IoT creates safer workplaces and promotes greater adoption

Even though organizations have prioritized safer workplace creation, the coronavirus pandemic has pushed for innovative methods to achieve this goal; there’s evidence to support increased adoption.

Vodafone surveyed 1,639 businesses around the world in May 2020 for its “IoT Spotlight 2020” report and found that even though 73% initially had to delay some IoT projects due to restrictions, 81% said they’re making IoT projects a higher priority than they had before the pandemic, while 77% accelerated some of their IoT projects as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

Additionally, 77% of businesses in the study said the pandemic caused them to rethink their use of IoT to provide greater operational stability and adaptability, with some organizations citing their use of IoT to ensure safer workplaces as a new priority use case.

Executives and IoT industry experts concurred with Vodafone report’s findings and described a growing enterprise embrace of IoT to support both safety requirements and normal business operations.

“Even before the pandemic, there was a movement toward more digital infrastructure to make operations more efficient and safer. Now, COVID-19 has accelerated that, as companies have had to figure out how to operate safely and profitably in these unprecedented times,” said Greg Kahn, president and CEO at the Internet of Things Consortium.

The data around IoT for workplace safety is strong: Seventy-three percent of workers are worried about their employers’ ability to protect them from COVID-19, and 75% said they’d consider quitting if their employers downplayed the virus’ risks, according to a summer 2020 survey of 1,000 U.S. workers from tech firm Envoy.

Kahn pointed to various examples of organizations that use IoT for workplace safety: Manufacturers who had initially adopted IoT to support equipment monitoring have deployed the technology to enforce social distancing requirements; hospitals and retailers use IoT to safely direct the flow of people; and building owners implement IoT sensors for touchless access.

Ignite Brewing Co., a craft brewery and taproom in Barberton, Ohio, is a primary example of these use cases.

Ignite first closed in March and then transitioned to offer to-go sales only; the brewery resumed patio service in May. Ignite then worked with Insight, an IT services and solutions provider, to implement an IoT platform that Ignite workers use to automatically and unobtrusively scan customers for elevated body temperatures that could signify an infection.

“IoT allows for us to make sure we can run a safe operation,” said Megan Slater, one of Ignite’s founding partners.

Slater and Michael Chisnell, fellow Ignite founding partner, said they’ve consistently employed innovative technologies to ensure they’re running their four-year-old company as efficiently as possible.

“If I can’t run the business from my cellphone, I feel like I’m doing something wrong,” Chisnell said.

They had already adopted smart sanitizers and soap dispensers before the pandemic began, and they explored using IoT in operational areas such as to monitor the fermentation process and equipment. COVID-19 merely shifted and accelerated their IoT plans.

Ignite’s IoT platform uses Insight’s thermal imaging device to scan individuals, detect high temperatures and send managers real-time alerts about individuals who enter the building with a temperature that exceeds a set threshold.