Austin — (BUSINESS WIRE) — HID Global, a leader in trusted identity solutions, today announced landmark additions to its HID Location Services IoT ecosystem that simplify and streamline managing these protocols, and drive compliance to federal, state and local requirements to help prevent workplace exposure to COVID-19.

The new HID Location Services for Workplace Safety physical distancing application leverages Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) HID BEEKS™ Aware fobs that alert employees when they are closer than 6 feet (2 meters) for a specified period of time.

The new contact tracing application uses the same HID BEEKS Aware fob or a BEEKS badge/badge holder that is easily added to existing ID cards, providing a full digital trail of an employee’s whereabouts and historical interactions while at work. This makes it possible to rapidly respond to cases and activate isolation procedures as needed.

The physical distancing application is currently being piloted and adopted by major healthcare institutions and enterprise organizations worldwide, including at HID’s North American headquarters and manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas.

How it works:

  • Employers define distancing policies and alert parameters; zones can be created with geo-fences around high-traffic areas (breakrooms, hallways, lobbies) to minimize large congregations of people.
  • HID BEEKS Aware BLE fobs are issued to employees, visitors and contractors to carry while at work. Using peer-to-peer capabilities, the fob will flash and sound a brief audible alert when employees are within 6 feet (2 meters) for more than 2 minutes (or as configured by administrator).
  • With a click of a button, detailed reporting enables contact tracing using historical data on movement and interactions in order to trigger safety protocols.
  • For standalone contact tracing, employers can couple the functionality with existing employee ID badges.

Up and running within hours – no integration needed:

  • Fast set up using HID BEEKS devices, secure HID Bluzone Cloud Software, and HID BluFi™/ other gateways.
  • Immediate access to real-time analytics that include location data such as interaction type and contact duration (including start and end times).
  • Uses existing enterprise networks or Bluetooth over Wi-Fi network connectivity and cloud services to simplify implementation. No additional infrastructure, hardware or network wiring needed.

HID Location Services is already in broad use by Fortune 500 companies for managing building occupancy, optimizing office and facility space, asset tracking and monitoring the health of equipment.

Organizations are able to leverage their investment beyond today’s global health crisis, since HID Location Services lays the foundation to easily add even more IoT applications–all of which can be centrally managed on a single platform.

For more information about HID Location Services for Workplace Safety, visit hidglobal.com.

Contacts

HID Global
Leah Washington
PR and Corporate Communications
lwashington@hidglobal.com