Creating Safe, Smart and Hygienic Workplaces with Enterprise IoT:
- Publish Date: August 19, 2020
IoT For All
- Publish Date: August 19, 2020
Hygienic Workplaces with Enterprise IoT:
We tried hard to delay it, but now its inevitable. Offices are reopening and employees are being asked to come back. But they may not see the old workplace that we were all so accustomed to before Covid-19. This is because, enterprises have the responsibility to now be aware of and keep their assets safe.
If technology is going to be the enabler in the transformation of workspaces, the possible solutions must be simplified, scalable, must provide real-time data, data correlation, analysis, and actionable insights. IoT and AV have stood out as the two best contenders for smart technology infrastructure. An IoT framework creates smart and optimized workspaces that are calibrated in real-time. Enterprises are working hard to face the challenges of the pandemic. They are thinking about the best way to enforce social distancing guidelines within workspaces. They also want answers that will change the way workspace management was looked at. In this light, they have 4 precise requirements namely, contact tracing, safe seating, traceability for entire buildings and sites, and last but most importantly, improving the productivity and efficiency of both staff and the workspace as a whole.
The role of IoT in Workspace Management:
Enterprise IoT and Smart Building OS encompasses and IoT edge analytics platform which is connected to many IoT devices and controllers. These devices offer traceability and maintain awareness about hygiene and distancing by sounding alarms, issuing alerts and warnings. Threshold breaches are kept in check and the decision makers in enterprises have better control over their investments and can monitor them in real-time.
This setup is called a digital fencing system for whole buildings as well as for small spaces like office floors and meeting rooms. The devices that are a part of this setup offer up their data for congestion tracking, occupancy-based HVAC control, wayfinding, emergency evacuation, sanitisation alerts, etc. All these applications contribute to a safe and hygienic environment.
If Covid-safety is to be enforced, then the workspace premises needs hyper precise people & asset accountability, indoor contact tracing and auditing. Global workspaces like airports, large manufacturing MNC’s etc., need an IoEE (Internet of Everything & Everyone) model. IoEE will define a framework which will turn whole buildings and sites into smart workspaces with real-time status and control of devices, people, and information. Large workspaces like the ones mentioned above need a vendor-agnostic, open platform which can leverage its existing infrastructure.
Distancing and Challenges:
Colleagues in an office are always in each other’s space. Making sure that everyone is at a safe distance from each other throughout the day seems like an impossibility. Their distancing must be tracked so that there’s always data to fall back on. The only way to achieve accuracy in this task is through tags for in-person tracing. These health tags are worn by every employee and they sound a buzzer whenever people are in close proximity to remind them in real-time that they’ve crossed the threshold. Each warning signal must then be logged so that if someone is infected with Covid-19, the data can easily identify ‘at-risk’ colleagues. Thus, historical, and real-time contact tracing makes isolation immediately possible. Old technology like BLE and UWB can be used to make these health tags but these technologies simply cannot provide the level of accuracy needed.
In a bid to provide meaningful user experiences, the digital fencing solution works for many Applications. It is an investment which is here to stay since applications like emergency evacuation, time and attendance, and visitor tracking are all useful in the long run. Companies want to create a safe, secure environment which operates at a much higher efficiency then before. So, they find this combination of IoT and mobility highly ideal. This concept is also called a ‘Digital Twin’ model since it models an actual workspace in the virtual world. The virtual workspace synchronises in real-time with the actual ongoings inside the office building. All the data obtained is used for contextual analytics and further used for automation.
About Occupancy and Space Utilisation:
Entry, occupancy, and space utilisation must be restricted and tracked to make a safe workspace. Imagine a complete map of the office floor, say a virtual map in a software and this map is segregated into zones. It becomes easy to check who is currently occupying each zone and how they are all being utilised.
If this happens in a multi-protocol and multi-device level and if the infrastructure is self-healing and intelligent then we get a fabulous user experience. Users will get access to many interesting applications like space, energy, visitor, safety, and security management. The user experience is further enhanced if it all takes place on a secure layer, branching out to web, mobiles, and kiosks. The Applications are many including desk occupancy sensing, footfall counters, lighting management controllers, indoor air quality sensing for workspaces. If the devices are Plug-and-play modules, then it becomes the pinnacle of great user experience.
Workplace solution for Covid safety:
If offices and businesses are to continue their brilliant work once again as before while dodging Covid-19, its important for the entire building and site to become smart, safe, healthy and sustainable.
Digital Blanket is a comprehensive suite for Smart Workplaces with all the functionalities mentioned so far. It is a proud ‘Make in India’ initiative which has surpassed quality benchmarks and is compliant to safety and security standards like WELL, ASHRAE, LEED, and ISHRAE. Digital Blanket is Flamenco Tech ‘s (an Indian start-up that builds smart workplace infrastructure for global clients) brainchild. Bala Chitoor is FlamencoTech’s Chief Strategy Officer and he is positive that the company’s evolution towards meeting technology requirements in the post-COVID world will find favour with the global market.
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