As organizations transition back to in-person work in a post-COVID world, maintaining a safe and healthy work environment has become a top priority. While modifying workspaces and enforcing new policies is helpful, automated social distancing enforcement technology offers a more effective, scalable, and consistent way to keep employees safe and operations running smoothly.
Social distancing remains one of the most effective strategies for minimizing virus transmission. To support this effort, companies and public agencies are turning to smart technologies that can detect when employees come too close to one another and trigger real-time alerts—without disrupting workflows or compromising privacy.
Key Features of Effective Social Distancing Systems
As RFID Global began receiving inquiries for workplace solutions during the pandemic, the company developed a clear set of criteria for what a practical and reliable enforcement system should include:
- Proximity Detection – Accurately and consistently detect when employees come within six feet of each other from any direction, triggering an alert for all involved.
- Encounter Reporting – Log interaction data in a centralized system, tracking who came into contact with whom and when. This enables quick contact tracing if someone later tests positive.
- Workplace Analytics – Analyze proximity data to identify safety risks, improve workflows, and make spatial adjustments to reduce future encounters.
- Minimal Intrusion – Ensure the technology is non-disruptive to employees’ tasks and maintains their privacy.
- Easy Deployment – Require minimal infrastructure and IT involvement, allowing flexible implementation and simple configuration.
Technology Challenges and Testing Results
RFID Global tested a wide range of proximity sensing technologies, including BLE, UWB, Active and Passive RFID, LoRa, GPS, Ultrasound, Cellular, and WiFi. Most options faced significant limitations when it came to:
- Accurate Distance Detection – Maintaining exactly six feet of detection (not 5 or 7) proved difficult. Technologies like BLE, passive RFID, and WiFi had variances of up to 2 feet—leading to false positives or missed alerts.
- 360° Coverage – Many radio-based systems failed to detect proximity accurately when the device was worn on the chest, due to body interference with radio signals.
- Infrastructure Costs – Systems that relied on triangulation required expensive beacons or antennas, which weren’t feasible for many organizations.
- Data Upload Limitations – Store-and-forward methods caused workers to gather near upload stations, which defeats the purpose of enforcing distancing.
Additional considerations included battery life, indoor/outdoor functionality, alert types, form factor, and long-term utility after the pandemic.
The Hybrid Solution: SafeZone360
After evaluating various solutions, RFID Global concluded that a hybrid approach—using different technologies for sensing and data transmission—offered the best results. The company now offers two configurations of its SafeZone360 social distancing enforcement solution, each tailored to specific work environments.
1. SafeZone360 with Ultrasonic + Mesh Network
- Best For: Industrial sites, factories, warehouses, and construction zones
- Technology Used: Ultrasonic sensors for encounter detection and mesh network for data upload
- Accuracy: Within 3 inches from any direction
- Deployment: Worn on safety vests and uses workforce devices for real-time data transfer
2. SafeZone360 with UWB + BLE
- Best For: Office and indoor factory settings
- Technology Used: Point-to-point ultra-wideband (UWB) sensors for detection, BLE for batch uploads
- Accuracy: Within 4 inches at social distance thresholds
- Deployment: Worn as wristbands, belt clips, or lanyards; data uploads via BLE gateways
Post-COVID Use Cases
Beyond pandemic response, SafeZone360 systems can be repurposed for long-term safety initiatives, such as:
- Man-down alerts
- Emergency broadcast notifications
- Muster point tracking during evacuations
This extended value ensures your investment in safety tech continues to benefit the organization long after the immediate threat has passed.