Sensors Can Reduce the Spread of COVID-19

When landlords first started deploying keycard access systems in their buildings, security and efficiencies were significant drivers.

If those early adopters could have glanced into a crystal ball, they would have no doubt been surprised to know that there may be an additional advantage to these investments—the potential to curtail the spread of disease.

“We can utilize our building systems to react with precision in identifying and addressing outbreaks,” according to a DWS Group whitepaper on ESG investing in real estate in a post-COVID world. 

“Building systems such as keycard access, security, elevator systems and building sensors, provide information on contact points for suspected and confirmed cases and also can help to map the exposure path. Using this information, we can focus on the buildings and areas at risk in order to protect our tenants/residents and staff.”

Sensors and access systems can also reduce the number of surfaces people touch. “It is really about creating this contact-free environment to reduce the potential common areas where people are touching,” says Jessica Elengical, head of ESG Strategy, Alternatives at DWS.

While recent CDC guidance has downplayed the ability of COVID-19 to be transferred via surfaces, there’s little doubt that the fewer familiar places people touch, the better. In its report, DWS says, “sensor-based technologies can obviate the need to manually open doors, swipe badges and touch elevator buttons.”

Sensors seem like a better solution than the current option to limit the spread of germs. “It’s a long term and more foolproof system than just putting hand sanitizers everywhere, which is one of the early approaches of doing this [limiting the spread of COVID],” Elengical says.

In more sophisticated systems, which have been employed in some Asian countries, sensors can also be used to check the temperatures of people who enter a building. But privacy concerns accompany that technology.

“Infrared based sensor technologies could be deployed in building lobbies as the first line of defense to help screen for visitors with fevers,” DWS said in the white paper. “However, the use of data may also raise important questions around data privacy and security, and it will be important to maintain strong cybersecurity frameworks and strike the fine balance between the need for physical and digital protection.”

Automation and sensors can also help reduce the spread of germs in retail settings. For instance, shops could introduce digital payment systems. “It’s about reducing the number of interactions with people and the number of things getting passed between people,” Elengical says.

COVID-19 could also boost the adoption of technology that just scans an item when a shopper leaves a store. “You can walk into the store, buy things with the phone and walk out,” Elengical says. “That all helps to reduce the amount of touching and interaction that can be difficult in these times.”