Biometric face recognition in physical security, health safety, and workforce management

The last year revolutionised the way people work. When offices transitioned to work-from-home and worksites implemented social distancing, the security industry saw an overnight shift in what technologies our customers wanted. Now that businesses are bringing employees back to work in-person, management has broadened their focus to include healthy access in their security plans.

Healthy access is a modern security concept that uses the latest technologies to blend employee and visitor health with automated security and digital transformation. This year, more leaders than ever are concerned with the health of their people – for good reason.

Touchless Solutions

Touchless solutions are at the forefront of security conversations because, suddenly, no one wants to touch anything in public. As a result, biometric solutions using face recognition have adapted to deliver a powerful and highly effective trifecta of solutions for physical security, health and workforce management.

Face recognition is now considered to be the most accurate non-invasive method to identify and authenticate individuals

Face recognition is now considered to be the most accurate non-invasive method to identify and authenticate individuals. Ongoing improvements like smarter algorithms, neural networks and artificial intelligence (AI) continue to improve face recognition’s performance.

Well-known enhancements like faster processing and better camera functionality are quality-of-life improvements for traditional face recognition applications. Other advancements – like mask detection, face recognition while wearing a mask, mobile enrolment and more – are unique additions to this technology that effectively answer the needs of today without adding complex workflows.

Biometric Face Recognition for Physical Security

Even as pandemic mask restrictions lift, many businesses still require people to wear face masks to enter their facilities – a policy that will be with us for years to come. The sudden requirement for face masks in public stimulated the rapid development of a new face recognition application where security systems need to authenticate people with half their face covered.

The ability to use a person’s biometrics to gain access eliminates the need for PINs or cards that can be forgotten, shared or stolen, so businesses familiar with the high security of biometrics cannot turn to less-secure means of authentication, and fingerprint is not a feasible option because that technology involves touching shared surfaces. Face recognition while wearing a mask is a highly relevant, timely advancement for businesses that need high security at their entry doors without compromising on mask mandates or personal comfort levels with illness avoidance.

Biometric Face Recognition for Health

Face recognition is touchless by nature and took centre stage during the pandemic

Face recognition is touchless by nature and took centre stage during the pandemic as buildings migrated to contactless security to limit the spread of surface-borne illnesses. As more businesses reopen and bring office staff back, the demand for this fast, easy-to-use and touchless technology will continue to surge. Additionally, advanced face recognition solutions can be enhanced with thermographic cameras for elevated body temperature detection, which enables businesses to limit access to only people with healthy temperatures and prove that they are protecting healthy staff.

To adhere to social distancing guidelines, businesses can take advantage of our society’s affinity for mobile apps. Remote enrolment is a feature of high-end face recognition solutions where people can enrol their faces using their phones – limiting the amount of time spent waiting in line, standing in front of a device or interacting with other people. Some solutions are also integrated with attestation questionnaires that allow people to self-declare symptoms or exposure to illnesses, which can help businesses make informed decisions to protect the health of their staff. The more your solution can accomplish, the more confidence your personnel can have that they are healthy at your building.

Biometric Face Recognition for Workforce Management

Returning to work is now a monumental undertaking. One of the biggest challenges for business owners is balancing hybrid work-from-home schedules and socially distanced in-person shifts. Every business will have a unique approach to what work in a post-pandemic world looks like.

Touchless, mask-inclusive technology and attestation are user-friendly solutions that help businesses protect staff health

This adds a new layer of complexity to shift scheduling that management must address to maintain the simplicity of shift changes and accuracy of time tracking. Touchless, mask-inclusive technology and attestation are user-friendly solutions that help businesses follow mask rules, ensure high security, protect staff health and keep shift changes fast and easy.

Advancements in face recognition align with the timing of getting employees back to work because of work done by proactive security leaders. The “face” of biometrics has forever changed. This industry is no longer represented by antiquated fingerprint technology. Instead, we are represented by modern, accessible face recognition with room to grow for physical security, health and workforce management – the trifecta of healthy buildings.