Modern safety management for high-traffic facilities: a sector-specific guide

In safety management terms, more people often means more complexity. This can definitely be the case in high-traffic facilities; businesses that have a lot of people coming and going. 

For these businesses, processes and systems need to deliver on greater visitor management requirements. Manual log books are easily overwhelmed and made unreliable - not to mention inefficient.

On top of that, high-traffic facilities evolve and scale in time, and so do safety management challenges. For example, a business may expand to a new facility, or develop a site to include a space that requires stricter visitor control.

In these instances, processes and technology need to be adaptable in order to stay relevant and useful.

Every organisation that sees a high volume of foot traffic has unique needs for visitor management and emergency protocols. From healthcare and manufacturing facilities with restricted access zones to education environments required to safeguard students, every sector’s requirements are different.

A proactive approach is both cost-effective and helps avoid incidents. Outdated visitor and safety management comes with a number of hidden costs, including operational inefficiency, security vulnerabilities, reputational damage and compliance risks.

By taking a sector-specific approach, you can optimise security, reduce costs and meet compliance requirements at your workplace — ultimately creating safer environments for everyone.

Safety fundamentals across sectors

While there are a range of sector-specific visitor management requirements, there are also some universal guidelines that high-traffic facilities should adhere to. 

Often, practices for these areas need to go beyond standard safety measures, as these environments must manage a constant flow of visitors, staff and contractors while maintaining security and compliance.

Key differences stem from their high occupancy rates, and influence:

• Crowd control processes
• Emergency evacuation plans
• Adequately managing visitor access
• Sensitive or hazardous area protocols

Core safety challenges

Common safety issues include:

• Managing many different types of visitors 
• Ensuring secure access to restricted areas 
• Maintaining clear, unified emergency procedures

Assessing sector-specific risks

The first step in formulating a robust safety strategy is understanding how risk varies by facility type. 

For instance, a healthcare facility must handle a wide range of visitor types and privacy requirements, while a manufacturing site needs to monitor potentially hazardous work zones.

Whatever their industry, organisations should consider their individual risk factors and ensure they are accounted for in safety plans.

Fundamental safety elements 

A best-practice safety management framework includes visitor verification, real-time occupancy tracking, incident reporting and emergency response plans that are easy to execute.

Sector-specific safety management solutions

Each industry has distinct safety challenges that require customised strategies. In this guide we’ll be taking a deeper diver into how safety management differs across healthcare, education and manufacturing facilities but you may see some similarities that can be applied to other sectors too.

Healthcare

Healthcare facilities operate around the clock and require secure, controlled environments due to the sensitivity of patient data, restricted access zones, and a diverse visitor profile.

• Managing diverse visitors: Healthcare centres see a mix of visitors, from patients to family members, contractors and more. With visitor management systems, healthcare facilities can verify identities efficiently, reducing unauthorised access and managing visitors appropriately.
• Streamlined worker verification: Medical staff often need efficient access to secure areas. A centralised system ensures fast, compliant sign-ins, meeting regulatory requirements without delaying staff movement for a long time.
• Secure yet accessible restricted areas: Zoned access control allows healthcare facilities to adequately protect sensitive areas while ensuring authorised personnel aren’t held up moving about as they need to.
• Responsive emergency protocols: Healthcare facilities must have clear, streamlined emergency response plans that address specific needs, including patient evacuations and processes for providing real-time updates for staff. 

Case study: How Oakland Care secures patient-centred environments

Oakland Care develops and operates care homes across London and south-east England. Admin staff used to keep a manual sign in book for visitors coming and going, but by upgrading to a digital management solution, staff had a more accurate, reliable record of visitors.

Technology also allows for a more consistent approach to safety and compliance standards. For example, sign in fields were customised through the Covid pandemic in order to adhere to vaccination requirements. Find out more here.

Education

Schools, colleges and other educational institutions handle high visitor volumes daily, from students and faculty to parents, contractors, service providers and other vendors. Safety in these settings requires managing multiple access points and ensuring smooth emergency evacuations across buildings.

