Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVBG), a specialist in critical event management (CEM), on July 1 unveiled Everbridge Control Center, an off-the-shelf physical security information management (PSIM) software platform to help organizations return to work by integrating and managing data and analytics from video cameras, thermal cameras, badge access and other building systems, and automating organizational response to ensure the safety and protection of employees from coronavirus, as well as compliance with social distancing and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) policies.
Previously, Everbridge recently launched its COVID-19 Shield Return to Work software solution, enabling customers to understand their risk landscape, recover their operations and protect their people as employees integrate back to public spaces. Everbridge COVID-19 Shield also offers unique contact tracing capabilities for organizations to automate their approach to mitigating an individual’s potential exposure to the virus at work.
The introduction of Everbridge Control Center augments the ability for customers to protect their personnel by serving as the connectivity hub for the Return to Work solution, drawing upon 225 pre-existing, out-of-the-box integrations. With Everbridge Control Center, organizations can automate the triggering of alerts – reducing the need for human monitoring – all while preserving privacy. By aggregating and managing the information from physical devices and sensors, Everbridge Control Center supports businesses and healthcare entities with the ability to:
- Automate the process of temperature checking with thermal cameras in order to evaluate visitors to a building or secure space, and trigger follow-on protocols if the system detects an individual with a high temperature.
- Evaluate building, floor and room capacity thresholds by integrating with badge access functionality, visitor management, calendaring, ticketing and other physical location modalities .
- Monitor temperature, humidity and ventilation according to local and national guidelines by integrating with building management systems.
- Check for room density, physical distancing and PPE compliance through video analytics.
The system's automation includes the ability to control devices or building systems based on required workflows. If the capacity of a workspace is restricted to 10 people, for example, the 11th person to enter will automatically trigger pre-defined safety protocols and related workflows including real-time communications across multiple modalities such as public address (PA) systems, digital signage, SMS, etc.
“As part of an effective ‘return to work’ strategy, organizations need to fulfill three core objectives: know the risks facing your organization, protect your people, and recover your operations,” said Imad Mouline, chief technology officer at Everbridge. “As part of protecting your people, a comprehensive solution requires either proximity- or location-based contact tracing as well as safety monitoring that triangulates data from multiple sources."
Mouline continued, "Everbridge Control Center integrates devices such as thermal cameras and badge access systems, as well as opt-in-based input from employees such as personal wellness checks. Relying purely on a mobile app is not enough. The Everbridge suite of COVID-19 Shield Return to Work solutions, now with Everbridge Control Center, provides the only proven solution that brings all these capabilities together.”
Everbridge Control Center provides a commercial, off-the-shelf platform that offers a host of features which support the collection, analysis, and verification of information and data, enabling faster resolution, automated reporting and complete audit trails of incidents. The company notes that, beyond the time-saving and efficiency benefits Everbridge Control Center provides, it also allows continuous process improvement initiatives, training drills, system healthcare checks, and more.
“Trends we are seeing across our global customer base prove that health and safety of an organization’s global workforce is priority number one as ‘return-to-work’ plans are executed during these uncertain times,” asserted Eddie Everett, partner at leading specialist risk consultancy, Control Risks. “As businesses evaluate the best timing and phased approach to bringing employees back into the workplace, Everbridge Control Center provides the solution with a unified information management hub that digitally transforms COVID-19-related procedures and ensures safeguards are being followed and enforced, all while simplifying audit and reporting requirements and minimizing risk related to compliance.”
As cited by Everbridge, according to The Forrester Tech Tide: Digital Physical Security And Employee Safety, Q2 2020 report, “Strong physical security controls can help reduce the risk of threats ranging from workplace violence to terrorism to extreme weather while also demonstrating a commitment to security that can help build employees’ confidence that the business is handling security appropriately.”
The report also states: “Physical security information management (PSIM) software solutions collect and correlate events from multiple security devices and information systems (e.g., video feeds, access control logs, environmental sensors, and other data sources) into a single view/dashboard that administrators and physical security staff can use to detect, monitor, and respond to potential security incidents. PSIM’s ability to deliver a centralized view of an organization’s physical assets helps organizations respond effectively to specific threats and mitigate physical security risks in real time.”
Finally, Everbridge notes the company adheres to strict privacy policies having achieved critical security certifications such as ISO 27001, SSAE18 SOC 2/SOC 3, FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program), Cloud Computing Compliance Controls Catalogue (C5), all of which underlines the commitment of Everbridge to growing its presence around the world and ensuring that it always operates at market-leading standards.
Everbridge recently hosted its “Coronavirus: the Road to Recovery” virtual leadership summit, which brought together the best minds across public and private sectors, including C-level speakers from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Cleveland Clinic, U.S. Army, Accenture, Biogen, a former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner and more. On-demand content from the event may be found here.