There is no doubt that Covid-19 has created a lot of challenges for business owners. In the beginning it was a bit simpler – anything non-essential just couldn’t open. But now, with lockdown easing and more businesses opening their doors every day, new solutions are required to meet government guidance and keep everyone safe.

While the virus has caused panic and sadness across the world, it’s also provided a lot of opportunities for new, forward-thinking ideas. For example, many workplaces have now designed and implemented effective home working as a way to protect their employees while keeping their businesses afloat. But for the businesses that interact face to face with customers, you need to do everything you can to ensure the safety of everyone involved – which is where security systems come in. After all, security isn’t all about the bells and whistles, and at Securifix, we have a few advanced solutions that can help you keep everyone in your business safe from Covid-19.

Remove the Need to Touch Surfaces

A big issue for many businesses is that the virus can live for many hours on surfaces, so you want to keep the touching at a minimum. But before even stepping into work, all employees will encounter the front door – a surface that’s completely exposed to bacteria and cross-contamination. So you need a way for them to get through the door, but without physically touching it.

Security Solution 1: Fob Readers

Fob readers completely remove the need to touch any door or door handle in order to get through, so it’s one less way you can get or spread the virus. It also has the added perk of letting you track who goes in and out of the building, and when, which is great for both the track and trace systems, and gives you an up-to-date list of who is in the building in case of an emergency. And because these systems are very versatile, you can program them to accept your existing ID cards, so you can completely control how it looks, and easily add or delete employees.

Security Solution 2: Access Apps

Everything has an app these days, and security is no different! Using just Bluetooth, you can now open a door directly from your phone or smartwatch wherever you are, just using an app. All the doors you, or your employees, have access to will be displayed on the app, and you don’t have to touch a single surface to open them. Great Covid-19 protection! Not only that, but as the business owner you have complete admin-level control over everyone’s access, so you can add and remove access as you need to. Some other features of app-access doors include:

• Real-time updates on users’ locations
• Immediate roll calls, and quickly establish where users are and ensure their safety in an emergency
• Mark users as safe or missing
• See users last known positions
• Call users in-app

Security Solution 3: Touch-Free Exit Buttons

If your workplace is customer-facing, or just has several visitors or customers throughout the day, then you could also opt for a wireless exit button. These help limit the transference of dirt, disease or infection, and prevent people from transmitting the virus through exit doors. These are usually used in engineering facilities, food prep and service areas, labs and hospitals – but now, when infection control is a priority for everyone, you could utilise them too.

Checking the Welfare of Employees and Customers

Above all, business owners are concerned about the health and wellbeing of their staff and their customers. Many have gone above and beyond to take every precaution the government recommends – but there are a few extra options that could make all the difference, and make you and your employees feel safer.

Security Solution 1: Temperature Screening

While extensive research is still ongoing into the symptoms of Covid-19, one of the biggest indicators is a temperature. If you are running a fever, then the advice at the moment is to stay at home. But some customers or employees might not realise they have a temperature, or may develop one of over the course of the day, so screening is important. HIKvision have developed Temperature Screening Thermal cameras designed for CCTV systems. These cameras can be installed to cover entry and exit points, and give an accurate thermal temperature measurement of any person within the frame of the camera. They are so clever that they can even detect elevated skin-surface temperatures within 1 second! This makes them both a great security option, but also a way of protecting your business and preventing anyone who may be Covid positive from entering your premises.

Security Solution 2: Density and Capacity Control

With only certain numbers of people allowed to gather, density control and capacity management are a big cause for concern, particularly in places like pubs and bars. Density control systems can:

• Control the number of people allowed into specific areas
• Control the number of people inside your store, in real-time
• Provide real-time updates on the number of people entering and leaving the building
• Monitor real-time capacity over a number of sites, and receive an ‘over-crowd’ alarm is capacity is reached at any of them
• Give you live view, playback, alarm management, personal ID and people counting reports
• Great insights for your marketing department!

At Securifix, we provide all of these security solutions, and more to help you stay safe during Covid-19. To find out more about what security systems could benefit your business – and maintain the safety of your employees and customers – just give us a call on 01252 350 940, and speak to one of our advisors.