Touch-free: A post-Covid reboot for IT parks in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: IT parks in the state are preparing for a post Covid-19 world with a workplace that will be touch-free. Planning to introduce high-end Internet of Things (IoT) features, which in normal times would take at least five years to set up, these parks are going the extra mile, despite the high cost, to envelop themselves in a protective cocoon. To be introduced in everything from entry points to toilets, the proposed features are aimed at boosting employee confidence.
People returning to the workplace will experience the change from the entrance where they will be monitored through automatic scanners and isolated in a quarantined room in case they have high body temperature. They will then move to the bank of lifts that can be operated through mobile phones after QR code is scanned and the required floor number screen.

People are encouraged to use staircases for lower floors such flashes on the screen. They can also swipe proximity cards from a distance to facilitate automatic opening of doors, while sensors in water dispensers will help draw water into disposable cups. In toilets, the partition will extend till the toe level; and wash basins and tables in food courts will also be partitioned.
Indialand Tech Park at Coimbatore has already implemented such features. “Various steps including non-touch access control and elevators have improved the safety of employees and increased confidence among users,” Salai Kumaran, CEO, Indialand Group said. About 40% of the employees now work from the IT park, while the rest function from honme.
IT Parks and IT SEZs in and around Chennai, together offering about 60 million sq ft of office space, are following suit, planning options such as motorised revolving doors and proximity cards synchronized with lifts. It will require at least ₹1 lakh to upgrade each lift with such features.
Ajith Kumar Chordia, managing director of city-based Olympia Group, said several ideas were in the pipeline as part of the attempt to make IT spaces secure for employees. “But, it will involve a huge cost,” he added.
R Murugesan, managing director of ARAM Realty who was associated with developing an IT SEZ on GST Road, said that the outbreak of the Coronavirus had advanced the introduction of IoT features at multiple levels in office space verticals. “Our IT parks will offer features matching international cities soon,” he said.