COVID-19 - Case studies

In Japan nearly two in five office workers work from home a minimum of once a week, particularly if they work in IT or consultancy, according to Nikkei research undertaken in 2023. When a global IT company announced they would be leasing out four floors in their Tokyo office last year, in response to changing working habits following Covid, G4S approached them to be their security provider. They had already been doing access control and meet and greet at the eight-storey building for the l...

Take a walk to the local high street. Compared to a few years ago, they may notice many more “To Let” signs in empty shop windows.  It comes as no surprise given the number of shocks to the economic system over the last five years, ranging from COVID-19 to international conflicts, all of which have led to various consequences, such as energy price hikes, interest rate increases, and a general shift in many people's work patterns and consumer behaviour. Vacant retail space The...

In response to the increased demand for oxygen supplies following the 2020 pandemic and subsequent rise in respiratory-related conditions, Jacksons Fencing completed a key project in 2024 to safeguard vital oxygen storage facilities at a pioneering UK hospital. Addressing the demand The pandemic highlighted the critical role of oxygen in treating patients, causing a surge in its use across hospitals. Some facilities even declared major incidents due to oxygen shortages, prompting a signif...

About 20 miles northeast of Battle Creek, Michigan, and 30 miles southwest of the state capital of Lansing lies the bucolic city of Olivet, population 1600. Olivet may be small as far as municipalities go, but it knows how to think big when it comes to protecting the safety of the 1250 students enrolled in its three Olivet Community Schools.  Schools of Choice programme That may sound like a large student body for a town its size until they realise that the district serves a geographic a...

There are two truisms of K-12 schools that exist currently; first, safety and security are core objectives, and second, school budgets are tight. K-12 schools have traditionally been perceived as safe havens where children can learn and develop as they begin their life journeys. Violence, vandalism, and theft Unfortunately, K-12 schools are increasingly being subjected to violence, vandalism, and theft. Teachers are expressing growing concerns about their safety as they intervene in physical...

Like most stadiums worldwide, the Alsancak Mustafa Denizli Stadium suffers from vandalism and riots by individual fans. To be able to better identify and track perpetrators and thus reduce financial and non-material damage, the operator opted for a video security solution from the German manufacturer Dallmeier. The Alsancak Mustafa DenizIi Stadium in Izmir–named after former Turkish football player and current football coach Mustafa Denizli–is a multipurpose stadium that mainly host...

As businesses strive to rapidly recover and resume in the post-pandemic era, offline activities increase, and how to manage visitors efficiently has become a critical focus. Intelligent upgraded access control, integrated with the cloud system, offers a solution for managing the entry and tracking of personnel and visitors automatically. The customer Dürr, founded in 1896, is a pioneering mechanical and plant engineering firm in the world. As one of the Dürr Group’s biggest si...

The importance of space exploration is increasing, and more and more astronauts are cavorting in space. But what effects does weightlessness have on the ageing of the human body? How do certain cells develop under milligravity and microgravity conditions, such as those found on small moons and asteroids? The Swiss Artificial Gravity Experiment (SAGE) is dedicated to this research task. Construction of a satellite platform A team of students from various Swiss universities (Academic Space Init...

Rigid endoscopes are used in medical diagnostics and therapy to examine body cavities and hollow organs and to perform minimally invasive procedures. To avoid risks for patients and medical staff, the devices must function perfectly. Reliable quality testing is intended above all to exclude risks from infections and injuries but also misdiagnoses. Quality assurance of rigid endoscopes In many countries, hospitals are required by law to regularly check and maintain their endoscopes to ensure t...

Controlling access into and around Helsinki Airport is a complex task. Around 15,000 people work there; daily pre-pandemic passenger numbers hovered around 60,000 to 70,000. Airport managers chose electronic and electromechanical locks, keyless padlocks and readers to secure the site and improve access management. Safety for staff of operator Finavia and the airport’s customers is paramount. For obvious reasons, only authorised people should have access to many areas. The safe management...

Qognify, a provider of video and enterprise incident management solutions, has announced that The University of Vermont has transitioned to Qognify VMS. The next-generation enterprise-class video management system (VMS) has been deployed to improve how the university Police Dispatch team manages real-time emergency events, as well as post-incident investigation and daily on-campus surveillance. Challenge Many schools, colleges, and universities rely on their video management systems (VMS) as...

ZeroEyes, creators of the only A.I.-based gun detection video analytics platform that holds the US Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act Designation, announced that its solution has been chosen by New Mexico’s Clovis Municipal Schools (CMS) to proactively protect students and faculty against gun-related threats.  ZeroEyes’ A.I. technology is being layered on top of the schools’ existing security cameras, where it will identify brandished guns and dispatch alerts to s...

The challenge - The Painesville City Local School District was opening to students and staff in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Joshua M. Englehart, Ph.D., Superintendent and Shaun Bell, Director of Operations for the school district developed a reopening policy to ensure they could bring their staff and students back to school in a safe and effective manner. According to Bell, the 2019-20 school year has been particularly challenging, and while school has been in session since last Augus...