• Student and visitor verification: Schools need a quick and secure way to verify identities, so that students and staff in particular can move about campuses safely. Verification can also keep unauthorised individuals off campus and safeguard student data.
• Integrated safety for multi-building campuses: Many education centres have multiple buildings on campus. An effective safety system enables staff to monitor and respond to incidents across different buildings seamlessly, fostering campus-wide security.
• Event-specific security: Special events such as shows, sports events and graduations demand tailored safety protocols, especially when attendance increases. Safety plans need to be adaptable so they can continue to adequately control access and ensure safety in these instances. 
• Simplified emergency procedures: Emergency plans need to be easy for staff and students to follow, enabling fast evacuations when needed. This can often be complicated in large buildings with complex layouts, but with a visitor management system it doesn’t have to be. 

Case Study: How Exeter College creates safe learning spaces for all people on campus

Exeter College has thousands of students, staff and visitors pass through its campuses every day. It uses Sign In App to capture and announce visitors as they arrive on site, keeping an up-to-date record and informing visitors of safety policies.

This provides a real time head count at all times, and promotes awareness of safety procedures in the event of an emergency. Find out more here.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing facilities often face unique safety issues with heavy machinery, chemicals or other hazards. Efficient management of contractors and shift workers, along with clear emergency protocols, is essential.

• Scalable contractor safety: Manufacturing sites frequently use external contractors, and a scalable system helps track their activity and ensure safety compliance.
• Unified multi-site security: For facilities that span multiple locations, a centralised safety management system enables visibility into activities across all sites, ensuring security protocols are upheld consistently.
• Shift worker tracking: It’s vital for facilities to maintain real-time head counts, and this can be made more difficult as shifts change and staff come and go. Monitoring who is on site and where they’re located supports productivity and enhances safety by streamlining shift management.
• Clear industrial emergency plans: Industrial settings require specific evacuation plans that are tailored to a site’s potential hazards, enabling quick and safe responses in emergencies.

Case study: How Logoplaste maintains industrial safety excellence

Logoplaste has 64 manufacturing facilities across 17 countries, many of which have multiple entrances that don’t have reception staff. 

Sign In App records comings and goings to maintain a real time head count that meets compliance requirements and can be used in emergency evacuations. Find out more here.

Unified safety management

For multi-location businesses or large campuses, consolidating safety protocols across sites is key to maintaining control and ensuring compliance. In order to reduce risk and keep standards high, systems should be consistent from one facility to the next. 

The best way to maintain a universal framework is to use technology that can span across different facilities. Integrated safety management software provides real-time tracking and alerts at multiple locations, and also provides a high level of visibility for users, regardless of where they are.

These platforms can also maintain records for compliance purposes. They ensure reporting is consistent, and adheres to the standard required while not adding administrative burdens.

On top of that, scalable safety solutions can grow and evolve with organisations. They have the ability to add new functionality, such as to expand to new facilities or locations, and adapt to changing staff and contractor numbers without compromising standards.

Measuring safety success

Tracking safety performance is essential for maintaining and improving safety standards over time. It’s important to set and monitor success metrics that focus on the things that matter most, and to ensure safety standards keep up with industry best practices as they evolve. 

This includes:

• Measuring the effectiveness of performance metrics such as response times, incident reports and successful emergency drills.
• Continual monitoring against compliance standards, including industry-specific regulations to minimise legal risks.
• Tracking costs and benefits of safety investments to keep a current understanding of the value of proactive safety management.
• Taking a long-term view of safety improvements. This means reviewing incidents and compliance over time to get greater insights of where improvements are needed.

Why safety technology really matters for high-traffic facilities

With sector-specific needs, high traffic facilities need specific safety planning and management features to reflect the greater numbers of people they have on site. There are a range of universal and industry-specific challenges that come with that.

Specialised safety management technology allows businesses to implement and maintain compliant, safe systems that protect your people.

Sign In App enables users to track visitors, maintain compliance and establish best practice security solutions that are fit for the needs of today’s high-traffic environments. Find out more, or start a free 15 day trial today.