WO2021234379A1

WO2021234379A1 - Methods and systems for monitoring compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements at a site or building

Info

Publication number: WO2021234379A1
Application number: PCT/GB2021/051205
Authority: WO
Inventors: Syed Ahmed
Original assignee: Syed Ahmed
Priority date: 2020-05-21
Filing date: 2021-05-19
Publication date: 2021-11-25
Also published as: GB202007621D0; GB2595454A

Abstract

A method for monitoring compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements at a site or building, the method comprising: receiving, at a server, identity information indicating the identity of an individual interacting with a sanitation station present at the site or building, the sanitation station being located remotely from the server and comprising one or more sensors for detecting signs that an individual is carrying a contagious pathogen and/or for determining whether or not the individual has carried out a sanitation action aimed at restricting the spread of contagious pathogens to other individuals; receiving, at the server, compliance data indicating whether or not the individual has satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; and storing the identity information in association with the compliance data as a logged entry in a database.

Description

Methods and systems for monitoring compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements at a site or building

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate to methods and systems for monitoring compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements at a site or building

BACKGROUND

The emergence of new types of pathogens, coupled with an ever more connected global population means that the need to limit and contain the spread of infectious disease has never been greater. Ensuring that people maintain sufficient levels of hygiene and sanitation when interacting with one another is a key factor in reducing the chances of contagion and maintaining a healthy population.

The above requirement is particularly true inside buildings, where the atmospheric conditions, close contact between individuals, as well as their each touching the same surfaces (lift buttons, door handles, etc.) provides an environment that is highly conductive to the spread of infectious disease. In order to mitigate this risk, it is common for buildings to be fitted with cleaning stations, where users can sanitise their hands, for example. However, ensuring that sufficient people comply with these sanitation requirements remains a challenge. US8294585 proposes means for addressing this problem by monitoring individuals’ use of hand hygiene stations within a building. US8294585 also describes an arrangement in which an automated cleaning station is electronically coupled to a locking mechanism on a door, and a person may be physically prevented from passing through the door if the person has not yet completed a verified wash cycle using the cleaning station.

Whilst the steps described in US8294585 can help to limit the spread of contagious diseases, there are nevertheless limitations to this approach. In particular, US8294585 is concerned solely with encouraging individuals to wash their hands, without considering how to respond to a confirmed case of an infected person present being present within the building. In addition, although the coupling of an automated cleaning station to a door can ensure that only those who have washed their hands are permitted access, the layout of some buildings will preclude such a cleaning station from being positioned at each door.

SUMMARY

According to a first embodiment, there is provided a method for monitoring compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements at a site or building, the method comprising: receiving, at a server, identity information indicating the identity of an individual interacting with a sanitation station present at the site or building, the sanitation station being located remotely from the server and comprising one or more sensors for detecting signs that an individual is carrying a contagious pathogen and/or for determining whether or not the individual has carried out a sanitation action aimed at restricting the spread of contagious pathogens to other individuals; receiving, at the server, compliance data indicating whether or not the individual has satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; and storing the identity information in association with the compliance data as a logged entry in a database.

The health criterion may be satisfied in the event that the one or more sensors do not detect signs that the individual is infected with a contagious pathogen or is infected with a contagious pathogen. The sanitation criterion may comprise carrying out the sanitation action aimed at restricting the spread of contagious pathogens to other individuals.

The method may comprise determining an overall compliance rating for the individual based on the compliance data received for the individual.

The method may comprise: receiving, at the server, from an access control system that controls access to an area of the site or building, an indication that the individual is seeking access to the area; and based on the overall compliance rating, transmitting a signal to the access control system indicating whether or not the individual should be granted access to the area.

The method may comprise: receiving, at the server, compliance data from a plurality of sanitation stations located within the site or building, the compliance data from each sanitation station indicating whether or not the individual has satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the respective sanitation station; storing the compliance data from each sanitation station as a separate logged entry in the database for the individual; wherein the overall compliance rating is determined by taking into account each one of the logged entries for the individual.

The overall compliance rating may be determined by applying a set of one or more rules to the logged entries for the individual, wherein the one or more rules assign respective weightings to the health and/or sanitation criteria associated with each sanitation station.

Applying the set of one or more rules may comprise assigning a risk factor to the health and/or sanitation criteria associated with each sanitation station, and in determining the overall compliance rating, criteria having a higher risk factor are given a higher weighting than criteria having a lower risk factor.

The method may comprise: receiving, at the server, location information indicating the location of the individual within the site or building at one or more points in time; and storing the location of the individual in the database.

The method may comprise: determining, based on the location information, a route taken by the individual through the site or building.

The method may comprise: determining, based on the route taken by the individual and the compliance data stored in the database for the individual, one or more safety precautions to enforce within the building.

The one or more safety precautions may comprise quarantining one or more areas of the site or building that lie along the route taken by the individual.

The one or more safety precautions may comprise identifying, based on location information received for one or more other individuals within the site or building, a list of other individuals whom have been in proximity to the individual at points along the route taken by the individual.

The one or more safety precautions may comprise quarantining one or more areas of the site or building that lie along routes taken by the other individuals on the list.

The method may comprise: determining, based on the location information, one or more sanitation stations located within the site or building that the individual has been within a certain distance of, and with which the individual has failed to interact.

The sanitation station may comprise a hand sanitiser having an internal reservoir for storing a sanitising agent. The method may comprise: receiving, from the hand sanitiser, a signal indicating that a volume of sanitising agent in the internal reservoir is below a threshold; in response to the signal, transmitting a signal to a refill system to commence refilling the internal reservoir of the hand sanitiser; wherein the refill system comprises an external reservoir of sanitising agent and a pump apparatus configured to pump sanitising agent from the external reservoir to the hand sanitiser through one or more pipes or tubing.

