Mature Japanese businessman with mask and face shield using phone in the corridor

How Do You Use Access Control for Effective Contact Tracing?

Published on : August 19, 2020

How do you use access control for contact tracing?

  1. Evaluation and Monitoring
  2. Contact Tracing Reports
  3. Valuable Contact Tracing Information
  4. Mobile Credentials

 

Companies around the world are beginning to open once more. But to keep the old ways of running your business can put yourself in danger. COVID-19 has a significant impact on business operations and new types of access control and contact tracing are needed to navigate this new normal. Mitigating the risk of the pandemic is a priority of many. To successfully move forward, using the latest access control technology can help keep people safe. Here’s how you can do it.

 

Evaluation and Monitoring

Contact tracing is the process of identifying individuals who have come in contact with an infected patient. It’s important to collect this information to inform those who are within the same area or are exposed to the said infected individual. It’s a vital tool to use today to assist in flattening the curve. This can be done through manual surveys, smartphone applications, and proper access control.

If a person has tested positive or is suspected of having COVID-19, the information gathered can be used to evaluate and monitor the current exposure. Contact tracing is also used to rule out those who did not come in contact with the infected individual which can help dispel panic. The report you gather from contact tracing and access control is the key to keeping your workplace safe and to help mitigate the risk of the pandemic.

Contact tracing can also help you monitor high-traffic and high-touch surfaces. Since COVID-19 has been proven to remain on surfaces for several hours, an infected person can easily spread the disease within your facility. Ease the panic as you can use access control and contact tracing to identify these exposed areas and deal with the infection appropriately.

 

Contact Tracing Reports

Businessman hand using laptop computer in office.

Contact tracing reports can be integrated with your present access control systems. It can help identify people who have recently accessed an area with COVID positive individuals or other infectious diseases.

Once you discover who tested positive, this unique report can be used to assist in finding out who’s been exposed to the infected individual. You can always resort to manual contact tracing but that process is slow and risky. It’s entirely possible to put your front desk staff at risk due to their close proximity to the many individuals that go in and out of your business.

Contact tracing reports can help you identify and notify these individuals and help reduce the risk of spreading the illness. If an employee or staff member feels that they’ve been exposed this data can be used to ease that concern. It’s accurate, quick, and easy to integrate if you know your way around an access control system or if you have a reliable supplier for one.

 

Valuable Contact Tracing Information

Information in this age is invaluable. It’s an important part of life and especially contact tracing. It becomes more than just information but also as a means to inform people who shared areas with those infected. It helps operators protect themselves from exposure and to prevent a further outbreak.

The reports can contain important information such as time of arrival, areas accessed, and more. This system can effectively trace the whereabouts of the COVID-19 infected person and lets you know which people are exposed at the given time. This quickly lets you make an informed decision on how to lock down the area and disinfect it appropriately.

This is done by pulling up system information with accurate time tables and accessed locations. These are automatically updated within your database. However, to properly access this your business software and technology must be updated. Investing in the latest access control and temperature measurement technology can get you started. Here are the following details you can gain from access control contact tracing:

  • Origin cardholder/mobile credential holder
  • Zones accessed by the origin cardholder and others
  • Level of contact from individual to individual
  • Amount of time exposed

 

Mobile Credentials

Mobile Credentials

To further manage contact tracing efforts, you can significantly improve by using mobile credentials as your main method. Mobile credentials can minimize contact and prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Another advantage of mobile credentials is you can manage your systems remotely while also simplifying your process. You can assign and revoke access to different areas within your business. This can be also used to manage visitors and guests. Mobile credentials will ensure they only access authorized areas. Thus, this will help keep cases isolated as much as possible.

 

Key Takeaway

Access control contact tracing is the most effective security technology you can invest in for the new normal. You can always rely on tried and true contact tracing methods but with the current advanced technologies that allow safe contact tracing, you can’t go wrong. Be smart with how you deal with the pandemic through the use of this latest innovation.