Media Contact
Mindy Stroiman, Corporate Writer
Email: Mindy.Stroiman@whrg.com
Phone: 262-523-7510
PEWAUKEE, Wis., May 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ – Companies worldwide have relied on technology to keep their businesses running smoothly while employees have worked remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WHR Group, Inc., (WHR) a global leader in the employee relocation industry, is using hospital-grade technology to help keep its office employees safe and healthy when the staff returns to the office.
WHR has contracted with Miami-based Intelligent Observation for its unique solution. The tested service, called IntelObserve, is currently in use at medical facilities including The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Md., and Hospital Centers of America, one of the largest owners of hospital chains/medical care facilities in the U.S. When WHR employees return to the office, they will be issued a clip-on badge that provides the following functionality:
- Real-Time Social Distancing Alert: If an employee is less than 6 feet from a co-worker, the badge will beep to remind the employee to adjust their proximity.
- Real-Time Hand Hygiene Alert and Hand Sanitizing Stations: Hand sanitizing stations at strategic areas throughout the office including cafeterias, conference rooms and entry/exit doors. The employee’s badge will beep as a reminder to hand sanitize before entering and exiting designated areas.
- Real-Time Tracking/Tracing: In the unfortunate circumstance that an employee contracts COVID-19, WHR can review and retrace the infected individual’s office movement for the prior 14 days to determine which other employees the infected employee may have been in contact with.
“Our employees have been working from home during Wisconsin’s Safer at Home order. When we determine it’s OK to return to the office, we want our employees to feel safe and we want to help keep them healthy,” said WHR President, Paul DeBoer. WHR’s leadership believes this solution will help accomplish just that.
The IntelObserve service is unique in that the cloud-based, real-time, service utilizes Near Field Magnetic Induction technology as opposed to many other products that use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID or Bluetooth). Years of hospital testing have proven Near Field Magnetic Induction to be more accurate than traditional radio frequency technologies, common in the marketplace. Also, many other technologies require badge charging every 8-12 hours versus WHR’s chosen solution which utilizes badges with a one-year battery life.
In addition to the IntelObserve solution, WHR will be conducting daily COVID-19 health screens, initiating staggered work hours and days, limiting the capacity in conference rooms, banning office visitors, not allowing shared food among employees, enacting a new floorplan so employees are sitting at least 6 feet apart and allowing fresh air into the building regularly. Maintenance has been performed on the HVAC in addition to replacing all air filters.
WHR Human Resource Manager, Kimberley Uitz, echoed DeBoer’s comments by saying, “Not only do we want to provide a safe and healthy workplace, but we want to make sure our employees feel comfortable coming into the office.”
About WHR Group, Inc.
WHR Group, Inc. (WHR) is a privately owned, client-driven global relocation management company distinguished by its best-in-class service delivery and cutting-edge, proprietary technology. With its 100% client retention rate for the past decade, WHR continues to position itself as the trusted provider in relocation. To learn more about WHR, visit https://www.whrg.com, or follow @WHRGroup on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
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