Bump: Get Business Working Again During COVID

Like many of you, I have spent much of the past two months adjusting to a very different way of working.

It’s been a difficult time for us all, with the COVID-19 pandemic presenting the most serious of tests for both our society and economy.

Yet we have witnessed an extraordinary response, whether remarkable fundraising efforts up and down the country, or the business community’s response to the Ventilator Challenge, which saw some of the biggest names in British manufacturing help step up ventilator supplies in order to save lives during this coronavirus pandemic.

In March, we made the early decision to limit the number of people in our factory, with many of our colleagues beginning to work remotely. At the time, we considered ourselves very lucky that Tharsus is a business that could continue to operate under the circumstances, even as we implemented new social distancing and hygiene measures.

We wanted to do more and play a part in getting business back to work. ‘Do the right thing’ has always been an important part of what makes Tharsus special, and ever since the outbreak began, we have been exploring ways to channel our technology and expertise into help.

We know that social distancing is one the most important ways to slow down the spread of COVID-19, but it’s really hard to do well, especially at work where it’s absolutely vital.

This is the first time in living memory that people have been told to stay home for their own safety. At the same time, the pandemic has forced businesses to re-consider their responsibility as employers; more than ever, the health of the workforce is one of the most important metrics facing leadership teams.

Pretty soon we hit upon an idea, one that would improve people’s ability to keep themselves safe and increase capacity in the workplace.

We knew from the start that people needed to feel confident that they could return to work safely. We knew that employers needed assurances they could open up responsibly. And we knew that any technology solution needed to be simple, intuitive and friendly.

After eight weeks of tireless work from our brilliant team, I’m delighted to tell you more about what we’ve developed.

Today we’re announcing that some of the world’s biggest distributors, manufacturers and logistics companies are trialling ‘Bump’ – a new, cutting-edge technology system from Tharsus specifically designed to help keep people safe in the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bump’s technology uses a combination of wearable and static devices that communicate with one another using sophisticated Radio Frequency (RF) technology. This creates a Personal Motion System that immediately alerts wearers when they are getting too close to another person. Perhaps the best way to think of it is like traffic lights, which improve safety and at the same time improve capacity. More traffic flows both safely and efficiently.

As well as alerting wearers, Bump’s traffic-light style system can be used by employers to monitor the interactions taking place, providing additional insight into movement throughout the workplace and the intelligence to inform social-distancing measures.

Because it’s been designed to help people feel safe, all data gathered is limited to the time, severity and frequency of interactions. Data is fully encrypted and only available to individual wearers and their employers. Everyone knows when data is collected, why it’s being collected, and by whom.

While we’re trialling the system now to stress test Bump in more challenging environments, our plan is to rapidly scale production of the devices so the system is commercially available in June 2020.

Our hope is that we can help millions of people control their personal safety at work and allow businesses to ensure their workplaces are COVID-safe.

Find more by visiting www.bump-space.com