While the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be receding in the wake of mass vaccinations across the UK, for many businesses and organisations, the need to enforce some degree of social distancing remains. According to expert advice, some need for social distancing may well be required in the future, and for many operations, there is also a need to reassure visitors and employees that their health and well-being is foremost in the business management’s minds.
With uncertainty over virus variations, changing rules and a general mood of caution among a growing number of people, businesses and organisations must ensure they retain control over the flow of people through their sites. However, occupancy management has other benefits outside of times of pandemic.
Occupancy management allows site managers to optimise comfort for employees and visitors, ensuring congestion on-site is limited, and the efficient use of resources is controlled. With many companies adopting more flexibility in terms of on-site working, using concepts such as hot-desking, occupancy management can play a significant role.
The technology can also ensure smooth management of meeting rooms, ensuring adequate resources are allocated based on the needs of personnel and their clients. This not only adds cost efficiencies for the business, but enhances the overall return on investment for the solution.
The benefits are even greater in customer-facing sites, as occupancy management can enhance the customer experience and ensure staff are deployed in adequate numbers and at the right locations to deliver the highest levels of customer service.
Paxton has enhanced its award-winning Net2 access control system, helping ensure buildings are COVID-secure, but also delivering the wider benefits of high-level occupancy management. The latest version of the Net2 Pro software features Net2 Occupancy Management which allows users to limit the number of people in any given area, either barring access or sending an email or text to the building manager when a space nears capacity.
Net2 Occupancy Management works across multiple areas of a site and can be set to operate a ‘one in, one out’ system to support social distancing measures. In addition to this update, the latest version of Net2 also supports thermal scanning, with a choice of hardware integrated from Hikvision, ZKTeko, Suprema, Invixium, Genie and more.
Paxton recognises that controlling the density of people in any given area is a valuable tool to help businesses of all types. Net2 is the bestselling access control system in the UK and so the Occupancy Management feature meets specific needs for a large number of businesses and organisations.
Occupancy management helps ensure users maintain a safe social distance by setting and controlling the maximum number of people in any given area. Users can view live occupancy levels in a clear, web-based visual report from a smartphone, tablet, PC or wall display. Dynamic control of entry permissions allows users to set alerts and prevent user access when maximum capacity is neared or reached, and a simplified area management feature sets and manages multiple areas simultaneously, with specific occupancy levels per area. The functionality has been designed to support continuous flow of people with ‘one-in, one-out’ access when occupancy numbers are high.
The Occupancy Management feature in Net2 is part of a continual development of Net2 in line with feedback to provide even more flexibility for COVID-secure and cost-effective buildings.