According to a second embodiment, there is provided a method for monitoring individuals’ compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements, comprising: determining an identity of an individual interacting with a sanitation station located within a site or building, the sanitation station comprising one or more sensors for detecting signs that an individual is carrying a contagious pathogen and/or for determining whether or not the individual has carried out a sanitation action aimed at restricting the spread of contagious pathogens to other individuals; determining, based on readings from the one or more sensors, whether or not the individual has satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; and transmitting, from the sanitation station to a remote server, identity information indicating the identity of the individual interacting with the sanitation station and compliance data indicating whether or not the individual has satisfied the health and/or sanitation criterion.

The sanitation station may comprise a hand sanitiser device. Determining whether or not the individual has satisfied the health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station may comprise determining whether the individual has dispensed a sufficient volume of sanitising agent from the device to clean their hands.

The method may comprise monitoring a volume of sanitising agent available for the device to dispense to the individual, and in the event that the volume of sanitising agent is below a threshold, transmitting an indication to the server that a refill is required.

According to a third embodiment, there is provided a method for controlling access of individuals to areas within a site or building, the method comprising: determining the identity of an individual seeking to obtain access to an area within the site or building; sending identity information indicating the identity of the individual to a remote server, the server storing logs of one or more individuals’ interactions with a sanitation station located within the site or building and compliance data indicating whether or not the respective individuals have satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; receiving, from the server, an indication as to whether or not the individual seeking access to the area has satisfied the health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; and based on the indication received from the server, determining whether to permit the individual to access the one or more areas.

According to a fourth embodiment, there is provided a computer server for monitoring compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements at a site or building, the server being configured to receive identity information indicating the identity of an individual interacting with a sanitation station present at the site or building, the sanitation station being located remotely from the server and comprising one or more sensors for detecting signs that an individual is carrying a contagious pathogen and/or for determining whether or not the individual has carried out a sanitation action aimed at restricting the spread of contagious pathogens to other individuals; the server being further configured to receive compliance data indicating whether or not the individual has satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station and to store the identity information in association with the compliance data as a logged entry in a database. According to a fifth embodiment, there is provided a device for monitoring individuals’ compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements, comprising: means for determining an identity of an individual located within proximity of the device; one or more sensors for detecting signs that the individual is carrying a contagious pathogen and/or for determining whether or not the individual has carried out a sanitation action aimed at restricting the spread of contagious pathogens to other individuals; the device being configured to determine, based on readings from the one or more sensors, whether or not the individual has satisfied a predefined health and/or sanitation criterion, the device being further configured to transmit to a remote server, identity information indicating the identity of the individual and compliance data indicating whether or not the individual has satisfied the health and/or sanitation criterion.

The device may comprise a hand sanitiser.

According to a sixth embodiment, there is provided an access control system for controlling access of individuals to areas within a site or building, the system comprising: means for determining the identity of an individual seeking to obtain access to an area within the site or building; a communication means for sending identity information indicating the identity of the individual to a remote server, the server storing logs of one or more individuals’ interactions with a sanitation station located within the site or building and compliance data indicating whether or not the respective individuals have satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; the communication means being configured to receive, from the server, an indication as to whether or not the individual seeking access to the area has satisfied the health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; and the access control system being configured to determine, based on the indication received from the server, whether to permit to the individual to access the one or more areas.

According to a seventh embodiment, there is provided a system comprising a computer server according to the fourth embodiment and a device according to the fifth embodiment.

According to an eight embodiment, there is provided a computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by a computer will cause the computer to carry out a method according to any one of the first, second and third embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a system according to an embodiment;

Figure 2 shows an example of a hand sanitiser according to an embodiment;

Figures 3A and 3B show examples of a hand sanitiser according to an embodiment;

Figure 4 shows a system according to a further embodiment;

Figure 5 shows a system according to a further embodiment;

Figure 6 shows an example of a reception area in a building employing a system according to a further embodiment;

Figure 7 shows a system according to a further embodiment;

Figure 8 shows a schematic of a floorplan in a building employing a system according to an embodiment;

Figure 9 shows an example of server logs as obtained for different individuals in a system according to an embodiment;

Figure 10 shows an example set of rules as employed in a system according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows an example of a system 101 according to an embodiment. The system includes a sanitation station 103 that is located within a corridor 105 of a building. The sanitation station 103 can act as a check-point for ensuring that people within the building are not carrying infectious diseases and/or for ensuring that people are taking appropriate precautions to restrict the spread of infections throughout the population.

A user may interact with the sanitation station 103, in order to determine if the user meets one or more health and/or sanitation criteria. Health criteria may, for example, relate to aspects of the user’s physical condition that can be determined either by non- invasive screening, or by requiring the user to provide some form of biological sample. Examples of non-invasive screening include a temperature scan, in which the user places part of their body, such as their forehead, in front of a scanner, which then measures the temperature of the person’s brow. In another example, the user may be asked to speak into a microphone, and properties of the voice signal such as the timbre, frequency spectrum or volume used to gauge the likelihood that the individual is unwell. In another example, the sanitation station may comprise a breathalyser or other form of breath sensor, onto which the user is asked to breathe, and which can detect the presence of certain organic compounds or pathogens indicative of a health risk. In other examples, the user may be required to provide a small blood sample, by use of a pin-prick, or a throat swab, which will be input into a sensor comprised within the sanitation station and used to check for the presence of certain pathogens.

It will be appreciated that a person’s general fitness to work may be assessed by the sanitation station; for example, the sanitation station may determine whether the person is under the effects of alcohol and is too inebriated to work. However, the health criteria will themselves be used to identify a likelihood that a person is infected with or carrying a pathogen that poses a risk to others’ health. In other words, the health criteria pertain to contagious diseases, rather than health issues that are non- contagious, such as inebriation, for example.

