There are multiple risks to firms who fail to properly manage social distancing from the cost of shut-downs if a member of staff falls ill with Coronavirus symptoms to the possibility of refusal to work or legal action by employees who feel their safety is compromised.
A new electronic tag solution which alerts wearers when they get too close to a colleague and tracks transgressions, including real-time updates to a central database, could be the answer.
The keep2m.co.uk tag alerts wearers when they get within two metres of a colleague wearing another tag by means of an audible and visual warning.
These tags are a key part of an overall social distancing solution and are ideal for staff in a wide range of sectors because they are lightweight, splashproof and ergonomic.
The tags come with a QR code to assign the tag to a user at a specific time which means that if a staff member were to show symptoms, everyone who has come into close contact with them has been logged and can therefore be warned, and self-isolate as necessary. Those who have not come into close contact can therefore continue to work.
The reporting is driven by a USB adaptive QR code reader and Tag sensor which can be used on any PC and connects to a PC based system. Any transgressions within social distancing rules can be monitored and processes changed as necessary.
Importantly, the solution is flexible to cope with the fast-changing rules around Coronavirus. If social distancing limits are changed, the tags can quickly and easily be recalibrated to a different distance simply by changing a variable in the software – there is no need for a recall of all the tags.
Those who have to work in close proximity can have their tags grouped so they do not constantly set each other’s tags off but will be warned if someone else is too close.
These tags deliver a constant, consistent and low-cost reassurance that staff are maintaining social distancing. At a time when industry needs to be earning money again, but ensuring staff are safe, they are a cost-effective simple solution.
Furthermore, the system does not have a limited shelf life. It has been adapted to provide this solution in addition to the original health and safety design functions which include;
- remote worker monitoring in dangerous environments
- plant/machinery authorisation so that only those pre-authorised can operate certain pieces of plant/machinery
- protection of site-based pedestrians from interacting with machinery/plant
- management of access control
It is demonstrable that the development of the system has always been with the safety of personnel and their protection at the forefront of every feature added. The outcome is that those who work in environments that are noisy, busy and hazardous have technology to keep a constant, personal and unique watch out for them whilst the concentrate on the task that they there to do. Countless “near miss” and “strike” incidents have been avoided and the enhancement to the Social Distancing measures with the flexibility of distance altering, grouping of tags and the all-important “alarm data download” means the system is adaptable for purposes that the manufacturer may yet to have even considered, but individual client needs may identify.
The first deployment of the system is at the Blackwall Tunnel with Kier Highways. It is providing a proof of concept in a very high profile and challenging environment and should lead to the system seeing widespread use in responsible workplaces across the UK.
www.keep2m.co.uk and sales@keep2m.co.uk.
