Greater Toronto Airports Authority deploys COVID Safety Alert devices for frontline employees as part of innovative new program

The technology, developed in collaboration with IT partner Wipro, will aid in physical distancing and contact tracing, providing another layer of safety for employees

TORONTO, March 4, 2021 /CNW/ - The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), operator of Toronto Pearson International Airport, today announced an innovative new COVID-19 program involving the deployment of 1,000 COVID Safety Alert (CSA) devices to frontline GTAA employees. These devices have been designed to help reinforce physical distancing and rapidly enable workplace contact tracing in the event of a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. The GTAA collaborated with its IT partner, Wipro Limited, a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company, to develop these devices.

The CSA is a small, clip-on device that employees can wear on their belt, coat or lanyard. It notifies the wearer when they are less than two metres away from another CSA device by buzzing and flashing. CSA devices also record each time they come into contact with another device in a confidential log that is used to enable workplace tracing in the event that an employee reports a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis.

"We continue to be a leader when it comes to Healthy Airport policies, procedures and technologies that protect our passengers and workers from COVID-19," said Deborah Flint, President and CEO, GTAA. "Together with our IT partner, Wipro, we are announcing the introduction of a new wearable technology that will help our frontline workers to be diligent in maintaining physical distancing and logging contacts during the pandemic. In addition to worker testing and airport employer COVID reporting, the introduction of COVID Safety Alert devices provides another layer of safety, both for our valued employees and for the communities we serve."

"Digital transformation is at the core of the Healthy Airport program," said Amit Majithia, Vice President and Country Head – Canada, Wipro Limited. "The CSA Solution, leveraging Wipro's EngineeringNXT capabilities across wearables, IOT, connectivity and analytics, is an example of collaboration and re-imagination. With our deep domain and technology expertise, we are striving for continuous innovation at the GTAA."

"Physical distancing and contact tracing are two important measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19," says Dr. Edward Wasser, Toronto Pearson's Chief Medical Officer. "While it is accepted that only about 1% of COVID-19 cases in Canada result from contact with a traveller¹, the deployment of COVID Safety Alert devices to GTAA employees, the latest innovation in the ongoing Healthy Airport program, adds an extra layer of safety to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Canada."

The CSA devices are part of Toronto Pearson's Healthy Airport program and were rolled out to GTAA employees in January of 2021 following two successful trials that demonstrated the value of wearable technology for ensuring physical distancing and improving the effectiveness of contact tracing. To learn more about Healthy Airport and how Toronto Pearson is prioritizing employee and passenger health and safety, please visit www.torontopearson.com/healthyairport.

About the Greater Toronto Airports Authority

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) is the operator of Toronto Pearson International Airport. Toronto Pearson served more than 50 million passengers in 2019, making it Canada's busiest airport.

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¹ https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/epidemiological-summary-covid-19-cases.html  

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SOURCE Greater Toronto Airports Authority

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