In contrast to the health criteria, sanitation criteria are used to determine whether or not a user has carried out a particular sanitation action. A sanitation action is one that when carried out by the user will reduce the likelihood of that user spreading any contagious pathogens to others located in their vicinity. The sanitation criteria may require, for example, that the user wash or disinfect part of their body and/or clothes. In addition, or alternatively, the sanitation criteria may require that the user has donned certain protective clothing, such as a face mask or visor, goggles, gloves, biohazard suit, or other form of clothing that will restrict opportunities for the user to either infect others or become infected themselves.

In some examples, the sanitation station 103 may comprise a hand sanitiser that is configured to dispense some form of hand sanitising agent, which may be soap or an alcohol based sanitiser, for example. The sanitation action may then comprise the act of washing the user’s hands with the sanitising agent. In another example, the sanitation station may comprise a UV emitting light source, and the sanitation action may comprise placing the user’s hands under the UV light for a minimum amount of time, so as to kill any infectious pathogens that may be present on the user’s skin.

The sanitation station 103 is connected to a database that is implemented in the form of a server 107 located remote from the site of the sanitation station 103 itself. The database is used to log user interactions with the sanitation station 103. Each time an individual uses the sanitation station 103, an entry is made in the database that indicates the user’s identity, the time of use, and the nature of the interaction i.e. which sensor(s) were activated and used to take readings and/or which actions were carried out by the user when interacting with the sanitation station 103.

The sanitation station 103 may be provided with a PCB that provides for digital data encoding and transmission from the sanitation station 103 to the remote server 107.

The sanitation station 103 may be connected to the server 107 by a wired connection or via a wireless communication channel. For example, the remote server 107 and the sanitation station may both be connected to the same local area network (LAN) or wireless local area network (WLAN), such that they are able to send data to one another over that network. Alternatively, or in addition, the sanitation station and remote server may have respective internet connections and be able to send data to one another over the internet. Data sent from the sanitation station 103 to the remote server 107 may be encrypted before transmission, in order to preserve individuals’ privacy.

In order to record the log entries in the database, the sanitation station 103 may include a means for identifying the particular individual using the station. The user’s identity may be ascertained on one of a number of ways as known in the art. In one example, the sanitation station 103 may include a sensor 109 that can take a reading from an identity token carried by the user. For example, the sensor may comprise an RFID reader or barcode scanner that can scan and recognise a card or badge carried by the user. In another example, the sensor 109 may comprise a biometric sensor for identifying an individual based on physical attributes. Byway of example, the biometric sensor may comprise one or more of a fingerprint scanner, a retinal scanner, a voice analyser, or a camera and image processor with facial recognition software. In another example, the sanitation station 103 may comprise a user interface such as a touchscreen or keyboard into which a user may enter a username and/or password/code in order to confirm their identity. The remote server 107 may store a record of different users’ identities. Based on the information input by the individual and/or received from the sensor 109, the remote server 107 can match the individual using the sanitation station to one of the users in the database.

In addition to determining the user’s identity, the sanitation sensor 103 may comprise a further sensor 111 that can be used to determine that the sanitation criterion has been met by the user. For example, where the sanitation station 103 comprises a hand sanitiser, the station may have a sensor 111 configured to check that a sufficient volume of sanitising agent has been dispensed in order for the user to thoroughly wash or clean their hands. Where the sanitation station 103 comprises a UV emitting light source, the sanitation station 103 may sense the duration of time for which the UV light source has been activated. The light source may be configured such that light is only emitted when a user’s hands are detected within a certain proximity of the emitter.

Thus, by monitoring the length of time for which the UV light source is activated, the sanitation station can in turn measure the time for which the user’s hands are illuminated with the UV light and check whether that duration is sufficient to meet the sanitation criterion. In a case where the sanitation criterion requires the user to don protective clothing, the sanitation station 103 may employ a camera to capture an image of the user wearing the protective clothing.

In the event that an individual interacts with the sanitation station 103 and fails to meet a health or sanitation criterion, the failure to do so is logged in the database 107, together with an indication of how the user has failed to comply. The failure to meet a health criterion may be recorded, for example, as a note that the individual’s temperature was above a healthy range, or that their breath contained organic compounds suggestive of a bacterial or viral infection. The failure to meet a sanitation criterion may be recorded, for example, as a failure to sanitise their hands and/or a record that when leaving the station, the user was not wearing appropriate protective clothing.

By logging individuals’ use of the sanitation station 103, it is possible to build up a profile of compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements across a population of people in an organisation or building. The data can be retrieved from the server 107 and viewed on a computer 115, for example. The data can be processed to generate compliance statistics for an individual, such as the frequency with which the user has used the sanitation station and the rate of occurrence of failures to meet the necessary health and/or sanitation requirements. In addition, the data from multiple individuals can be assessed alongside one another, so as to compare different people’s rates of compliance, and to identify any trends that are present within a certain population of people. For example, the data stored in the database may indicate that people working on one floor of a building have a particularly good standard of health and/or hygiene, whilst those on other floors have a greater degree of non-compliance. In the case where different companies or businesses occupy different floors, it may be possible to distinguish those businesses whose compliance statistics meet a required standard from other businesses whose employees are falling short of the requisite levels of hygiene. A building manager can provide this information to personnel within the different companies, in the interests of sustaining the good behaviour of those whose compliance statistics are acceptable, whilst encouraging those whose compliance statistics are below the required standard to raise the level of awareness within the employee population. At the same time, individuals with particularly poor levels of compliance can be identified and the issue raised with them on a one-on-one basis with office management.

