up.
At Nimans we work with vendors such as Hanwha Techwin, Hikvision (pictured), EZVIZ, 2N, ACT/Vanderbilt, CDVI, Ubiquiti, TP-Link, Draytek, Samsung, Phillips and LG to name a few to ensure we always have the latest technology and we have a team of experts who can support you with all of your CCTV, security and AV projects.
