Avoid Supply Chain Issues by Ditching the Printer You Can’t Buy Anyway
Printers are back ordered or unavailable. Savance Workplace has created mobile credentials allowing you to bypass printing.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, touching public surfaces became something no one wanted to do. With this in mind, Savance Workplace saw a need to remove touchpoints from various steps in business processes related to Visitor Management as a virus mitigation measure. To address this need, the software company implemented a way for visitors to self check-in to a facility without the need to physically touch public surfaces, reducing infection risk. The solution Savance developed allows guests to pre-register by filling out a health questionnaire in advance and later enter a building using a QR code automatically sent to them via email or text upon completion. By scanning this QR code in the lobby an automated, touchless temperature scanner activates and takes a reading of their temperature. Once the system verifies the visitor is not running a fever, they are then allowed entry by a badge on their mobile device without ever having to come into contact with a public surface
Fast forward a year and a half and the pandemic has created a new problem. Supply chain issues have made it nearly impossible to buy the printers used to create labels that function as credentials for visitors. Manufacturers are unable to get raw materials to build printers. This has affected almost every printer manufacturer and led to businesses who are installing a new visitor management system, or replacing old printers, unable to print new badges. Many organizations are now forced to allow visitors to enter their facilities without a printed badge which takes away visibility and accountability. Luckily, Savance’s original solution to mitigate the spread of novel coronavirus happens to be a printer free solution. Here is how one company uses it and how it can free your organization from printers by using mobile credentials.
IKO, a roofing manufacturer, wanted to create a “touch-free” visitor management process that would bypass the physical printing of a paper badge. They partnered with Savance after learning of their existing “printer-less” product and the software engineers got to work creating the perfect solution for IKO. Here is how it works.
For visitors, a link is emailed to the guest before they arrive on campus. The user is able to access the company’s web application via smartphone, desktop or tablet and pre-register by filling out a custom question profile from their home, vehicle or office. This questionnaire can function as a health screening tool as well as a place to upload documents, watch safety videos or provide signature agreement to custom notices. The visitor is then sent a welcome email or text message which includes a QR code for entry in the lobby as well as instructions on what to do when they arrive. IKO distributed the link to the questionnaire by email.
Employee’s also use this system. When the employee clicks the link, they are taken to the questionnaire. Even though the questions asked can be updated to comply with ever changing health regulations, the link remains the same and employees are required to fill the questionnaire out daily. If answers are given that are considered by authorities or IKO to pose a risk, employees are informed by custom messaging, they should not come in to work that day and to contact their HR representative.
If the answers given on the questionnaire satisfy safety requirements, a QR Code is emailed and texted to the respondent. Upon arriving on site, the QR code is scanned by a barcode scanner connected to the lobby kiosk and all information has already been entered with the exception of the temperature check. IKO chose to also add a time limit so that the answers given on the questionnaire are considered valid for a maximum of 5 hours. If the employee does not arrive on site within 5 hours, they are required to answer the questions again. A poster of a QR code is posted at several employee entry points that links to the questionnaire so that they may scan it and answer the questions on their mobile device before reaching the Kiosk in the event they are too late. This ensures the employee must provide up to date answers daily. When an employee scans their personal QR code at the Kiosk within 5 hours of providing the necessary answers to the questionnaire, an automated process is triggered and the temperature scanner takes the visitor or employee’s temperature. Once the temperature check is complete, and the temperature is in a safe range, automatic doors which are integrated with IKO’s existing access control system open allowing the person in. This all happens digitally, without the need for expensive, wasteful, paper labels or currently hard to come by label printers, using a QR code sent by email or text message instantly, without touching a single surface and within a timeframe of less than 10 seconds.
The employee or visitor’s badge is now a mobile credential on their smartphone and available to the hosts or security. The information on the badge can include a photo of the user, answers they gave to pertinent questions on the questionnaire, a special “Passed Screening” status, an expiration time and can also show where a guest is allowed to be within the premises. A credential can also be activated to any one of several Access Control providers Savance software is integrated with and be included as a barcode. Different access can even be provided based on criteria like time of day or refused based on screening failure. The registration, check-in and credential process is now entirely automated and done without a printer and, if desired, without human interaction in the form of a receptionist or security guard. Whether your organization is looking to optimize safety by reducing touch points, find a solution to the printer shortage or simply automate the visitor management process, Savance Workplace has the perfect solution for you.