Figure 2 shows an example of a hand sanitiser 201 as might be present at one of the sanitation stations. The sanitiser 201 comprises a reservoir 203 for holding a sanitising liquid that can be dispensed through a nozzle 205 onto a user’s hands, in order to disinfect the user’s hands and kill any harmful bacteria or virus particles that the user may have picked up. The hand sanitiser includes an RFID sensor 207 for communicating with a ID badge carried by the user, so as to obtain data identifying the individual using the hand sanitiser. A further sensor 209 is provided that senses when the user has activated the sanitiser in order to dispense the liquid, and which can determine that a sufficient volume has been dispensed, either by monitoring the flow of liquid through the nozzle 205 or by monitoring the amount of liquid in the reservoir.

Also shown in Figure 2 is a PCB 211 that receives data from the two sensors 207, 209 and encodes this for transmission via the network connection to the remote server. The hand sanitiser 201 will transmit to the server 107 a record of the time at which the sanitiserwas activated, together with identity data indicating the identity of the user and a signal that records whether or not the sanitation criterion has been met. In this case, the sanitation criterion will be met when the sensor 209 determines that a sufficient volume of sanitising liquid has been dispensed in order for the user to thoroughly clean their hands. The hand sanitiser may monitor the flow of liquid through the nozzle 205 in order to ensure that a sufficient volume has been dispensed for the user to clean their hands thoroughly.

The hand sanitiser may also comprise a display screen for displaying media content whilst a user is cleaning their hands. The hand sanitiser may be configured to display advertising content on the screen when activated by the user, and to switch off display of the content during the intervals between use. The screen may be, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. Other types of display screens may also be used, such as an array of LEDS or organic LEDs (OLEDs), for example. The content to be displayed on the screen may be stored in an electronic memory contained within the housing of the hand sanitiser, or may be downloaded from an external content store or over the internet, for example. When sending the identity data and compliance data to the remote server, the sanitiser may also communicate details of adverts that have been displayed on the screen during its use. In this respect, the hand sanitiser may operate in a similar fashion to a hand drier as described in European patent EP2892408, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

In some embodiments, the electronic components of the hand sanitiser are powered by an internal battery. In other embodiments, the electronic components may be solar powered. The hand sanitiser may comprise an air quality sensor and/or a sensor able to identify the presence of airborne pathogens.

Figure 3A shows a schematic of an individual using the hand sanitiser of Figure 2 whilst at a sanitation station. As shown in Figure 3A, the hand sanitiser 301 includes an internal reservoir 303 from which liquid sanitiser is dispensed through the nozzle 305.

The internal reservoir 303 of Figure 3A may be replenished by inserting a new cartridge with a volume of sanitising agent. Figure 3B shows an alternative embodiment in which the internal reservoir 303 is replenished with liquid sanitiser from a larger, external reservoir 311 located remotely from the sanitiser, and which is connected by one or more pipes or tubing that pass through the walls of the building to the internal reservoir 303. In this case, the external reservoir 311 may be located some distance away from the actual hand sanitiser 301 ; the reservoir may be located behind the wall on which the hand sanitiser 301 is mounted, for example.

In both the embodiment shown in Figure 3A and the embodiment shown in Figure 3B, the hand sanitiser 301 may monitor the volume of liquid sanitiser held in the internal reservoir, and transmit a signal to the server indicating when the volume falls beneath a threshold. In the case of Figure 3A, the signal may be relayed to the building manager, who will arrange for site personnel to install a new cartridge in the hand sanitiser. In the case of Figure 3B, the signal sent to the server may prompt an automated refilling of the internal reservoir 303 from the external reservoir 311, by issuing a command signal from the server to a pump connected to the external reservoir, causing it to commence pumping liquid sanitiser into the internal reservoir.

In some embodiments, the extent to which a user complies with health and/or sanitation requirements may be used to allow or restrict that user’s access to different parts of a site or building. Figure 4 shows an example in which a user is passing along a corridor 401, with the intention of entering a room 403 through a door at the end of the corridor (as used herein, the term “door” will be understood to cover a number of forms of entry means, including doors, gates, turnstiles, as well as other forms of barrier that can be opened and closed in order to permit or restrict access to a particular area). Located en-route to the room is a sanitation station 405, which the user is encouraged to use prior to entering the room 403. The sanitation station 405 is connected to the remote server 407, as before.

The door to the room 403 has an access control mechanism 409 that can lock the door to prevent unauthorised access. For example, the access control system may comprise a computer processor and an electronic lock that is activated or deactivated based on signals sent from the processor. The access control mechanism 409 will only unlock the door once it is determined that the person seeking entry has complied with the necessary health and/or sanitation requirements. In order to determine whether to allow a particular user entry, the access control mechanism 409 is able to communicate with the server either wirelessly or by a wired connection, and to query the stored logs of people’s usage of the sanitation station. In more detail, in the same way that the sanitation station 405 includes a sensor or user interface for determining the identity of the individual using the station, the access control mechanism 409 may comprise a similar means to determine the identity of the person seeking access to the room. On reaching the door to the room 403, the person’s identity is determined by the access control mechanism 409, and a query sent to the server 407 to determine if the user has met the health and/or sanitation criterion as defined by the sanitation station 405. The server 407 receives the request and using the person’s identity is able to confirm whether or not the user has met the necessary criterion. On receiving confirmation that the user has met the criterion, the access control mechanism 409 permits access to the room 403 by unlocking the door.

In the event that the user has failed to meet the criterion, the access control mechanism 409 prevents access to the room 403 by keeping the door locked. In some cases, the door or access control mechanism may include a screen that displays a message to the individual that the door will remain locked because they have yet to comply with the necessary health and/or sanitation requirements. In the event that the user has failed to meet a sanitation criterion, the display will issue a request for the user to return to the sanitation station 405 to complete the necessary sanitation action.

