When people first realized the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, businesses had to scramble to put solutions in place as quickly as possible. Companies rushed to put COVID-19 questionnaires in place and buy thermometers and sanitizer. We’re now more aware of how the virus is spread. However, we’re also facing the reality of a second wave of the pandemic. As a result, businesses need to make sure that the measures they’ve put in place are effective. Read on for some more of the interview highlights.
Challenges of implementing a full screening process
Taking a person’s temperature can tell you if they have a fever, one of the common symptoms of coronavirus. However, it quickly became clear that, by itself, temperature screening wasn’t enough. Instead, businesses have to implement a full screening process, including both temperature checks and COVID-19 questionnaires. However, a full screening process brings its own challenges. Companies carrying out manual screening often need two people to carry it out; one with a clipboard, one with a temperature scanner. Whether these are security staff, receptionists, or HR staff, this means either employing extra staff or increasing existing staff workloads. In addition, using paper-based COVID-19 questionnaires means storing and managing stacks of paperwork. Having worked in visitor management for some time, John knew there had to be a better way. He set about creating a method of incorporating both temperature checks and COVID-19 questionnaires, automating as much of the process as possible. The solution was MyLobby’s Temperature Kiosk.
Using mobile devices for COVID-19 questionnaires
As well as taking people’s temperatures, the temperature kiosk is able to record visitor details in a database automatically. There’s no need for additional staff or binders full of paperwork. The process is highly customizable, so businesses can set it up to match their exact requirements. By identifying any issues in realtime, the kiosk can let the right people know so they can immediately put corrective actions in place. However, what happens in busy environments? Trying to process a large number of people, with everyone trying to complete questionnaires at the same time, presents a significant challenge. The breakthrough came when John worked out how individuals could use their own mobile devices to complete the COVID-19 questionnaire. By displaying QR codes in the parking lot and reception area, employees and visitors can scan these and be taken directly to the questionnaire. For busy environments, this helps prevent bottlenecks by allowing people to fill in the questionnaire before they even get to the reception. The next step was matching up the questionnaire responses with the temperature check. The solution was to provide people who’ve passed the questionnaire on their device with a unique code, that they could then enter at the temperature kiosk. The device then takes your temp and records it, then lets users know if they’ve passed or failed
A more convenient screening process
Even with just one temperature kiosk, people can get their temperature checked in seconds. If a visitor doesn’t have a mobile device, they can still do the screening directly, but getting 70-80% of visitors to complete the process on their phone means screening can be carried out a lot quicker. We’ve seen so many long queues to get into buildings, and people are beginning to tire of the inconvenience. No-one can go into work early, as they have to wait for HR to setup. If you have a meeting at 8 am, you better hope no-one’s ahead of you in the queue to get in. With the temperature kiosk, people can complete their COVID-19 questionnaires and login in seconds, rather than minutes. As people are more familiar with QR codes and touchscreens now, the process is straightforward. The temperature kiosk even talks to you, letting you know if you need to stand closer or further away. We’ve all had enough of standing in line, so MyLobby has made the screening process easy enough that everyone can use it.“Our goal at MyLobby is to make it easy, bringing the solution to your fingertips.” John Liberatore
Ensuring compliance with COVID-19 questionnaires
When developing the temperature kiosk, the question came up: How do we know someone has stopped and done the check? John’s answer was to make both compliance and non-compliance obvious. A badge is automatically printed out if a person passes both the COVID-19 questionnaire and temperature check. With a pass mark and time-stamp, the badge makes it obvious at a glance that someone has passed the screening process. for temp (used to it for passes). On the other hand, no badge is printed if a visitor fails the screening process. Instead, the relevant staff are immediately informed of the result and the visitor is told to remain where they are.These non-compliance notifications can be sent via SMS or email to a designated member of staff, whether that’s a compliance officer, HR, or someone else. The main advantage is that the notification includes a picture of the individual who failed the check. As a result, staff can quickly identify them and ensure the right corrective actions are carried out. As an added benefit, this means staff only have to get involved in the event of a non-compliance. Rather than having to pay staff to sit and watch everyone go through the screening process and checking every single result, staff only have to be notified when the results show that further action is needed. Then, they can approach the visitor, address them by name, and let them know what happens next.
Conclusion
As we face a second wave of the coronavirus, businesses need to make sure they have reliable and effective screening methods in place. By automating the process and allowing people to complete the screening process on their mobile devices, you can reduce bottlenecks and make the whole process more convenient. Then businesses can effectively protect their employees and customers, by ensuring that staff are immediately and automatically informed of any non-compliance.Find out more about MyLobby’s temperature kiosk solution and see how it could help your business today.