Creating Healthy Workplace Safety Standards with Enterprise IoT through Digital Blanket

August 26, 2020 at 13:00 PM EDT

Bengaluru, Aug 26, 2020 (Issuewire.com) - Digital Blanket is a comprehensive suite for Smart Workplaces with all the functionalities of IoT in workplace management. It is a proud 'Make in India' initiative which has surpassed quality benchmarks and is compliant to safety and security standards like WELL, ASHRAE, LEED, and ISHRAE. Digital Blanket is Flamenco Tech's (an Indian start-up that builds smart workplace infrastructure for global clients) brainchild.

The implementation drive led by Digital Blanket is now picking up pace as offices are gradually reopening after prolonged lockdown and employees are being asked to come back. But they may not see the old workplace that everyone was so accustomed to before Covid-19. This is because enterprises have the responsibility to now be aware of and keep their assets safe. If technology is going to be the enabler in the transformation of workspaces, the possible solutions must be simplified, scalable, must provide real-time data, data correlation, analysis, and actionable insights. IoT and AV have stood out as the two best contenders for smart technology infrastructure. An IoT framework creates smart and optimized workspaces that are calibrated in real-time. Enterprises are working hard to face the challenges of the pandemic. They are thinking about the best way to enforce social distancing guidelines within workspaces. They also want answers that will change the way workspace management was looked at. In this light, they have 4 precise requirements namely, contact tracing, safe seating, traceability for entire buildings and sites, and last but most importantly, improving the productivity and efficiency of both staffs and the workspace as a whole.

Enterprise IoT and Smart Building OS encompass and IoT edge analytics platform which is connected to many IoT devices and controllers. These devices offer traceability and maintain awareness about hygiene and distancing by sounding alarms, issuing alerts and warnings. Threshold breaches are kept in check and the decision-makers in enterprises have better control over their investments and can monitor them in real-time. The setup is called a digital fencing system for whole buildings as well as for small spaces like office floors and meeting rooms. The devices that are a part of this setup offer up their data for congestion tracking, occupancy-based HVAC control, wayfinding, emergency evacuation, sanitization alerts, etc. All these applications contribute to a safe and hygienic environment. If COVID-safety is to be enforced, then the workspace premises needs hyper-precise people & asset accountability, indoor contact tracing, and auditing. Global workspaces like airports, large manufacturing MNC's, etc., need an IoEE (Internet of Everything & Everyone) model. IoEE will define a framework which will turn whole buildings and sites into smart workspaces with real-time status and control of devices, people, and information. Large workspaces like the ones mentioned above need a vendor-agnostic, open platform that can leverage its existing infrastructure.

Colleagues in an office are always in each other's space. Making sure that everyone is at a safe distance from each other throughout the day seems like an impossibility. Their distancing must be tracked so that there's always data to fall back on. The only way to achieve accuracy in this task is through tags for in-person tracing. These health tags are worn by every employee and they sound a buzzer whenever people are near, remind them in real-time that they've crossed the threshold. Each warning signal must then be logged so that if someone is infected with Covid-19, the data can easily identify 'at-risk' colleagues. Thus, historical, and real-time contact tracing makes isolation immediately possible. Old technology like BLE and UWB can be used to make these health tags but these technologies simply cannot provide the level of accuracy needed. In a bid to provide meaningful user experiences, the digital fencing solution works for many use cases. It is an investment that is here to stay since applications like emergency evacuation, time and attendance, and visitor tracking are all useful in the long run. Companies want to create a safe, secure environment that operates at a much higher efficiency than before. So, they find this combination of IoT and mobility highly ideal. This concept is also called a 'Digital Twin' model since it models an actual workspace in the virtual world. The virtual workspace synchronizes in real-time with the actual ongoings inside the office building. All the data obtained is used for contextual analytics and further used for automation.

Entry, occupancy, and space utilization must be restricted and tracked to make a safe workspace. Imagine a complete map of the office floor, say a virtual map in software, and this map is segregated into zones. It becomes easy to check who is currently occupying each zone and how they are all being utilized. If this happens in a multi-protocol and multi-device level and if the infrastructure is self-healing and intelligent then we get fabulous user experience. Users will get access to many interesting applications like space, energy, visitor, safety, and security management. The user experience is further enhanced if it all takes place on a secure layer, branching out to the web, mobiles, and kiosks. The use cases are many including desk occupancy sensing, footfall counters, lighting management controllers, indoor air quality sensing for workspaces. If the devices are Plug-and-play modules, then it becomes the pinnacle of great user experience.

"If offices and businesses are to continue their brilliant work once again as before while dodging Covid-19, it is important for the entire building and site to become smart, safe, healthy, and sustainable". Bala Chitoor is FlamencoTech's Chief Strategy Officer and he is positive that the company's evolution towards meeting technology requirements in the post-COVID world will find favor with the global market. Connect with us for more info. connect@flamencotech.com Visit their website at http://www.flamencotech.com.