By forming a communication link between the sanitation station 405 and the door access control mechanism 409, it is possible to ensure that people who have failed to meet the necessary health and/or sanitation requirements can be prevented from entering a particular area of a site or building, thereby helping to prevent the spread of infectious disease. Since the access control mechanism 409 is able to determine the individual’s fitness to enter the restricted area by communicating with the server 407, there is no need for the sanitation station 405 to be located in close proximity to the door to the restricted area 403; instead, the sanitation station 405 can be placed at a more convenient location in the building, thereby allowing for greater flexibility in terms of installation. Moreover, the present embodiment can prevent queues from building up by the door to the room 403 and thereby causing congestion. The process of identifying each individual who wishes to access the room 403 and querying the server logs requires a simple exchange of data between the server 407 and the door access control mechanism 409, and hence it can be carried out swiftly for each individual.

Figure 5 shows an extension of the system of Figure 4, in which a plurality of sanitation stations 501 , 503 are connected to the server 505, thereby forming a networked arrangement of sanitation stations. In this embodiment, a user has the opportunity to use either one of the two stations 501 , 503 en-route to the restricted area. As before, when an individual arrives at the door to the restricted area 507, the access control mechanism 509 issues a request to the server 505 to determine whether or not the individual has met the necessary health and/or sanitation criterion to be permitted access. The server 505 may use the information received from the two sanitation stations 501 , 503 to determine whether or not to provide a positive indication to the door access control mechanism 509. In particular, the server 505 may determine whether information received from one of the sanitation stations 501 , 503 should take precedence over the other, and if so, whether the fact that the user has met the health and/or sanitation criterion for one of the stations 501 , 503 should override a failure to meet the health and/or sanitation criterion for another one of the stations.

In more detail, the server 505 may determine from its logs whether the user has interacted with either one of the sanitation stations 501 , 503, and if so, whether or not the user has met the criteria associated with those stations. The server 505 may then implement a set of rules to determine whether or not the user should be allowed access to the restricted area 507. The set of rules will provide different outcomes depending on which of the sanitation stations’ criteria have or have not been complied with. In some embodiments, the rules may take into consideration the time at which the user interacted with each station and in particular, the length of time to have passed since the user interacted with the station and the time of requesting access to the restricted area. The rules may also take into account a level of importance that is attributed to the different criteria associated with the respective sanitation stations.

By applying the set of rules to the logged data, the server may generate an overall compliance score or rating for the user. The overall compliance rating or score may be stored as a further indicator of the user’s general compliance with the health and sanitation requirements in the building. The overall compliance score may also be used to indicate whether or not an individual should be granted access to a restricted area by the access control system.

By way of example, the first sanitation station 501 in Figure 5 may be a sanitation station in which the sanitation criterion requires the user to wear gloves and protective clothing, whilst the second sanitation station 503 may only require the user to wash their hands. The first sanitation station 501 may have a more stringent sanitation criterion because some at least some of the users who pass by the first sanitation station may not be heading towards the area 507, but will instead be proceeding down the adjoining passageway 511 towards another area (not shown) that has a higher safety requirement than area 507. In this case, if the server 505 determines from the logs that an individual requesting access to the area 507 has complied with the sanitation requirement of the first sanitation station 501 (i.e. they are wearing gloves and protective clothing), then the fact that they have not washed their hands at the second sanitation station 503 may be overlooked when deciding whether or not to grant the user access to the area 507. In other words, therefore, when determining the overall compliance score for the individual, the fact that the individual has complied with the sanitation requirements from a particular sanitation station on the network may be given a higher weighting than the fact that they have not complied with the sanitation requirements imposed by another sanitation station on the network.

In another example, the first sanitation station 501 may comprise a temperature scanner for measuring an individual’s temperature, whilst the second sanitation station 503 again comprises a hand sanitiser. In the event that the individual fails to meet the health criterion of the first sanitation station 501 (because they are found to be exhibiting signs of a fever), then the fact that they have washed their hands at the second sanitation station 503 will not be sufficient to allow them access to area. In this case, the rules may attribute a higher weighting to the first sanitation station 501 criterion than the second sanitation station 503. The rules may further specify that failure to satisfy the health and/or sanitation criterion of a particular sanitation station will override all other log entries for the user in question; that is, failure to satisfy a particular health and/or sanitation criterion will render all other log entries for that individual moot.

Referring now to Figure 6, this shows a further example of how a networked arrangement of sanitation stations may be used to manage people’s access to a building. In more detail, Figure 6 shows an example of a reception area 601 of the building, with individuals entering through a door from the street outside 603. The reception area 601 includes a reception desk 605 where staff may greet visitors to the building, and a set of three turnstiles that provide access to a lift bank 607. In order to access the lifts 607a, 607b, 607c, employees and visitors to the building will need to pass through one of the turnstiles.

In addition to holding the requisite identification to enter through the turnstiles, the visitors and employees must also satisfy one or more health and/or sanitation criteria. To this end, the reception area includes a group of sanitation stations 609a, 609b, 609c arranged on an opposite wall of the reception area 601. As in the embodiments described above, the sanitation stations 609a, 609b, 609c are each connected to a remote server 611 , which is in turn connected to the access control mechanism 613a, 613b, 613c of each of the three turnstiles. In Figure 6, the dashed lines indicate a wireless network connection, but it will be appreciated that a wired connection may also be used. When entering the building, an employee will need to interact with one of the sanitation stations 609a, 609b, 609c and satisfy the necessary criteria, following which the server 611 will log the fact that the particular employee has satisfied the criteria, and should, therefore, be granted access to the lift bank 607. The access control mechanism 613a, 613b, 613c associated with each turnstile is provided with a means to identify the user requesting access, in the same way as the door access control mechanism shown in Figure 5. When approaching the turnstiles, the access control mechanism 613a, 613b, 613c associated with the turnstile will request confirmation from the server 611 that the employee has satisfied the necessary health and/or sanitation criteria, following which the turnstile will permit the user to access the lift bank 607 and travel to other floors of the building.

