Cyber-physical systems are frequently employed across industries to improve the quality of our interactions with the physical world around us. These systems used to collect real-time information from objects and people to be analyzed and used for business gains. Use of wearable technology to bring together people with their surroundings can be beneficial for many aspects of business.
Boni Global’s product suite enables businesses to implement such systems to improve operational efficiency and identify opportunities to engage with the habitants of a building in a better way.
The idea behind our COVID-19 solution Safe Steps was to find a way to bridge the gap between physical and digital to improve on methods used for protection against the virus. With an IoT system using wearable technology, social distancing and contact tracing becomes much easier and more accurate. However, the infrastructure can be used even after the pandemic with some customization, making Safe Steps a solution for many different problems businesses in different industries may face.
1. Hospitality
For the hospitality industry, Safe Steps allows businesses to ensure a higher level of safety and reassure visitors that their health is under protection in the facilities, which has been extremely important for business continuity. After the risk of transmission subsides, the IoT network can be used in many different aspects of the business.
Customer management: Thewearable devices used in Safe Steps can be used in the place of room keys/cards. This will require added sensors on room doors, however it will significantly improve customer experience by making it easier for them to carry and hold on to their room keys. Another usage situation can be using the bracelets to track guests when providing them a service i.e. in the cafeteria or the beach area. This will minimize the loss of time and improve the efficiency of service employees to boost customer satisfaction.
Operational Optimization: The ability to track service/cleaning/maintenance employees can provide significant operational benefits by allowing management to analyze the efficiency of current operations, identify problems and improve overall performance within the organization with a data-driven approach.
Security Management: Wearables can be very helpful by automating security management, especially for hospitality facilities with a large amount of occupants and area to cover. Use cases include tracking children in case they are missing, securing areas from being entered by unauthorized personnel/visitors and easily locating employees and guests in the case of an emergency.
2. Manufacturing
The manufacturing industry was one of the most affected by the pandemic, especially those with a large body of critical employees that cannot work remotely. With Safe Steps, they were able to simplify social distancing in a large, complex work space by automating the process. However, wearable tracking systems can be extremely beneficial for the sector even after the pandemic. The purpose of wearables in a factory setting would be to find efficiencies and improve health and safety. For this system to work as intended, it must be functional without distracting users from their work
Operational improvements: For smart factories, data collection is becoming key to improve the efficiency of processes and capturing significant cost savings that affect the bottom line. Wearables allow management to collect and analyze data without adding to the workload of employees since data collection is automatically done by the devices as employees work and move around the facilities. Operational bottlenecks can be identified and fixed by analyzing movement of employees and tracking equipment usage can provide a data-driven approach when planning for production.
Safety and security: Safety in complex factory environments may be difficult to manage manually. Safe Steps wearables communicate with each other to maintain social distance between users, however it can also be used to make sure employees are protected from accidents. For example, an employee wearing the device can be warned when an equipment such as a forklift is nearby, making sure that they pay close attention to reduce any risk of collision or accidents. With location finding activated, the devices can also be used to locate employees in case of an emergency quickly. The wearables can also be used to grant temporary or permanent access to employees for different areas of the facilities to simplify zone management.
3. Healthcare
Hospitals were also one of the most affected organizations during the pandemic. An extremely high risk of transmission and increased foot traffic makes social distancing enforcement critical in healthcare organizations, which can be useful even after the current health crisis. Hospitals have a lot of individuals that are particularly susceptible to viruses, even common cold can have devastating effects on those with weak immune systems. Therefore, using Safe Steps as a social distancing tool can be beneficial in the long run. However, wearable tracking technology can have other benefits as well.
Security Management: Similar to factories, hospitals and clinics include areas like laboratories, operating rooms, storage rooms and medicine dispensaries where entry should be limited. With added door sensors, wearables can simplify the process of authorizing entrance to employees and patients, allowing to secure regions that require a higher level of safety. For patients with reduced mobility or cognitive disabilities, wearables can be a great tool to track them for safety purposes. Again, in the case of an emergency, wearables allow administrators to locate patients and staff easily to minimize damage.
Although Safe Steps was developed as a tool against COVID-19, there are many use cases that allow organizations to improve their processes and security management. With simple adjustments like adding the RTLS feature to our customizable product or installing gateways and sensors to the facilities, clients can use the solution for areas listed above or any challenges unique to their business.
Contact us to find out more about Safe Steps and see how it can be implemented to address your organization’s concerns.
