Powered by Cumulocity IoT, the new solution from Software AG comes in the form of a smart badge and software platform, both of which allow for touchless onboarding and acoustic or vibration alerts whenever employees using it are too close to another member of staff.
The badges interact with beacons placed at cluster points throughout the workplace, with data being processes through Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT platform. Using this, companies can record incidents in which social distancing has been breached, which allows for increased behavioural visibility, and prove proper compliance to auditing authorities.
How to control access to IoT data
As well as employees being able to protect themselves, health and safety teams can trace contact with employees showing symptoms.
“We are all faced with a very difficult situation: we must protect our employees. But we also need to get businesses and the economy back up and running,” said Bernd Gross, CTO at Software AG. “How do we do one without compromising the other?
“Over 40% of the workforce will work in controlled spaces, in close proximity to others and without mandatory personal protective equipment. We can help protect those people.
“We’ve combined our experience in the Industrial Internet of Things with the industry knowledge of our partners to help organisations implement these safeguards quickly.”
Early trialists of the solution include Göbecke bakery in Leipzig, Germany. Its owner, Christine Göbecke, commented: “Just like so many other businesses, the current situation is tough for us and holds many challenges. But thanks to the Smart Social Distancing solution, the safety of our workers is guaranteed and we can focus on getting to a point of normality in our production.”
Beta tests have also taken place at manufacturing plants and food production facilities. These tests have shown instances of social distancing infringement declining by 50% within the first week of operation.
Going forward, Software AG plans to work with partners, including Tech Mahindra and Dell, to carry out further deployments worldwide and in a variety of industries. Companies opting to implement the solution can do so in the space of a couple of days.