In order to make the process more efficient, the server 611 may store a list of people who work in the building, as well as biometric data (voice scans, facial scans, fingerprints, etc.) that can be used by the sanitation stations 609a, 609b, 609c and turnstile access control mechanisms 613a, 613b, 613c to provide fast recognition of each employee requesting access to the lift bank 607. Visitors to the building may be provided with a badge or other identity token that can then be scanned at the sanitation stations 609a, 609b, 609c and by the access control mechanisms 613a, 613b, 613c of the turnstiles. In this way, the server 611 can readily determine whether or not a particular visitor has satisfied the sanitation criteria by looking up the log entries associated with the identity token being presented at the turnstile.

In some embodiments, the sanitation stations 609a, 609b, 609c shown in Figure 6 may each provide the same functionality as one another; for example, each one may be an identical hand sanitiser unit. Having more than one sanitisation station available for people to use on entry into the building can help reduce queuing times, whilst limiting or preventing the spread of pathogens to other parts of the building.

A further aspect of the invention will now be described with reference to Figures 7 to 10. In this aspect of the invention, the paths that individuals take through a building can be mapped in conjunction with the data received from the network of sanitation stations. Figure 7 shows an arrangement similar to that of Figure 1, but in which additional location sensors 701 , 703 are provided at intervals along the corridor. The sensors 701 , 703 may take the same form as the sensors used in the previous embodiments to identify particular individuals. By detecting the presence of the user as they pass along the corridor, the location sensors 701 , 703 can provide additional information to the server 705, recording the user’s location as a function of time. In the example shown in Figure 7, the user passes by the first location sensor 701 at time ti, passes by the sanitation station 707 at t2, and arrives at the second location sensor 703 at time tz. Thus, even if the user does not interact with the sanitation station 707 at all, it is possible to determine that the user was in the vicinity of the sanitation station 707 (more specifically, that they passed along the passage of the corridor in which the station is located), by referring to the user’s position at the time points ti and tz.

Referring now to Figure 8, this figure shows a floor plan of a building comprising several areas, 1 - 7. Within each separate area is a respective sanitation station 801 - 807, with which the user is encouraged (or indeed required) to interact, depending on the building manager’s policy. As an individual passes through the various areas 1 to 7, their location is monitored by using location sensors akin to those shown in Figure 7. In some embodiments, the entrance to each area may be security enabled, such that a user is required to provide some form of identification in order to be permitted access. Where the user does so, this may itself provide an indication of the user’s location at a particular point in time; in other words, the doors or access points to each area may themselves provide the information about the user’s location to the server.

Using the information obtained from the location sensors, as well as data received from the sanitation stations 801 - 807 with which the user interacts, the server can map a user’s journey through a building, as well as identifying any health and/or sanitation criteria that the user has met, and other health and/or sanitation criteria that they have not met. In particular, the server can identify cases in which a user passed by a sanitation station or was in the vicinity of that station, but did not interact with it and so failed to meet the necessary criteria for that station. This information can then be used to build up an overall picture of a user’s compliance with the building’s health and sanitation requirements.

Figure 9 shows an example of a the server logs for different individuals as they move around the floorplan shown in Figure 8. In the case of the first individual (ID 0001), the individual is seen to have passed through each one of areas 1 to 5, and to have met the health and/or sanitation requirements for the sanitation stations located in areas 1 , 2, 4 and 5. The logs record that this particular individual did not meet the health and/or sanitation requirement for sanitation station 803. Turning now to the second individual (ID 0002), this individual passed through areas 1, 2, 4 and 7 before leaving the floor.

Of these four areas, the individual only met the health and/or sanitation requirement for area 2; the individual did not meet the health and/or sanitation criteria for any one of sanitation stations 801, 804 and 807. Referring now to the third individual (ID 0003), this individual passed through areas 1, 2, 4 and 6, before passing back into area 4 and then into area 5. The individual was able to meet the health and/or sanitation criteria for each one of stations 802, 804, 805 and 806 but failed to meet the criteria for sanitation station 801.

Still referring to the table of Figure 9, the server logs include for each individual an overall compliance indication. In the present embodiment, the overall compliance indication comprises a binary choice between achieving compliance and failing to do so; however, it will be appreciated that the overall compliance indication may be provided as a score or rating, with different individuals achieving different scores based on their behaviour.

As described above in reference to Figure 5, in order to determine the overall compliance score or rating for an individual, the server can apply a set of rules to the data received from the location sensors and the sanitation stations. The rules can attribute different levels of importance or weightings to the various health and/or sanitation criteria, where each weighting is based on a risk associated with failing to meet the respective criterion. Figure 10 shows an example of this for each one of the sanitation stations 801 to 803. As can be seen from Figure 10, a failure to meet the sanitation criteria for sanitation station 801 (a hand sanitiser) is deemed to be of low risk or priority and is assigned a lower weighting when determining the individual’s overall compliance score or rating; that is, in this particular set of rules, the use of the hand sanitiser is not considered particularly important (it will be appreciated that in other circumstances, failure to wash or sanitise an individual’s hands may be assigned a higher level of importance, with the weighting being adjusted accordingly). In the case of sanitation station 802 (a temperature scanner), failure to record a temperature is deemed to present a medium/high risk, on the basis that most people who forget to record their temperature are unlikely to be unwell or harbouring obvious signs of infection. However, where an individual does have their temperature scanned and is found to be exhibiting a temperature outside the normal range, this is associated with a high risk in the rules set, as there is a high probability that the user is carrying an infectious disease. A similar discussion also applies in respect of sanitation station 803, which in this example comprises a breathalyser; failure to provide a reading is deemed to be of medium/high risk, whilst a positive test that indicates the presence of viral or bacterial infection is assigned a high priority as again, the individual in question poses a significant health risk to others located in their vicinity. Thus, when determining an individual’s overall compliance score or rating, a failure to meet the health and/or sanitation criteria of sanitation stations 802, 803 will be given a higher weighting than failing to meet the health and/or sanitation criteria of sanitation station 801.

