In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) authorized employers to take their employees’ temperatures upon entry to detect fever – a common symptom of the virus – and minimize the spread of COVID in their workplaces.
While good in-theory, checking the body temperatures of employees, customers, and visitors alike proved to be a time-consuming – and often inconsistent – protective measure. In fact, The New York Times labeled the popularized, contactless thermometer guns used to read peoples’ temperatures as “notoriously not accurate.”
Even as the pandemic has died down, many companies have continued to monitor the temperatures of individuals walking through their doors. But more technologically advanced employers have found a different tool to prioritize the health of their workplaces: temperature monitoring cameras.
Herring Technology has Temperature Monitoring Systems available for purchase and offers instructional videos about what to expect. Contact us today for more information!
Benefits of Temperature Monitoring Video Cameras
Commonly known for its night-vision capabilities, temperature imaging monitoring (TIM) was originally created for surveillance and military operations. Today, it is used for a number of reasons, from scientific research and automobile braking to building inspections and firefighting.
So, how might your company or workplace benefit from installing temperature monitoring video cameras?
Creating & Maintaining a Healthy Workplace
Designed to be non-contact, efficient forms of monitoring skin surface temperature, TIM cameras are FDA-approved medical devices that can actually detect the heat that humans naturally emit from yards away. This means a temperature monitoring camera can be installed in a lobby, entryway, or gathering area and read temperatures immediately, without asking employees or visitors to stop and record their temperature.
In fact, using artificial intelligence (AI) software, TIM cameras can log the temperatures in the system and assign them to a specific profile. In the event someone’s temperature reads at an alert level, it is clear who has the fever.
The speed and subtlety that a temperature monitoring camera reads employees’ and guests’ temperatures is not only convenient but also invaluable to creating and maintaining a healthy workplace. It is worth noting that you familiarize yourself or create health policies for your company so you know how to proceed when you are alerted to high body temperatures.
Accurate Recordings
Because temperature monitoring cameras can see radiation and convert it to an image, the representation is incredibly accurate, which of course means fewer false-alarms.
Scientific studies have found TIM cameras are most accurate when:
- Used to read one person’s skin temperature at a time (as opposed to multiple screenings at once).
- Used in a room without reflective backgrounds such as glass, metallic surfaces, or mirrors.
- The room temperature is 68 to 76 °F (20 to 24 °C).
- The person being evaluated is not wearing face or head covering (such as a hat, scarf, or mask) and has neither bathed nor engaged in physical activity within 30 minutes of their temperature being taken.
Affordable Security
Generally, temperature monitoring camera systems are affordable, especially compared to previous decades. Thanks to new technologies that have lowered costs, infrared cameras that used to cost $50,000 are now available to the everyday businessman and homeowner.
Businesses and homes both benefit from low-cost thermal cameras when it comes to added security. Incorporating thermal imaging into a business’ or home’s security system provides constant and accurate monitoring. This is because TIM cameras have the ability to read and record body heat both during the daytime and evening hours, and for both large and small perimeter areas, a trait that is often more difficult for your average security camera.
Learn more about Herring Technology’s security products, structured cabling, and security specializations.
