Preparing Work and Public Spaces for Safe and Efficient De-escalation

IoT Scotland is available to use free of charge to anyone responding to the unique challenges raised by COVID-19. In the fourth article of our COVID series, we explore workflow management solutions which can help to support public spaces and businesses to open safely once lockdown restrictions are further eased.

Returning to Work Safely & Productively
Supermarkets and public transport hubs have remained open throughout lockdown, but with restrictions in place and user numbers being carefully managed. As businesses prepare to open again over the coming weeks and months, employers are now focused on their duty of care to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of their employees, customers, and visitors in their physical environment.

For businesses to return to work safely and productively, more regular and thorough checks of public spaces and facilities will be required to instill confidence, reduce the spread of the virus and lower the risk of a second wave of infection.

LoRaWAN Technology
LoRaWAN technology can be put to good use by introducing smart automated ways to track and schedule essential activities that will help to ensure workplaces and facilities are continually kept clean, safe and secure; and businesses remain compliant.

IoT Scotland partner Crimson Tide is addressing these challenges through agile and proven digital workflow solutions. Trusted by leading supermarket chains and transport providers, their workflow management platform uses IoT sensors and customised workflows to minimise manual checking and to record tasks and checks in real-time, such as routine cleaning and room decontamination.

Notifications are triggered from readings following the use of a facility to ensure works are undertaken when and where necessary e.g. washrooms being cleaned after use, rather than periodically. Conversely, a real-time alert can be automatically triggered when supplies such as soap or sanitiser run low to ensure ongoing cleanliness and improve the confidence and experience of the user.

Crimson Tide’s mpro5 software platform records incidents and schedules work to save time, improve productivity, and reduce paper usage, providing the added benefit of reducing the risk of virus transmission between employees.

Another interesting application is footfall management to limit numbers within a set environment. Most are now familiar with supermarket entry management when space is available in-store to allow social distancing. Using this technology, effort can be reduced by introducing a simple footfall counter, coupled with a screen and traffic light indicator. Alerts can be sent to staff when a threshold is exceeded so they can marshal activity, but otherwise would be free to continue with other work, increasing productivity whilst ensuring the safety of employees and customers.

A further benefit is the platform’s flexibility, which allows businesses to rapidly create workflows to address immediate needs, then adapt later as Government guidance and regulations change.

Apply for free of charge access to IoT Scotland
If you’re a potential end-user of IoT applications or a developer or provider of IoT hardware and solutions, then we want to hear from you.

Apply for free-of-charge IoT Scotland access for a COVID-19 related project.