Bringing events into a safer ‘new normal’

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As companies adapt to the ‘new normal’, they are having to be innovative to survive. Those in the hospitality industry are facing a world where far fewer people travel. It’s also dramatically affected events, like trade shows and conferences, which have been cancelled or postponed all over the world. German conference organizer Hotelreservierungs- und Tagungsmanagement (HUT) sought a temporary solution to get events going again – and the solution was made up from Hikvision technologies by local reseller Michael Telecom AG.

Challenge

HUT organizes events for the EHI Retail Institute, the German authority responsible for retail outlets, among others. Before the lockdown, the Institute successfully held one of the biggest retail trade shows in Europe - EuroShop in Düsseldorf in February 2020. But later in the year, they reassessed the situation and decided future events could only take place in a ‘hybrid’ format. This meant there were more activities online and strict hygiene and access measures should be taken.

HUT needed a way to ‘pre-test’ all visitors – including participants, exhibitors and employees - and to ensure they were wearing masks, for example. As part of the strict monitoring regime in place, they also needed this information to be displayed at an information counter, where a member of staff could monitor the situation and act, if necessary.

Although a temporary one, the solution needed to be installed at all entrances and exits for the duration of the event. This included assembly and dismounting times.

Solution

The solution provided by Michael Telecom used up to 3 MinMoe Temperature Screening Terminals (DS-K1T671TM-3XF) at an event entrance for admission control. Each terminal is equipped with its own wi-fi router in order to establish flexible communication with its 7” monitor. This means that the units can be used flexibly on the move.

The MinMoe terminals include a 2MP wide-angle lens and a thermal sensor which allows a person’s skin surface temperature to be taken as they look into the screen. The temperature can display on the screen, and anything higher than a predetermined level can be flagged to an operator.

The smart nature of the camera also means that it can determine if a person is wearing a mask. Again, the ‘mask-wearing’ status can be displayed on the screen and a non-compliance alert flagged to an operator.

At the information counter, a 7” Touch-Screen Indoor Station (DC-KC001) is installed to give an operator the ability to monitor the situation. They can act prompted by an alert, if needed, and are able to generally keep an eye on the situation at the entrance.

The systems were first used in August at a hybrid event LOG2020 (a trade logistics congress), and then in September at Retail4robots. The next event - EHI-BIG3 - was truly ‘hybrid’ as it was a pure live streaming event. However, people still needed to be present for the event to go ahead, and the entrance control measures were used for the studio participants and event personnel.

These products were specifically chosen by Michael Telecom because they are quick to set up and configure – a crucial element of any temporary solution requirement.

Horst Bauer, CEO of HUT, says: “The products proved to be really flexible, giving us a lot of options to cater for all our needs in different scenarios. The fact that they are also easy to use, and to set up, is a real added bonus.”

There’s potential to develop the solution further too. A connection to an event reservation system using the cloud and an app is currently being developed. This would allow participants to check themselves in at the terminal via a QR code.

With the addition of flexible temporary monitors, events can slowly realign to the new normal. Although their digital aspect will ramp up and more will become ‘hybrid’, there will still need to be people present. And those people can feel better knowing that their safety is being taken seriously.