Returning to Figure 9, it can be seen how by applying the set of rules set out in Figure 10 to each individual’s log, the overall compliance indication is determined. In the case of individual 0001, the individual has failed to meet the sanitation criterion of sanitation station 803. Since that criterion is assigned a high priority in the rules set, the failure to satisfy that criterion overrides the fact that the individual has satisfied the criteria for each one of sanitation stations 801, 802, 804 and 805. The second individual 0002 is deemed not to have complied on the grounds that the number of sanitation criteria that they have failed to meet is above a threshold, as they have only successfully interacted with a quarter of the sanitation stations located along their route through the building.

In contrast, the third individual 0003 is deemed to have reached the necessary level of compliance. Even though the third individual 0003 has failed to meet the sanitation criterion for sanitation station 801 , the fact that the sanitation criterion of station 801 is accorded low importance in the rules set means that this does not adversely affect their overall compliance indication.

It will be appreciated that the above concept of mapping individuals’ journeys through a site or building can be combined with features of the access control shown in Figures 4 to 6. For example, an individual’s failure to meet the health and/or sanitation criteria of sanitation stations located along their route can lead to their being locked-out of certain areas of the site or building. Moreover, in the event that an individual is found to have failed to meet the requirements of several stations that they have passed by, or that they have failed to meet a particular criterion that is associated with a high risk or priority ranking in the rules set, a decision can be made to “lockdown” those parts of the site or building that the individual has travelled through. As an example, referring again to the floorplan of Figure 8, an individual who passes through each one of areas 1 to 6 without meeting any one of the health and/or sanitation criteria set by the respective sanitation stations 801 - 806 may eventually leave the floor by the stairwell in area 7. At this point, the individual may interact with the sanitation station 807 in area 7 for a health reading. In the event that the individual fails to meet a critical criterion of the sanitation station 807 (for example, they test positive for the presence of a very rare but highly contagious and dangerous pathogen), then the server may issue an alert to quarantine all areas of the building through which that individual has passed, by locking all doors that provide access to those parts of the building. In some cases, the individual’s location at different points in time may be cross-referenced with other individuals’ locations in the building, so as to identify other individuals with whom the infected individual may have come into contact during their path through the building. The journeys of those other individuals may in turn also be analysed to identify any further areas of the building that are required to enter quarantine, as well as identifying those parts of the building population that are most at risk from being infected. In this way, the most likely path of transmission of an infectious disease can be identified, and action taken to halt or slow its progression through the building and the wider population.

In addition to, or as an alternative to imposing a “lockdown” on parts of the building, embodiments described herein may also activate other safety precautions to be carried out. For example, in the event that an individual is found to have failed to meet the requirements of several stations that they have passed by, or that they have failed to meet a particular criterion that is associated with a high risk in the rules set, then the server may transmit a signal to an environmental control system in the building, such as an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) control system, causing the system to modify the flow of air and/or water to and from areas of the building through which the individual in question has passed. For example, the airflow through a particular region may be redirected so as to prevent airborne pathogens in that region from being circulated to other parts of the building. In another example, the flow may be redirected such that air in that part of the building is expelled from the building, with any airborne pathogens being dispersed into the external atmosphere where the risk of those pathogens infecting people is much reduced.

It will further be appreciated that the methods and systems described herein may be expanded to cover multiple sites and/or buildings, located in different parts of a town, different towns, or even different countries, for example. That is, a central server may receive identity data and compliance data from users at sanitation stations located in different buildings and use these data to compile compliance scores and ratings for individuals and/or groups of individuals or businesses based in those different geographical locations. In some cases, the compliance data and identity data may be uploaded to the central server directly; in other examples, each site or building may have its own local server that records the data in its own building and then forwards its logs to the central server for collating with the logs from other sites or buildings. By monitoring the compliance with health and sanitation criteria across these multiple sites or buildings, embodiments can provide a level of crowd sourced data that can assist in identifying outbreaks of disease, as well as providing global indicators of different business’s compliance with sanitation requirements.

The embodiments described herein, particularly when combined with BMS (Building Management Services), can help to drive resource and operational efficiencies, risk planning and traffic management to drive behavioural change, enabling organisations and governments to drive optimum hygiene standards by reviewing the compliance data received from individuals in those sites or buildings.

Implementations of the subject matter and the operations described in this specification can be realized in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Implementations of the subject matter described in this specification can be realized using one or more computer programs, i.e. , one or more modules of computer program instructions, encoded on computer storage medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or in addition, the program instructions can be encoded on an artificially generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium can be, or be included in, a computer- readable storage device, a computer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memory array or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover, while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computer storage medium can be a source or destination of computer program instructions encoded in an artificially generated propagated signal. The computer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or more separate physical components or media (e.g USB drives, CDs, disks, or other storage devices).

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the novel methods, devices and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements at a site or building, the method comprising: receiving, at a server, identity information indicating the identity of an individual interacting with a sanitation station present at the site or building, the sanitation station being located remotely from the server and comprising one or more sensors for detecting signs that an individual is carrying a contagious pathogen and/or for determining whether or not the individual has carried out a sanitation action aimed at restricting the spread of contagious pathogens to other individuals; receiving, at the server, compliance data indicating whether or not the individual has satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; and storing the identity information in association with the compliance data as a logged entry in a database.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the health criterion is satisfied in the event that the one or more sensors do not detect signs that the individual is infected with a contagious pathogen or is infected with a contagious pathogen.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: determining an overall compliance rating for the individual based on the compliance data received for the individual.

