Huffman ISD Body Temperature Detection Network Cameras
A Safe Return to School: Huffman ISD Integrates Body Temperature Detection Network Cameras into Safety Strategy
As a critical component of communities’ infrastructure, schools have had to adapt their curricula to enable hybrid learning models, including virtual, in-person, or combination classes. In preparation, Huffman Independent School District officials began the safety and security planning process for the district-wide return of 3,600 students to the classroom. That planning process included addressing the challenges of protecting the health, safety, and well-being of students, teachers, and staff, and their families and communities.
As a means of reducing COVID-19 transmission, Huffman ISD implemented a robust safety strategy at their four campuses, Huffman Elementary School, Falcon Ridge Elementary School, Huffman Middle School, and Hargrave High School, which includes thermal temperature scanner cameras as pre-screening devices. Huffman ISD is utilizing the cameras to identify elevated body temperatures, which can be indicative of a fever (one of the symptoms of a viral infection), as students and faculty enter any of the four campuses. While these are not medical devices and do not replace conventional medical testing, if a student or faculty member triggers an alert for an elevated temperature, their picture and an alert can be sent to the appropriate school official who then determines how to proceed.
Leveraging Integrated Body Temperature Detection Network Cameras to Safely Reopen Schools
In September, the NCS security team installed nine (9) InVid Body Temperature Detection Network Cameras and nine (9) infrared calibrators on tri-pods to allow for rapid deployment and take-down at school entrances and exits around the campuses.
How it Works
- Thermal cameras are installed at entrances and exits.
- All traffic into the facility funnels through these monitored entrances and exits.
- The thermal camera instantly sends an alert when a student or faculty member’s temperature is above the set threshold.
- Students with normal, healthy temperatures continue walking into the facility as usual.
- Students with abnormal temperatures are quickly identified and redirected to a reinspection area, where their temperature is retaken with a clinical-grade, hand-held thermometer.
Instead of a typical hard-wired installation, this installation was facilitated utilizing professional-grade tripods with the ability to move the camera/calibrator to other locations within the school as necessary for other school-related events. NCS team members had to strategically consider camera placement so the cameras would not be moved by students but still be within the calibration range.
As students and faculty return to school, thermal imaging cameras are another tool that Huffman ISD can implement along with other mitigation strategies, such as social distancing, hand hygiene, and masks, to safeguard against the persistent threat of the coronavirus.