Despite the difficulties 2020 posed, manufacturers have worked hard to help global operations continue running efficiently. To keep up with demand, however, companies are still operating facilities where hundreds or thousands of employees are on the floor at once. Within these large, densely populated facilities, following health guidelines like social distancing becomes a frustrating exercise. While managers certainly want to protect their people, they face unique challenges in today’s environment.

Manufacturers are prioritizing holistic employee safety, and manufacturing security solutions are now available to help facility managers realize their goals of promoting workers’ health and safety. Here are three specific technologies companies are using to better protect their people.

Physical identity and access management (PIAM) solutions

Many facilities have limited the number of ingress and egress points in an effort to better manage people flow. Even with automated screening solutions, however, high-volume employee throughput events like shift changes place severe strains on processing employees. Chokepoints emerge where people congregate in long lines, increasing the risk of transmitting germs.

Increasing throughput capacity and reducing risks to employees and visitors are top priorities that automated, touchless PIAM solutions are suited to meet. For example, employees and visitors can take at-home health screening questionnaires on their mobile devices. Based on the self-assessment, healthy visitors can receive a QR code to scan for facility entry at an access control point.

Should an employee self-report feeling unwell, a system with integrated analytics can facilitate cross-department communication to resolve potential issues. For instance, the system can automatically notify a human resources department, which can take further action like providing employees with self-quarantining guidelines while helping other departments adjust as needed.

Within the facility, other systems can protect workers on the floor by regulating people inflows and outflows. People counting systems, updated in real-time as workers enter and exit the facility, provide accurate employee counts to ensure areas don’t become too congested. Video surveillance system integrations can also assist managers, should they want to to rearrange floor layouts to promote more social distancing.

Human temperature screening

Concerns about illness have raised the profile of human temperature screening (HTS) as part of a security system. HTS systems use thermographic cameras to read a subject’s skin temperature from a distance, automating significant portions of a facility’s health screening process. Integrated systems allow for elevated temperature detections to trigger notifications for further screening or automatically deny facility access. While elevated temperature alone isn’t enough to determine if an employee is sick, HTS provides another layer of support within a comprehensive worker protection plan.

Manual screening involves placing staff equipped with thermometers at every entry point — an inefficient process that an HTS system can help to automate. Each system does have its own set of use parameters to follow, including best practices on sensor placement, scanning area and subjects’ interactions with devices. Some also need additional calibration equipment, such as a blackbody — a reference point that’s heated to a specific, stable temperature within the scanning area.

Installing and integrating an HTS system has significant benefits for holistic employee safety, but facility managers have other decisions to consider as well. For example, companies need strict policies on who can access the sensitive health information these systems gather and where it’s stored. Any system must be compliant with regulatory requirements from entities like GDPR, BIPA and others. Protecting employees’ physical health is important, but so is protecting their private information.

Integrated video surveillance systems

Standalone security solutions can contribute significantly to ensuring workplace safety, but facility managers can realize more benefits through integrations with existing systems. Video surveillance systems in particular have much more to offer. Using data and analytics drawn from multiple sources, they can provide protection beyond merely theft deterrence.

For example, facility managers can leverage “heatmaps” by merging internal video surveillance data with a floor plan. Using this information, they can identify and address the “hot spots” where employees congregate or come into close contact, such as crowded break rooms. With consistent monitoring, managers can better understand whether changes like adjustments to workstations on the floor are effectively promoting more social distancing.

Video systems also help facilities save on other potential costs like workplace incident verification. Interior video surveillance can track employee behaviors like social distancing and proper use of PPE. If an employee files a compensation claim, managers can generate an auditable trail of evidence to use in proceedings. Facility managers can also use system data proactively to improve training sessions and identify opportunities to encourage behavioral changes in employees.

Manufacturing facilities keep the world moving — and shutting down is often not an option. Still, managers can use security solutions to better protect their people while their facilities remain open. With automated PIAM and screening solutions, along with existing systems integration, manufacturers can apply data-driven approaches in their efforts to ensure workplace health and safety, all while managing their operations more efficiently.

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Lance Holloway is a Senior Solutions Architect at STANLEY Security. Lance has served in the physical security industry for over 27 years. Today, he is part of STANLEY Security’s Enterprise Solutions Architect team, which focuses on research, design and workshop forums to aid customers in achieving even the most complex security goals in today’s evolving technology landscape.