Why You Should Implement RFID Badges in Your Facility
As a facility manager, you know the importance of secure and streamlined processes that make the workday more productive for your organization. One way to create these processes is by Implementing RFID technology, which is an efficient way to support your staff through increased health and safety processes, data protection and access.
What Is RFID?
Radio frequency identification technology, or RFID, has been used since World War II as a data collection and tracking system. It allows a uniquely coded chip to interact with an RFID reader. RFID tech has a lot of uses, from credit cards to parking passes. It creates a secure form of data sharing that isn’t easily compromised.
While it’s never really gone out of fashion, RFID has found increasing popularity in offices, facilities and hospitals as management has seen a fundamental change in how they do business. Companies with burgeoning hybrid workplace models are looking for ways to address new data exposure risks as employees work with unsecure or vulnerable internet connections. Public-facing businesses are trying to minimize the risk of viral outbreaks that can bring operations to a grinding halt.
Even those who may not have experienced any real change in their day-to-day processes have taken the opportunity to step back and consider if any changes could be made.
For many managers, the solution for this new workplace model is the implementation of RFID.
How RFID Can Benefit Your Facility
One of the biggest upsides to RFID is its ability to be tailored to the exact needs of the company using it. Facilities in particular can reap the benefits in a wide variety of ways, including:
Improved security processes. RFID technology can be added to name badges, parking passes and even wearable accessories like wristbands. Once implemented, the tech can communicate with readers all throughout the facility. If your building has areas that require restricted access, you can provide RFID badges to authorized staff. They can scan themselves in and out of these spaces without needing an employee to manually provide access.
RFID is also helpful for monitoring the comings and goings of employees, which can be a lifesaving benefit in the face of an emergency. If your staff needs to be evacuated from an area, RFID badges allow security staff to track employees’ whereabouts and make sure that everyone has been safely removed from a dangerous situation.
Accurate time clocking. Inaccurately tracked time negatively affects the bottom line. In fact, “buddy punching,” or the practice of purposefully clocking in and out incorrectly, costs businesses up to tens of thousands of dollars a year. RFID badges that are uniquely tied to an employee help keep time clocking as accurate as possible.
Because RFID can be integrated with employees’ badges, it also makes the process easier and more streamlined, as they don’t have to carry a separate card for time tracking.
Health and safety. Minimizing the risk of a viral outbreak in the workplace is more important than ever, and RFID technology is an effective way to help keep your staff healthy and safe while doing their jobs. RFID is “touchless” tech, meaning that an employee can simply hold a card or badge next to a reader to interact with a door, parking garage entrance or time clock. The reduction of physical contact between employees and keypads or door handles can help to prevent the spread of anything from a cold to COVID-19.
RFID is especially useful in facilities that have a strong need for hygiene, such as healthcare settings. RFID wristbands are durable and able to be used without the need to pull them out of wallets or pockets, further minimizing the risk of contamination.
Some wristbands are washable and sealed against moisture. Once wiped clean with sanitizer, they become the ultimate clean access device. Hospitals, clean-rooms and refrigerated facilities can all benefit from the use of RFID wristbands.
Building access. A secure facility begins at the parking lot. Using RFID tags in your staff’s parking passes makes it simple to prevent unauthorized people gaining access to your building. These tags can be hung from a rearview mirror, reducing the need for security personnel to spend their time checking people in and out of a garage.
With a clear design and color coding system on your parking passes, your security team can easily track who is on your property at any given time, and instantly notice who doesn’t belong. This layer of observation helps keep employees safer when working late or alone in your office. Should an emergency situation arise with a vehicle in your parking lot, a parking permit can help quickly track down the car’s owner.
Streamline Your Workplace with RFID
From security to time clocking, RFID technology is an effective way to support and streamline your facility’s processes. Because it can be implemented in multiple ways, you can reduce the need for your employees to carry around a bunch of key cards and passcodes to do their jobs. Instead, everything is rolled into one professional and high-quality tool that will keep everyone safe and secure at work.
