Jamie Barnfield, Sales Director, IDIS Europe

As Europe’s economies struggle through the most challenging phase of the pandemic so far it feels as if the old saying is right, that the darkest hour is just before dawn.

There’s no question that ‘dawn’ is coming, and that systems integrators who have adapted and kept going through 2020 will soon have cause for greater optimism. But in the opening weeks of 2021 we are facing the toughest point of the pandemic.

In the UK, even as the national vaccination programme heads towards the ambitious goal of giving first jabs all those most at risk by mid-February (and so protecting those who account for 80% of hospital admissions, as early as March), the National Health Service is said to be under the greatest pressure in its history.

The new, more infectious COVID variant first detected in southern England has added hugely to that pressure.

And the same mutation been reported in other parts of Europe too, where vaccination programmes are struggling to get up to speed.

Other new COVID variants have been identified in South African and Brazil, and scientists warn that more will inevitably emerge.

So, it’s not surprising that we’re seeing increased pressure on businesses and individuals to comply with counter-infection measures, including mask wearing and social distancing.

Between January 6 and 14 in the UK, the Health & Safety Executive received almost 3,000 complaints about workplaces not being COVID-compliant. Unions have demanded that employers from - logistics firms to construction companies - be investigated and penalised for flouting the rules. 

In retail, USDAW shopworkers union has called for managers to do more to make sure that rules are being followed consistently in every store and have pointed out that staff have not only suffered increased abuse but are also deeply worried about catching the virus.

The union is calling for key safety measures to be implemented, including: ‘one in on out’ policies to limit customer numbers, clear signage concerning face coverings, stricter observation of 2-metre social distancing, and proper support and back-up for staff facing abuse or violence.

Security suppliers are continuing to help ease the pressure on businesses across the economy with technologies such as AI-driven video tech which automates functions such as mask detection, bottleneck prevention and building occupancy monitoring.

And, of course, we’ve long argued the value of ensuring comprehensive video surveillance of premises to capture evidence of incidents. The advances in surveillance technology over recent years make this kind of in-depth coverage much more affordable and practical, including accurate AI-assisted notifications to events and violations powered by deep-learning powered analytics, and metadata filtering to enable more efficient searches through recorded footage.

Companies looking to open their doors to the public should be reminded that it’s not just the risk of penalties they face for non-compliance, but reputational damage, negative impact on staff morale, and the possible risk of future litigation if they fail to operate premises safely.

But the strongest argument for implementing new video solutions to meet their obligations, is that the same technology will provide solid value and valuable tools going forward.

The intelligence that video analytics can now deliver will help organisations to be more efficient and flexible. So, the investments made now to allow COVID-safe operating will prove their value into the recovery phase.

Systems integrators targeting new business opportunities can implement solutions that combine automated people counting with adaptive signage or pedestrian ‘traffic lights’ installed at building entrances.

And they can integrate AI video with PA systems, enabling automated messages to be triggered as soon as non-compliance with mask-wearing, or with social distancing, is detected.

To protect public-facing staff further, employers should consider providing them with wearable IoT panic devices that let them alert colleagues and control room operators if they feel unsafe.  These too can easily be integrated into existing surveillance set ups along with other sensors and devices.

All these measures can help take pressure off frontline staff and reduce the need for them to monitor and encourage compliance.

And security departments themselves will be looking to find productivity gains. Integrating their video solutions with fire, touchless and frictionless access control, intruder and wider third-party systems will help them to tackle their own sector specific challenges more efficiently from a single interface. These solutions will be particularly attractive if they make it easy for emerging analytics to be added as needs change or the opportunity arises.

Users will also see the logic of investing in systems that offer a high degree of futureproofing, for example with forward and backward compatibility, and assurance that the vendor has a credible technology roadmap, and has the financial stability to ensure long term product support and warranties against failure.