How to Guarantee Employee Safety in a State of Emergency and the Post-Corona World?
The Coronavirus has turned the world upside down in a matter of months with both citizens and companies alike having to adopt precautionary measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Companies have had to cancel major events and require employees to work from home. Many have had to find ways to continue work safer than before. Both equipment and technology used by many in their day-to-day work need to be examined.
How to guarantee employee safety in a state of emergency and the post-Corona world? Fingerprint readers have become increasingly popular in many organizations, but germs now take center stage. It may sound frightening, but the circumstances have paved the way for the next powerful technology – facial recognition.
How Does Facial Recognition Work?
Facial recognition is contactless and, similarly to the tech in fingerprint readers, uses a person’s individual characteristics as a means of identification. Facial recognition uses machine readers and cameras to compare individual facial features to known databases.
Watch how Begin facial recognition device works from here!
Begin’s Facial Recognition System Takes You One Step Closer to Contactless Identification
The outbreak of the virus has required all of us to adjust to the new reality and reconsider how we work. Many have contacted us asking how to substitute a terminal that requires physical contact with a contactless alternative. As a result, we decided to come up with a solution that is both safe for employees and improves work, instead of disrupting it. Clearly we will need to make changes, so why not use this as an opportunity and improve technology to our advantage? Why not make work equipment even more effective than before?
When we sat down with our team to develop a new contactless solution, we took into account the following:
- Employee safety;
- How to enable companies to continue work as effectively as before; and
- A clear and comprehensible user experience.
Why Should Companies Consider Contactless Devices, i.e. Facial Recognition?
At a time when social distancing is the new norm, many companies are turning to facial recognition. Fingerprint identification has become impractical as a person must touch a screen to be identified. A fingerprint reader is still incredibly effective and reliable, but considering the current situation and near future, substituting it with a contactless alternative seems wise.
Our customers have been successfully using fingerprint readers for the past eight years and the tech is unlikely to disappear even after the virus subsides. However, current circumstances have required us to rethink workplace solutions that require physical contact. Precision is crucial for all companies, but health and safety are no less paramount.
How Grossi Grocery Stores Adopted Begin’s Contactless Devices
Grossi grocery stores have been using Begin since 2016. They adopted digital worktime recording from a desire to simplify the company’s processes and guarantee transparency and flexibility for employees – a goal we achieved together.
The beginning of this year brought a problem that nobody could have foreseen. The onset of the Coronavirus created a sudden need for solutions that allow employees to conduct important procedures in a contactless manner. Since creating a safe environment for employees is incredibly important for Grossi grocery stores, they shared their experiences with us so that we could develop contactless devices for them.
“Begin’s older devices use fingerprint identification for worktime registration, but that means constant physical contact with the device,” Liisu Tiitus, Regional Manager at OG Elektra AS tells us. She explains that, as an employer, the company wanted to introduce a contactless and safe login option for its employees.
Grossi grocery stores began by testing the devices in select stores. After the test period, Liisi noted that the contactless option would simplify work in all of the chain’s stores. Regional Manager Liisi also pointed out that the new devices were installed quickly and that employees are very satisfied with them, as there is no direct contact with the device and the menu of the new terminal is easy to use and clear.
“The workload of our store managers has decreased thanks to the new devices. There are fewer problems during login and employee movement between stores is much simpler. The terminals are automatically synchronized and the employees’ facial imprints can easily be sent from one device to all others. At first, employees were skeptical regarding facial recognition, but in a matter of days, it became apparent that the new method is just as simple as a fingerprint reader.”
What Does Begin’s Contactless Devices Include?
- Facial recognition for logging in and out. The new terminal also supports fingerprint and smart card registration.
- The device has a 4G SIM card or WiFi capabilities.
- Automatic synchronization means that facial imprints and fingerprints from one terminal can be transferred to all other devices.
- A contemporary menu guarantees a simple and seamless user experience.
The Coronavirus has affected all of us to a greater or smaller degree, challenging the global community. The pandemic has altered how we at Begin think and motivated us to develop a solution to overcome the challenges arising from the Coronavirus. With us, you will be taking a step towards a more efficient future that will heal any wounds caused by the pandemic.
