The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), operator of Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), said this week it had rolled out 1,000 COVID Safety Alert (CSA) devices to frontline GTAA employees, to help reinforce physical distancing and rapidly enable workplace contact tracing in the event of a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis.
The GTAA collaborated with its IT partner, Wipro Limited, on the small, clip-on CSA device employees can wear on their belt, coat or lanyard. The device notifies the wearer when they are less than two meters away from another CSA device by buzzing and flashing. CSA devices also record each time they come into contact with another device in a confidential log that is used to enable workplace tracing in the event that an employee reports a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis.
“We continue to be a leader when it comes to healthy airport policies, procedures and technologies that protect our passengers and workers from COVID-19,” said Deborah Flint, president and CEO, GTAA. “In addition to worker testing and airport employer COVID reporting, the introduction of COVID Safety Alert devices provides another layer of safety, both for our valued employees and for the communities we serve.”
The CSA devices provided to GTAA employees following two successful trials that demonstrated the value of wearable technology for ensuring physical distancing and improving the effectiveness of contact tracing.
