Occupancy sensing has been getting a bit of a bad reputation recently, with several articles accusing the technology of being little more than a monitoring device, comparing it to Big Brother style surveillance, named after George Orwell’s seminal novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Shock headlines have announced so-called creepy or invasive technology which monitors employees, but occupancy sensing manufacturers dismiss the claims. So, what exactly is the truth?
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Well, the truth is that an occupancy sensor is relatively unnoticeable device, often placed in areas of high footfall or usage. Yes, it is a small black box capable of recording space utilisation statistics, but trust us, there is nothing sinister about it. In fact, many businesses see the benefits in the usage of occupancy sensors, particularly in their ability to provide valuable insight.
I love a good fact or statistic, and here’s one you might like too: did you know that the typical office utilisation rate is just 39%?
Real estate is an expensive overhead for most businesses, and being able to utilise technology like occupancy sensors can help to significantly reduce those costs – frankly, a vital move in today’s competitive and costly business landscape.
Sensationalist headlines have scared some of us into believing occupancy sensors are monitoring far more than our footfall, so to put these rumours to rest, here’s the whole truth about occupancy sensing via Condeco:
1. Can they track individuals?
Absolutely not, there is no way Condeco sensors are able to determine which individuals are seated at individual desks. The main purpose is to track ‘desk utilisation rates’ which means tracking the amount of time that desk is being used by any person.
2. Can my manager can see how long I’ve been at my desk?
Condeco sensors don’t monitor people or their productivity; they are assessing workspace space usage only. Sensors are not linked to individuals. The data collected is totally anonymous and will not track individuals.
3. How do they know when a workstation or work space is being utilised?
This technology uses heat and motion sensors determine if the workspace is being used. The wireless sensors detect movement and heat, working similar to a burglar alarm or a light sensor in your home. Statistics are gleaned from working hours only – the sensors do not record office usage out of the usual office hours.
4. Do they impact upon existing IT infrastructure?
As a cloud-based solution that runs outside your corporate network, Condeco Sense has no impact on your network or IT needs. All data collected is fully encrypted.
5. What evidence do you have for sensor success?
Ricoh’s Sense study resulted in a space saving of up to 50%, highlighting the need for Ricoh to transform their space in order to utilise their resources and space more efficiently. See the Ricoh sense case study here
“Condeco allowed us to underpin decisions with statistics: transforming our workplaces into cost efficient, collaborative areas” –
6. Where do the sensors go?
Typically, they’re placed underneath a desk or table, so they can sense if an individual is utilising this workstation, meeting room or breakout space.
7. Why would an organisation want to use sensors?
Corporate real estate is expensive; businesses use this technology to gain an accurate insight into space usage, assisting business leaders in making effective changes in the workplace – maybe changing the size of meeting rooms, adding new workstations or perhaps reconfigure existing space to be better utilised by employees.
Taking advantage of new technology to use space more effectively is the number one priority for businesses in the coming years – 2019/20 Modern Research Report
8. Are the sensors linked to my security pass?
No, the sensors are not linked to any technology which determines individual activity, they are stand-alone units and only used to determine desk utilisation.
9. Are the sensors used to spy on staff?
No, these sensors are very simple technology which allows the business to only ascertain if the workspaces are being utilised. There are no recording, photography or listening functions available.
10. This is just a Big Brother-style surveillance!
Condeco sensors are by no means a Big Brother surveillance system, in fact that is something we would object to. The sensor uses heat, and its one and only job is to determine how much each workstation is being utilised.
11. What’s in it for the employees?
The benefits of a sense study are for the employees – the results can be used to the advantage of the existing workforce and workspace, ensuring a more useable layout and better maintenance of office space.
34% of businesses globally see ensuring sufficient variety of workspace for employees as a challenge – 2019/20 Condeco Research Report
12. Is it real-time data?
No, it’s not. The sensor can provide data from up to the day before.