Measure temperatures, improve infection control

Automatically scanning the body temperature of people as they enter a building increases the safety of employees, customers and suppliers

Swiss real estate service provider HRS is taking new steps to protect its employees, customers and suppliers against Covid-19. At four of its 15 branches, the company has installed systems in the entrance areas that automatically measure the body temperature of people and trigger an alarm if the systems detect elevated levels. Brütsch/Rüegger Tools proposed and installed the system. "Fever is one of the most common symptoms of Covid-19", says Nina Schmid, Head of Human Resources at HRS, adding: "By identifying people with elevated temperatures at an early stage, we can prevent further infections".

Your benefits at a glance:

  • Helps you comply with internal Swiss FOPH guidelines
  • Reduces the potential risk of an outbreak in the company
  • Allows employees, customers and suppliers to flow in and out of a building normally

The system measures temperatures in real time

The system used at HRS features a "DERMALOG Fever Detection Application" with "techflixx BodyTempScan" cameras. This setup determines a person's body temperature in real time and then displays the temperature on a monitor above the heads of the people being scanned. If a preset limit value is exceeded, an alarm is triggered. Using this system, the temperatures of up to five people can be measured simultaneously at a maximum distance of two metres. As long as the alarm doesn't sound, people will be able to enter normally without stopping. It only takes 0.7–2.0 seconds to determine a person's temperature.

"When the number of Covid-19 infections began to increase significantly in October 2020, we looked for additional ways to reduce the risk of infection in the company and to provide additional safety for our employees. The measuring stations are helping with this greatly", reports Schmid. At HRS there are many employees who need to be present on construction sites or who are working in the office on complex building plans that require enormous data capacity. "Working from home is not always possible or suitable. A site manager should be on site", says Schmid. The first system was installed in October, with three more installed by the end of the year. "It went perfectly smoothly for us. The system is a plug-in solution that's ready to use in 30 minutes".

Employees quickly won over by the benefits

The benefits of the system were clear to see right from the start, and the employees were quickly won over. No concerns were raised up front—not even with regard to data protection—but instead, there was great interest in how the system functions. Employees wanted to know how accurate the measurements were and whether they could be relied on. "We were able to answer these questions easily", says the Head of Human Resources. The system has a measuring tolerance of just 0.5°C. Even holding a cup of hot coffee in your hand doesn't bother the system. "The measurement is taken at the forehead, so it has also been coupled with a face detection system that even registers when a person is wearing a face mask". Despite this, no personal data is stored or allocated, and thus the operation is completely GDPR compliant.

The system provides results as a live image of the measured area on the screen.
Displays the measured body temperature above the person's head — up to five people at a time.
Quick and reliable temperature measurement that doesn't interrupt the flow of passengers.
Ideal for use in reception areas with heavy foot traffic — just as at HRS's Oerlikon site.

Seamless collaboration

Since the systems were installed, the alarm has not been triggered even once. "This shows that our employees take health protection very seriously and don't want to endanger their colleagues. Anyone who isn't feeling well and has a fever either stays at home or goes to the doctor. It is possible that the system is reinforcing this cautiousness and is having a preventive effect as a result", Schmid believes. "No one wants to be the one to trigger the alarm".

At HRS, the collaboration with Brütsch/Rüegger Tools has been positively received across the board. Technicians from Brütsch/Rüegger Tools performed the installation and commissioning as well as the training of employees. "Aside from placing the order and accepting the delivery, we didn't have to do anything. All of the agreed deadlines were met throughout the process, which was ideal. And the development has shown that we made a good and meaningful decision", Schmid recalls.


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