An eight-building, a premier office park in Indiana offers 1.2 million square feet of office space. Along with a 14,000 square foot centre with amenities such as a concierge to handle tenant errands, a 6,200 square foot fitness centre, a conference/training centre for up to 100 people, and cafes, there is an on-site auto spa and walking paths & bike share. Challenges After a series of facility intrusions, General Manager (GM) and Assistant PM wanted to improve oversight across the complex...

imageHOLDERS bespoke kiosk technology has helped ViewPoint Feedback develop a new range of touchless self-service solutions ensuring customers, employees, patients, and students continue to leave vital real-time responses. The new touchless devices match the trademark design and functionality of ViewPoint Feedback’s iconic satisfaction survey stations complete with smiley face buttons, icons, and text but in a format that addresses user concerns about virus transmission, especially in hig...

Eager tourists have flocked into Japan after borders were reopened for international tourism in September 2022, and the visa-free entry programme was reinstated in October 2022. According to statistics released by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), Japan welcomed close to a million international tourists in November 2022.  Although local shopping centres, hotels, and restaurants celebrate the recovery of tourism, the pandemic has prompted a heightened sense of awareness among...

The Ministry Of Municipality And Environment (MME) in Doha Qatar has nearly 100 scheduled buses for transferring employees and officials. In recent years, transportation costs are increasing, and managers need to ensure only employees could get on the designated buses. It is also a good plan to maintain employees’ health under COVID-19.  Challenge However, although the bus driver is easy to manage, and the time of buses is simple to schedule, it is not enough to reduce the cost and...

Sharry is excited to announce its entry into the Spanish market where it delivered smart office technology to smart, the first intelligent building in Spain. Sharry is digitising access, parking management, and visitor experience at the building. All features are conveniently accessible in a white-labeled mobile application developed by Sharry, whose software is already used by skyscrapers in NYC. As Sharry continues to expand its presence internationally in the US, UK, and CEE, Spain...

Courts have been shifting to virtual court proceedings using video teleconferencing for a variety of reasons including cost and safety. The COVID pandemic forced more courts to adapt. Without being able to meet safely in person, the pandemic caused a rapid adoption of remote courtroom proceedings. The key challenge is how to deliver multiple video streams easily and reliably to all parties. Court Video Conferencing Services (CVCS), a specialist in courtroom AV solutions, solved this challenge w...

Estimates suggest that around 1 million football fans will visit the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, taking place from 20 November to 18 December. The presence of vast pedestrian numbers in one of Asia’s smallest countries introduces traffic flow challenges that the Qatari government wanted to address in advance of this highly prestigious competition. As a result, the country has installed 700 FLIR TrafiOne smart city sensors to monitor traffic and control crowd flow. These award-winning, a...

Crossword Cybersecurity Plc, the cybersecurity solutions company focused on cyber strategy and risk, has announced the completion of a project to expand the scope of its services with CCN-CERT, the Information Security Incident Response Team (CERT) of the National Cryptologic Centre in Spain (CCN), which is accountable to the Spanish National Intelligence Centre. CCN-CERT has expanded its use of Crossword’s cloud-based breached account mining platform, Trillion, to protect its entire publ...

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken heavy tolls on Japan’s tourism industry. Affected by border lockdowns, foreign tourists cannot visit any attractions in Japan; among which, the City of Ise is blessed with both oceanic and mountainous landscapes and has rich history and renowned attractions. Ise’s tourist spots, like Ise Grand Shrine, and delicious food like Ise Ebi (lobster), oyster, and Matsusaka beef, are all well-known around the world. Facilitating urban development...

The Centre for Contemporary Art based in Ujazdowski Castle is a space that uses art to help visitors reflect on the world. It aims to invite discussion about some of the pieces, where different art disciplines blend together in creative experiments. To achieve this, the space - which is located at the heart of Warsaw, Poland - hosts events, exhibitions, a cinema, a bookshop, a library, and an art residency programme. The Centre for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, needed a system that was f...

Remote location, 24/7 access requirements, multiple users - automation was the answer for the owner of this storage facility who needed to prevent false alarms and ensure around-the-clock security for its customers. Located in rural Somerset, Dan Riddle, Owner of Southwood Secure Storage, wanted to secure a new storage container facility. Various challenges particular to the case meant that no off-the-shelf product or service ticked every required box. But, close teamwork between the client and...

Rize–Artvin Airport is based off the coast of Rize Province, northeastern Turkey. It is a commercial airport serving primarily Turkish Airlines, AnadoluJet and Pegasus Airlines. The airport was constructed on ground reclaimed from the Black Sea. It is expected to serve around two million passengers annually once travel returns to pre-pandemic levels. Protecting buildings, the runway and people The safety of passengers and staff is vital to the airport experience" As a completely new ai...