4. A method according to claim 3, comprising: receiving, at the server, from an access control system that controls access to an area of the site or building, an indication that the individual is seeking access to the area; and based on the overall compliance rating, transmitting a signal to the access control system indicating whether or not the individual should be granted access to the area.

5. A method according to claim 4, comprising: receiving, at the server, compliance data from a plurality of sanitation stations located within the site or building, the compliance data from each sanitation station indicating whether or not the individual has satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the respective sanitation station; storing the compliance data from each sanitation station as a separate logged entry in the database for the individual; wherein the overall compliance rating is determined by taking into account each one of the logged entries for the individual.

6. A method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the overall compliance rating is determined by applying a set of one or more rules to the logged entries for the individual, wherein the one or more rules assign respective weightings to the health and/or sanitation criteria associated with each sanitation station.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein applying the set of one or more rules comprises assigning a risk factor to the health and/or sanitation criteria associated with each sanitation station, and in determining the overall compliance rating, criteria having a higher risk factor are given a higher weighting than criteria having a lower risk factor.

8. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: receiving, at the server, location information indicating the location of the individual within the site or building at one or more points in time; and storing the location of the individual in the database.

9. A method according to claim 8, comprising: determining, based on the location information, a route taken by the individual through the site or building.

10. A method according to claim 9, comprising: determining, based on the route taken by the individual and the compliance data stored in the database for the individual, one or more safety precautions to enforce within the building.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the one or more safety precautions comprise quarantining one or more areas of the site or building that lie along the route taken by the individual.

12. A method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the one or more safety precautions comprise identifying, based on location information received for one or more other individuals within the site or building, a list of other individuals whom have been in proximity to the individual at points along the route taken by the individual.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the one or more safety precautions comprise quarantining one or more areas of the site or building that lie along routes taken by the other individuals on the list.

14. A method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, further comprising: determining, based on the location information, one or more sanitation stations located within the site or building that the individual has been within a certain distance of, and with which the individual has failed to interact.

15. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sanitation station comprises a hand sanitiser having an internal reservoir for storing a sanitising agent, and the method comprises: receiving, from the hand sanitiser, a signal indicating that a volume of sanitising agent in the internal reservoir is below a threshold; in response to the signal, transmitting a signal to a refill system to commence refilling the internal reservoir of the hand sanitiser; wherein the refill system comprises an external reservoir of sanitising agent and a pump apparatus configured to pump sanitising agent from the external reservoir to the hand sanitiser through one or more pipes or tubing.

16. A method for monitoring individuals’ compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements, comprising: determining an identity of an individual interacting with a sanitation station located within a site or building, the sanitation station comprising one or more sensors for detecting signs that an individual is carrying a contagious pathogen and/or for determining whether or not the individual has carried out a sanitation action aimed at restricting the spread of contagious pathogens to other individuals; determining, based on readings from the one or more sensors, whether or not the individual has satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; and transmitting, from the sanitation station to a remote server, identity information indicating the identity of the individual interacting with the sanitation station and compliance data indicating whether or not the individual has satisfied the health and/or sanitation criterion.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the sanitation station comprises a hand sanitiser device.

18. A method according to claim 17, wherein determining whether or not the individual has satisfied the health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station comprises determining whether the individual has dispensed a sufficient volume of sanitising agent from the device to clean their hands.

19. A method according to claim 17 or 18, comprising monitoring a volume of sanitising agent available for the device to dispense to the individual, and in the event that the volume of sanitising agent is below a threshold, transmitting an indication to the server that a refill is required.

20. A method for controlling access of individuals to areas within a site or building, the method comprising: determining the identity of an individual seeking to obtain access to an area within the site or building; sending identity information indicating the identity of the individual to a remote server, the server storing logs of one or more individuals’ interactions with a sanitation station located within the site or building and compliance data indicating whether or not the respective individuals have satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; receiving, from the server, an indication as to whether or not the individual seeking access to the area has satisfied the health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; and based on the indication received from the server, determining whether to permit the individual to access the one or more areas.

21. A computer server for monitoring compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements at a site or building, the server being configured to receive identity information indicating the identity of an individual interacting with a sanitation station present at the site or building, the sanitation station being located remotely from the server and comprising one or more sensors for detecting signs that an individual is carrying a contagious pathogen and/or for determining whether or not the individual has carried out a sanitation action aimed at restricting the spread of contagious pathogens to other individuals; the server being further configured to receive compliance data indicating whether or not the individual has satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station and to store the identity information in association with the compliance data as a logged entry in a database.

22. A device for monitoring individuals’ compliance with health and/or sanitation requirements, comprising: means for determining an identity of an individual located within proximity of the device; one or more sensors for detecting signs that the individual is carrying a contagious pathogen and/or for determining whether or not the individual has carried out a sanitation action aimed at restricting the spread of contagious pathogens to other individuals; the device being configured to determine, based on readings from the one or more sensors, whether or not the individual has satisfied a predefined health and/or sanitation criterion, the device being further configured to transmit to a remote server, identity information indicating the identity of the individual and compliance data indicating whether or not the individual has satisfied the health and/or sanitation criterion.

23. A device according to claim 22, wherein the device comprises a hand sanitiser.

24. An access control system for controlling access of individuals to areas within a site or building, the system comprising: means for determining the identity of an individual seeking to obtain access to an area within the site or building; a communication means for sending identity information indicating the identity of the individual to a remote server, the server storing logs of one or more individuals’ interactions with a sanitation station located within the site or building and compliance data indicating whether or not the respective individuals have satisfied a health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; the communication means being configured to receive, from the server, an indication as to whether or not the individual seeking access to the area has satisfied the health and/or sanitation criterion associated with the sanitation station; and the access control system being configured to determine, based on the indication received from the server, whether to permit to the individual to access the one or more areas.

25. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by a computer will cause the computer to carry out a method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.