Convergint’s Smart+Safe Cities Expert Delivers Forward-Thinking Solutions for Safer Organizations in response to COVID-19

Systems can no longer stand-alone, operate in their own interface, or add to the analyst’s manual workflow. The fusion center will analyze and correlate incident data, events, and alarms from disparate systems to identify and prioritize incidents for the analyst to address. When an incident is detected that requires analyst involvement, the platform visualizes all relevant data in an intuitive format for the analyst to assess the incident and its context. The analyst then follows the pre-defined Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which are automatically presented in the platform with simplified communications protocols, to most efficiently and effectively resolve the situation. The platform should track all analyst actions and incident data for after-action compliance reporting, in-depth investigative analysis, and audit trails.

As a rule, the more systems that are integrated into the fusion center, the greater the return on investment through enhanced intelligence gathering. Decision-makers require much more data than SOCs have access to. Operations, logistics, cyber threats, emergency planning, human resources, facilities, fleet management, parking, marketing, customer support, compliance, and regulation are some of the departmental data sources that should be integrated into the fusion center to provide real-time intelligence. Sensitive and protected systems such as payroll, benefits, and finance should not be integrated, but organizations should evaluate all other in-house systems against their potential contribution to transform into intelligence. Organizations would also benefit from integrating external data sources such as country-level data for supply chain partners, vendor operations and inventory, county-wide healthcare capacity levels, social media, weather, travel advisories, etc. 

All analyst activities should be handled in a single, easy to use interface that minimizes analyst tasks through cross-platform intelligence, incident reporting, and operational metrics. This interface should be available to all authorized users for sharing and collaboration across the organization.

Fusion center capabilities should be available to any authorized user on any device from any location around the world. The interface should satisfy all business continuity requirements by enabling analysts, supervisors, and stakeholders to remotely view and manage incidents.

Especially important in post-COVID-19 security operations is the need for virtualized operations, which would allow the entire fusion center team to continue working from any location with internet access. This remote access capability would enable the organization to avoid operational disruptions to the physical SOC due to weather, natural disasters, or other scenarios that would prevent analysts and supervisors from operating from the physical location. A virtual fusion center also enables instant collaboration with law enforcement and other entities by sharing a secure web interface.

Fusion centers should include mass notification systems and employee status applications to ensure that accurate information is being distributed to the right people at the right time through the most effective format. The organization also needs to recognize that it is responsible for communicating with more than just its employees. Cities need to interact with citizens to ensure that they are aware of the availability and/or disruption of services including first responders, transit, and waste management. Companies need to coordinate with supply chains to ensure incoming inventories and outgoing orders are synchronized. Universities need to know where their students and staff are on campus at any given time during extended shelter-in-place events and be able to communicate with them instantly across all available platforms.

Visualization of situational data is critical to improving organizational efficiencies. The analysts, supervisors, and stakeholders need numerous, real-time dashboards and KPI outputs for a holistic view of the threat landscape and the organization’s response capabilities. Every physical device, sensor, and data point should be plotted as layers on a facility and campus maps using geo-location data to enable rapid acquisition of context and data in response to incidents and planning efforts. Dashboards enable the organization to objectively measure itself against the mission and allow department heads to measure themselves against performance criteria.

COVID-19 has highlighted the significant impact that infections can have on workplace safety and production levels. One technology that can help prevent the spread of infection throughout an organization is Elevated Body Temperature (EBT) screening. EBT screening uses thermographic sensors to check the external body temperature of everyone entering a facility and then alert on higher than normal temperatures indicative of a fever. The individual would then follow the organization’s protocols for additional screening or other actions.

Screening should be complemented with new visitor management guidelines that screen visitors as soon as they receive the invitation, before they even arrive on the campus. During crisis response scenarios, the visitor management system would allow the organization to limit access to only the visitors that have been pre-registered by employees. When a visitor is pre-registered they receive an email instructing them to complete a personal risk assessment to determine their risk to the organization. The system will then automatically permit or deny their visitor status based on the information they provide. If they are permitted onsite, they would then receive an email with instructions and protocols for arrival, and reconfirm personal risk assessment status when onsite. The system should integrate with license plate recognition, vehicle gates and barriers, pedestrian turnstiles, access control, and ERP systems, to maximize control over who enters the facilities.

Organizations are overwhelmed with their efforts to determine their daily production and operational capacity levels. They need to replace the perpetual calls and outdated, manual reports with an automated method of getting real-time data on every employee’s health condition, and ability to work.

During a crisis, the phone and web-based app would allow employees to input their health and symptoms every day before work with the goal of identifying symptoms of infection early and engaging organizational protocols when an infection is detected. As infected workers are identified and removed from the labor pool, their status should be monitored and incorporated into the organization’s planning efforts. An employee diagnosed with COVID-19 today could be scheduled back to work in 14 days and the fusion center would automatically update production and operations planning models.