It’s been a long year of social distancing and isolation, yet there is still an understandable hesitation with returning to “normal.” With the spread of COVID-19 slowing and the vaccine rolling out nationwide, we’re all starting to wonder when/if we’ll return to the office and when our kids can safely return to school.

AV can be an important part of the solution both for return to work and long after. Safe return solutions started gaining attention first in Taiwan, population 24 million, when they needed to manage the SARS epidemic in 2003. These solutions included patient isolation, contact tracing, quarantine, fever screening and containment teams. With that experience, in 2020 they managed to keep the spread of COVID-19 to less than 900 cases and 7 deaths in the first year of the pandemic. In addition to strict quarantine rules and contact tracing, temperature sensing monitors play a big role in helping control spread.

Adapting these tactics to the U.S., the Digital Signage team at Legrand | AV is helping outfit school districts, senior living centers and manufacturing facilities with tablet stands that can support efforts to keep employees and guests safe. As a stand-alone device, small form-factor tablets are deployed to aid in operational needs including occupancy monitoring, traffic control, and even mask detection. When paired with a temperature screening device, these tablets can help identify one of the most detectable viral symptoms - fever.

“It’s not a diagnosis, just a leading indicator that your body is fighting an illness,” said Michelle Montazeri, National Solutions Manager on the Legrand | AV Digital Signage team. “But it does help to provide peace of mind for employees and guests that you are doing something beyond just hoping.”

Tablet Stands provide many other benefits over staffed temperature check stations. They increase the amount of social distancing by not requiring reception staff to get close enough for temperature sensing. They provide privacy for those being checked as well. Learn more 

Digital signage is also playing a role in vaccine rollouts. Using digital signage can provide guidance to people waiting in their car for an appointment, to limit the amount of time spent inside the building. It can help with providing wait times, contact numbers, and wayfinding at vaccination sites.

With new virus variants and potential future outbreaks, as well as portions of the population that aren’t interested in getting vaccinated, safe return solutions are likely here to stay.

“We’re learning a lot through this process, as actions taken today can better prepare us for future health crises,” Montazeri said. “Certainly, the efforts businesses take today will have a lasting impression as it shows their commitment to the health and safety of all.”

Even in the best-case scenario, the solutions can be repurposed for badge scanning, package scanning, wayfinding, or as a virtual receptionist device. Tablet displays can be an extension of your marketing efforts as an endless aisle device, and they can integrate with your employee database for access control.

If you are looking into rolling out new solutions to help recovery from the pandemic, please feel free to reach out to the Digital Signage team for ideas and assistance.

Learn more about virtual reception by getting your copy of our Safe Spaces White Paper.