How Will Indoor Mapping Change Post-COVID?

While the fundamentals may not change, we will certainly see new use cases for indoor mapping post-COVID.

Since COVID-19 hit, we have had to change the way we work and live our lives on a daily basis. It has made it difficult for managers and employees to transition into a new way of working. 

While many things will change for venues and office spaces post-COVID, the fundamentals of indoor mapping will most likely stay the same. Indoor mapping software is used primarily to help people navigate around large buildings and rooms safely. 

However, the use cases will undoubtedly see some differences. We will most likely see emerging use cases from maps, including line management, wait times, space planning, and contact monitoring, among others. 

Rethinking Indoor Spaces

Indoor mapping can help give a greater view of how space inside can be used most efficiently to maintain social distance. Restaurants have opened outdoor dining, connecting the space indoors and outdoors to provide the best experience possible. 

Other indoor areas, such as workplaces, will need to be converted to become less dense and create more physical space for employees to work. Conference rooms will need to be reorganized to allow social distancing. Though a collective workplace environment will most likely return, the office space will inevitably change post-COVID. 

Indoor mapping will be crucial in rethinking how to use space creatively to support wellness in office spaces, hospitals, campuses, venues, restaurants, etc. New office design trends are sure to be expected in preparation for reopening post-COVID. 

Route Planning for Entry and Exit

After COVID, it will be essential to plan different pathways for people to enter and exit a building safely. Indoor mapping can help designate those different routes for entry and exit to keep people from crossing paths. 

Indoor mapping can also create reminder notifications for employees or others to alert them to enter or exit through specific doors to prevent any spreading of the virus. The indoor mapping software will make planning different entries and exits more manageable and limit the number of people that use similar pathways.  

Occupancy Levels and Crowd Management

To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, occupancy levels for indoor spaces will need to be limited. Depending on your building’s capacity, it may not always be easy to know when you have reached a safe number of occupants. Using indoor mapping software, you can keep track of how many people are in the building at any given time.

Instead of aiming to fill the room’s total capacity, indoor mapping software will most likely continue to be used to keep the number of indoor occupants limited. This technology can track how many people are using the building in real-time, which can be useful in managing crowds. Users can also look at an indoor map to see how busy a space is before entering.

Contact Tracing and Monitoring

Contact tracing allows employees to know if they have come into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus or is starting to develop symptoms. This can help stop the spread of the virus and ensure everyone who was exposed can get tested. 

Indoor mapping software can also monitor those who have the virus and track where people have been within their closed surroundings. Any virus outbreaks can be mitigated quickly by sanitizing contaminated areas and sending exposed employees home to get tested before returning to work. It may lead to more employees self-isolating at home as they wait for their results, but contact tracing and monitoring will be effective in preventing the spread of the virus after the pandemic. 

Clear Off-Limits Work Areas

According to the CDC, all office staff must work in “clean” ventilation zones upon returning to the office. These zones can be marked using indoor mapping software and clear all other work areas as off-limits. It can keep people from entering these areas using alerts or reminders. 

These areas may be marked off-limits to manage workspace or social distance, to monitor employees easier, and to protect employees from spaces where the virus may be prone to spread faster. In a post-COVID world, indoor mapping will play a key role in maintaining which rooms are available to work and which areas are off-limits. 

Waiting Times and Check Out

Many retail stores have implemented lines outdoors to avoid going over indoor capacity. Other stores, such as grocery markets, have people spread out in check-out lines to maintain social distance while they wait. Indoor mapping can help create space for these lines post-COVID and manage crowds by alerting them of wait times. Indoor mapping platforms can even allow visitors to make a reservation or reserve a spot in line through the map, further helping to reduce crowds.

Future indoor mapping technology can not only track a person’s location but offer estimated waiting times to help customers avoid high-traffic periods. Indoor traffic information will be crucial in determining which lines are the shortest at any given site, including retail stores, malls, and hospitals. 

Emergency Responses and Crisis Management

Indoor mapping has already changed COVID frontline locations, such as hospitals, school campuses, and shelters that provide emergency services. They have adapted their spaces to ensure social distancing, provide essential care, and help people find the necessary resources. 

After the COVID pandemic, this will most likely continue to prevent the spread of infection. Indoor mapping will become more crucial in analyzing the capacity of hospitals and other emergency and healthcare facilities. 

Preparing indoor-scale floor plans can improve reporting and situational awareness in an emergency response situation. Using indoor mapping software, a person would see whether a facility is occupied or empty and if someone is assigned to a particular room. 

It can allow first-responders to react quickly to crises and use a direct route to approach the emergency. Indoor mapping can also show doctors or nurses what work needs to be done at various locations. Indoor mapping will be a crucial part of enhancing time-sensitive emergency responses and crisis management post-COVID.

Indoor mapping can be used in a variety of ways to increase safety and efficiency within your building. Contact us today to learn more or book a free demo.