Finding Safety in Data
Finding Safety in Data
Like it or not, the “new normal” is here – one version of it anyway. Personal protective equipment, social distancing, and regular cleaning are all part of our daily lives . For many , so is worrying about the safety of their loved ones, friends, and communities – especially as school starts nationwide. How can schools and businesses meet the personal safety needs of the ir people and still move forward with a new version of normal ? We posit that safety and reassurance can be found in technological aids and the data they store.
It’s that time of year again – waking everyone up , fixing breakfast, and rushing your kids out the door to catch the bus .. . or maybe to the kitchen table to log in to their video lesson for virtual or hybrid schooling. In a recent poll , ParentsTogether asked 1,200 parents their opinion on re-opening schools this fall . 59% said schools should remain closed until there is no health risk , even if that means pushing the students behind in learning. This high number reinforces what we already know; p arents want to feel confident th at their children are safe. These days that means they need c onfidence that their schools are tak ing proactive m easures to protect their children’s health.
Tracking
Re-opening for the students can be intimidating for staff as well as parents. School administrators are referencing the CDC on how they can protect the health, safety, and overall well being of their students, teachers, and volunteers as they prepare for classes to resume . To accomplish this daunting task , several schools are looking for way s to track laptops, tablets, and other frequently-used device s to ensure that students are keeping their peers safe .
Real-time location systems (RTLS) could be the answer for tracking these devices and even people, to rely on hard tracking and tracing data rather than a much more fallible technology, human memory . Put yourself in an office or school. It’s a Friday morning; the weekend is almost here. You sit down at your desk . After a few hours, you realize that two of your friends haven’t arrived at theirs yet. Your mind starts picking up speed as the questions spin: “Was I around them this week? Did we spend too long in the same area? Did I clean my phone and keyboard enough ? What did they touch – did I touch the same things? Could I be asymptomatic? Could I have bro ught this home to my family? Do we all need to quarantine? ”
How much better would you feel if your company had access to extensive data records? Records that could track who was in contact with a particular person for more than five minutes, within 6 ft.? Technology that could alert someone...
