Futureproofing Events Management With Smart Technology
By Matthew Margetts is Director of Sales and Marketing at Smarter Technologies.
COVID-19 has triggered awareness around our vulnerability to viruses and disease – and may be the catalyst for some permanent changes in how we do things going forward. One area which has fallen under scrutiny is events. Sporting events, concerts, and shows tend to attract large crowds and smart stadium operators and events planners are strategising around how to mitigate health risks, demonstrate duty of care and bolster customer confidence.
The Challenges Of ‘The New Norm’
Globally, there is an understandable reluctance among people to attend sporting events, concerts, and other mass gatherings. McKinsey has reported that public sentiment in the United Kingdom currently favours virtual and low-contact activities and that this may well continue into the future. Of the surveyed people, 50% reported that their attitudes to attending concerts and events will remain unchanged. However, 35% have indicated that they will likely decrease their activity in this area.
Stadium operators and sports and events professionals are faced with encouraging spectatorship and attendance through the implementation of health and safety best practices. The wellbeing of their customers is at stake – as is the survival of their businesses, in many cases. These operators will need to mitigate health and safety risks wherever possible – and temperature checking can help identify the potential for illness. It may also hold the key to consumer confidence as stadia, venues, and popular sporting events navigate their post-COVID operations.
A consistently elevated temperature (outside of exercise or normal conditions) may be an indication of illness. That’s why implementing temperature checking demonstrates a duty of care, although it should be used alongside other measures.
In executing temperature screening and other health systems, organisers and operators will need to effectively implement these measures without interrupting the experience. The Hungarian football league is enforcing social distancing by only allowing one in every four seats to be occupied following COVID-19. While reduced attendance can be reasonably expected, how can venue operators and events organisers conduct temperature checking on a large scale without significant bottlenecks and operational problems? The solution lies in clever technologies.
Some Features To Look Out For In The New Tech
- Crowd screening We are all becoming accustomed to temperature screening in public spaces, but individual testing in the same way at marathons, stadium matches, concerts, conferences, and crowded events would require intensive manpower and resources and result in potential disruption and bottlenecks. Automated temperature checking with crowd capabilities are a natural solution in this setting for staff, spectators, competitors, and all stakeholders.
- Remote readings Cloud-based temperature screening solutions are at the forefront of technological developments as we work out the way forward in a COVID-19 world. Feeds can be instantly transmitted to computers, mobile phones, and televisions, technology which can serve to reduce contact between staff and potentially infectious people.
- Facial recognition Contact contagion means the best technologies are effective whilst minimising the need for interaction. Temperature readings with facial recognition capabilities streamline identification and fast reaction if high temperatures are detected in staff members, competitors, spectators, and guests.
- Track and trace Top technologies allow you to process data in a GDPR-compliant manner. Utilising facial recognition technology, the historical interactions and movements of competitors in open-air sports events and crowds of spectators can be used as part of Government’s track and trace initiatives. By being assigned an identifier code, this can be done with total discretion.
- Fully-integrable Stadia and events usually have a technology ecosystem they use for smooth operations. The most powerful temperature checking technologies should be easily integrated and complement existing systems.
Real-Life Insights: Technology Changing Outside Events
Smart technologies are going to lead the charge for the future of systemised temperature scanning. Automated solutions which can scan large crowds in real time present one such way of controlling risk while mitigating exposure to staff with traditional handheld temperature systems. Furthermore, these new technologies are medically accurate up to +-0.3 degrees.
When combining these systems with software, events managers can gather secure reporting at the touch of a button. Multi-site readings are sent to a tailored dashboard which empowers personnel to process and manage data effectively and responsibly.
While the events industry has had to undergo rapid change in a short space of time, the challenges ahead of reopening venues can be safely and securely managed with smart solutions that can be effective now and for the future.
