A Detroit-based company today announced its participation in a collaboration to enhance workplace safety measures in accordance with CDC guidelines.
Guardhat, an Internet of Things (IoT) industrial safety technology developer that creates wearables, infrastructure, and software platforms, is joining the Eurofins SAFER@WORKTM program; a collection of testing, tracing, and analysis tools developed to increase workplace safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Guardhat, the partnership between is “designed to mitigate the potential outbreak of COVID-19 in the workplace by pre-identifying employees who have symptoms or are at enhanced risk.” This will allow organizations to create a heat map of the areas most likely to have traces of COVID-19 virus and perform contact tracing on each of the symptomatic employee’s interactions both in real-time and retroactively.
The two partners each will provide user-friendly platforms that can easily be integrated into existing technology. Both large and small organizations will have the ability to protect their workers while minimizing operating disruptions.
Through its location-based monitoring technology, Guardhat will provide geolocational information on employees who may have had symptoms of COVID-19 both before and after symptoms have been reported. Additionally, the Guardhat platform will alert employees when then are within the social distancing guidelines provided by the CDC.
Eurofins will incorporate a suite of real-time PCR tests to support identification of employees and work surfaces that may contain traces of COVID-19; and IgM/IgG antibody tests to support identification of prior infection in employees. Eurofins will use combined data to generate a heat map of areas that may contain COVID-19 based on surface risk profile – e.g. common area door handles, work surfaces of high population rooms, etc.
Using the Guardhat technology, combined with the insights from Eurofins, employers will be able to create modified arrangements of workplace layouts. This includes a mix of desk, work/manufacturing area, and common area adaptations for maintaining the CDC recommended distance between employees. This contact tracing is an integral component of the Empower Initiative and is imperative to the success of identifying and containing any potential outbreaks of COVID-19 in a dynamic working environment.
For more information, visit here.
