Tools & Technologies

By Daren Maynard

Badging into workflow compliance

The intersection of technology and workplace management continues full steam ahead with EverView for workforce management. The badging solution system takes advantage of the internet of things to manage and monitor workforce access, process flows and behaviors. The IoT-enabled solution uploads the data to the data management software, where the operations team can run analytics based on rules and performance metrics.

The badges and their software provide facilities security and personnel monitoring solutions for organizations where there is a need for enhanced security access, employee hygiene and personal safety, along with client health needs.

EverView uses radio frequency (RF) tags in three modes to enhance its operational reliability. The first mode uses near-field communications (NFC) for short-range communications to establish monitoring boundaries related to security and operational protocols. In the second mode, organizations can install microzones (wireless location spot markers) that act as security points with the badges. This allows people to enter and exit restricted access without having to touch their badges. The third mode allows the RF tags on the badges to interact with a smart device or gateway from up to 200 feet away.

As the technology is used to monitor employee behaviors, the EverViewenabled badges come with activity, motion and orientation sensors, long-range emergency call buttons and a sealed battery that will last for multiple years.

For example, the EverView solution is combined with the OnHand solution for staff hygiene management. The hygiene protocol logic is stored in the cloud or the badge when combined with antennas to establish the monitoring coverage zone. The coverage zones can include hand sanitizers and sinks. This can be very useful in a medical context, as staff members can be reminded to wash their hands if they are about to enter a sensitive, pathogenfree zone.

Most germs that cause serious infections in healthcare are spread by people’s actions, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But studies show that healthcare providers clean their hands less than half the times they should, and healthcare-associated infections can hit one in 25 patients a day.

On the security front, workflow compliance can enforce security access to locations by using boundaries set up using the sensor arrays powered by the RF-tagging technology. Attendances can be monitored and logged based on the entry and exit outside of the zones. This is powered by the real-time location services and the sensor architecture the technology provides. Operational and business analysts can download and analyze all of the necessary performance data against the performance criteria.

Daren Maynard is a researcher, lecturer and project manager. He earned a PMP certification, an M.S. in program and project management and a B.S. in industrial engineering. He is a member of IISE’s Young Professionals group.