Barnsley firm develops wristband system to alert workers if they are within two metres

A Barnsley tech firm has established thermal cameras that test for signs of Covid-19 and a new wristband system that alerts employers when they have come withing two metres of a colleague.

Contrac IT, based at the Digital Media Centre (DMC), is also developing a state-of-the-art UVC disinfection system which can be used to scan rooms and kill any virus pathogens within minutes.

With many businesses beginning to reopen in accordance with Government guidance and concerns persisting over the safety of doing so, Contrac says the new systems can help allay fears.

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The IT services provider has worked in collaboration with safety tech company, Tended, who have developed the digital wristband technology. Tended is also part of the DMC’s extended community of tech companies.

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Managing director Mark Harding said: “The companies we supply want to ensure their staff have real peace of mind at work. Whether they are food producers who have continued to work through this crisis or other manufacturers who are just looking to re-start operations, they need processes in place to safeguard the health and well-being of their workforces.”

Tended’s wristband features an ultra-wideband proximity tag which measures the distance between users. If the wearer comes within a set distance of a colleague it automatically vibrates to alert them to move apart.

Meanwhile the specialist infrared camera can detect higher than normal temperatures in people entering the workplace up to 0.3 degrees accuracy. Any indication that someone has an elevated temperature can then be quickly followed up with a clinical thermometer test and an employee with a confirmed fever can be identified and isolated immediately.

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Mark said: “One of the most important aspects of these new tools is the reassurance they give employers, employees and customers that the situation in their workplace is being monitored closely and automatically with managed tech solutions.

“With Tended’s wristband, workers can personally feel in control of their own physical space, with social distancing being monitored 100 per cent of the time even when they are focused on their work.”

Contrac has already implemented some of these Covid19 protective measures with UK food production clients and is now talking to manufacturers and restaurants.