The coronavirus has been an unprecedented time around the globe for everyone, both on a personal and a professional level. The pandemic has kept business owners on their toes, first navigating through lockdowns and then through phased reopenings with a myriad of recommendations and requirements.
For businesses with a long line of traffic coming through its doors, updating visitor management software during COVID-19 operations is essential. It can help keep everyone safe while reducing staff workload and record-keeping.
Clean, Touchless, and at a Distance
Many of the new business procedures in place are meant to keep environments sanitized, prevent people from spreading germs through high-touch surfaces, and keep people physically distanced from each other. This includes in-depth cleaning procedures and the installation of hand sanitizer throughout commercial properties.
Another one of the most obvious factors that staff, customers, and visitors will start seeing is mandatory temperature checks upon entering a property. These aren’t your standard temperature checks using an oral thermometer; instead, employers and property owners are using thermal cameras to monitor a flow of staff and visitors from a distance. Thermal cameras can store the temperatures captured in a database, where files can be saved, analyzed, or exported whenever they’re needed.
In addition to thermal cameras, many businesses have switched to digital reception systems that allow visitors to present their credentials and sign in via computer rather than interacting with a staff member face-to-face. Remote temperature taking and check-ins are only one way businesses are updating visitor management software to keep everyone safe and healthy. Another strategy that business owners are using is touchless access control.
Biometric Access Control
While wiping down and sanitizing items such as keypads and security alarm panels is one option, because high-touch areas are a big COVID-19 concern, many businesses are simply opting to eliminate them completely. Biometrics, or physical characteristics that are unique to each individual, are a highly useful way to handle access control without the use of touch keypads and screens. Biometric access control eliminates the need for multiple staff and visitors to potentially spread germs by physically keying in their access code to gain entry to a property or specific area thereof.
Biometric access control systems might use retinal scanners or voice recognition to grant or deny entry to specific individuals. These kinds of systems can also be used to allow access based on factors such as body temperature. A touchless thermal scan that reveals a normal body temperature would result in access being granted, while an elevated body temperature would result in access being denied and trigger notification of management for further action.
Updating Visitor Management Software with Touchless Arming
A business’s security system panel is one of the items that multiple people must touch each day in order to secure the property upon opening and closing. Security companies like DMP have stepped up to highlight the new features of their digital alarm panels, including touchless arming and disarming technology. Rather than physically interacting with the screen to enter a security code, the DMP software allows users to simply present their credentials to the keypad’s built-in reader in order to arm or disarm it.
For many businesses, moving forward with operations during the COVID-19 pandemic has involved multiple quick pivots in order to effectively monitor visitors’ health and credentials while keeping everyone distanced, as well as eliminating the number of opportunities for staff and visitors to touch potentially germ-laden surfaces. While thermal cameras and digital receptionists can accomplish the former, biometric/touchless access control and security system arming can help with the latter. Updating visitor management software so that all health and access data is safely stored and accessible by management is one of the first steps to your organization moving forward during these fast-paced and uncertain times.
At ProTech Security, we have a strong history of experience, innovation, and customer service. The ProTech Security Advantage is more than 35 years of service in Northeast Ohio and a strong commitment to providing quality, cost-effective protection for homes, businesses, educational institutions, and government facilities. To see what ProTech Security can do for you, contact us today.
