Is Temperature Screening Enough to Prevent the Spread of this Health Crisis?

As lockdown restrictions are lifted and people return to work, facility managers are rightly concerned about how best to protect their staff and customers. Many have begun implementing temperature screening, using a handheld infrared thermometer to check people entering the building for high temperatures (one of the most common symptoms of this pandemic).

However, in the rush to adapt to the situation we all find ourselves in, many end up with ineffective solutions. It’s important to evaluate the different solutions out there and ensure they meet your needs. Here are some of the ways facility managers can move beyond temperature screening to effectively safeguard the people who visit their site.

Moving beyond temperature checks

By itself, checking the temperature of each individual with a handheld thermometer is an expensive and time-consuming process. Receptionists and security guards are often required to take on the task, in addition to their existing duties. This may mean taking on additional staff to handle the increased workload.

In addition, simply checking for temperature is not enough by itself. Rather, it has to be part of a larger prevention strategy, including the appropriate use of PPE, social distancing, and health questionnaires.

Automating the temperature screening process

Rather than paying for extra staff, using a temperature kiosk can automatically take people’s temperatures as they enter your facility. This maintains your site security and prevents queues and bottlenecks. The whole process is touchless, reducing the risk of further spreading the virus. It’s also a lot cheaper than people think; just a fraction of the cost of paying someone to manually check everyone entering your premises. 

Importantly, you can also automate health questionnaires. Rather than having everyone line up at reception to go through the screening process, with the MyLobby solution you can simply display a scannable QR code. They can then complete the questionnaire on their own mobile device before going through the temperature check. There’s no queuing up or touching the same pen and paper/digital devices as hundreds of other people.

Safeguarding your staff and customers with confidence

Even the best solution in the world is no good if people don’t use it. You need to ensure people are actually going through the process and are safe to enter your facility. 

Where access controls are in place, you can integrate these with your solution to prevent access to anyone who fails the checks. We also recommend issuing employees and visitors with a badge. This is as an easy way to visually see who has passed the checks. For example, with the MyLobby solution, a label is automatically printed to confirm the checks have been carried out, with the time and date the check was carried out. 

Finally, use a solution that allows you to keep track of the results. With a dashboard, you can see at a glance who’s on-site and who passed/failed the checks. Any stored information still complies with privacy regulations. Email notifications ensure you instantly know of any failed checks, so you and your team can take immediate action.

Conclusion

We’re all having to adapt quickly to this ‘new normal.’ It can be a struggle to get everything up and running while still protecting your employees and visitors. 

The good news is it doesn’t have to be a struggle. By having a clear strategy in place to prevent the spread of this health crisis, with automated temperature checks and additional screening, you can effectively safeguard the people in your facility. 

Learn more about automated temperature screening and how it can help your organization.