The COVID-19 pandemic has made sure that the year 2020 will go into the history books for a number of reasons. For one, the way people work has changed. But while some of us are fortunate enough to have the option to work from home, this has not been the case for everyone, especially for those who have been designated as essential workers. These individuals continue to show up for work during periods of local community restrictions or shelter-in-place orders.

Whether working remotely or on-site, safety is a big concern for all of us right now. According to Price Waterhouse Cooper’s November 2020 Workforce Pulse Survey of 1,000 American workers (both remote and essential), 48 percent say they feel strongly or somewhat agree that they are forced to sacrifice personal safety to remain employed. Many employees are concerned about their safety — as they should be. I’m thankful that my employer, CDW, has taken coworkers’ concerns about safety very seriously.

Enhanced video surveillance (EVS) has been a game changer for physical security. Now, as businesses and organizations strive to resume operations while supporting public health, many are deploying these systems for new purposes: thermal screening, occupancy management and social distance monitoring.

The heart of EVS is video analytics, either built into cameras or integrated into the back-end video management system. Video analytics run continuously in the background to interpret video content and provide real-time alerts. This is a much more efficient way to make use of video capabilities than by assigning employees to constantly monitor a live video feed or conduct after-the-fact forensics in the wake of an incident. Real-time situational awareness lets organizations respond to threats faster and more effectively.

Now, EVS is proving its worth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare facilities, educational institutions, manufacturing and distribution centers, transportation providers and retailers are among those deploying these tools so they can continue to provide essential services. Here are three ways organizations can utilize EVS to operate more safely.

In my role as product manager at CDW for emerging technologies, I work with vendors that are producing some amazing new solutions. Many of these products are being taken up by emergency response and public safety organizations.

When it comes to emergency response, technologies such as drones and augmented reality (AV) and virtual reality (VR) are capable of assisting frontline workers in safely executing their tasks. Healthcare professionals and first responders can leverage those same technologies to maintain social distance and support early detection of contamination, and can also use mobile devices to stay in contact with non-urgent medical patients. Read about more use cases for emerging technologies.