How Do I Use Access Control to Contact Trace?

June 29, 2020

Now that we’re familiar with some of the basic concepts of building a track and trace procedure, we can begin to examine how technology may help improve the efficacy and robustness of the process. In our last blog post, we identified that your security team is likely to be key to the investigative process. They’re going to be communicating with the infected employee and attempting to help them remember who they may have interacted with and where they have been in the office.
Let's talk about how contact tracing with access control works.

So, how do you use access control to contact trace?

If you’ve implemented a comprehensive system, you’re able to pull a detailed manifesto of who accessed your building and what time they moved through that location. This is where your access control technology can step in and help.

Access Control Can Answer Who, What, and When

If you have an employee who has tested positive, they’re unlikely to be in a great mental state and no matter how sensitive your investigator is, they are simply unlikely to remember who they've been in contact with, what parts of the building they have been in, and at what times of day. Your access control software can produce a list that can answer those questions and aid the infected employee in this scenario.
Hirsch Velocity Software with Contact Tracing

Hirsch Velocity Software with Contact Tracing

If a person enters a building and is later found to be symptomatic, Velocity can pull a report of everyone who entered the same door who can then be notified to either get tested or self-quarantine. Download Now ›

Monitoring High-Traffic Touch Surfaces

COVID-19 has been proven to remain on hard surfaces like door handles for several hours after an infected person touches it, and it’s unlikely that you’re deep cleaning every door handle or push plate between each person going through. Your access control system will be able to tell you which employees passed through that door in a specific time window after the infected employee. These people should be added to the top of your track and trace list.

End-to-End Tracking and Tracing System

These benefits do rely on your access control system being effectively deployed and will only report on doors with access control panels installed and enabled. By combining this access control with other physical security technologies, such as Internet of Things (IoT), video surveillance, and visitor management software, it is possible to use technology to enhance the robust track and trace process we discussed in our earlier post.
3VR VisionPoint

3VR VisionPoint™ VMS

VisionPoint™ video management software (VMS) combines powerful forensic search capabilities and integrated video analytics in a single intuitive interface. Buy Now ›

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