As the UK emerges from the peak of the coronavirus crisis, businesses across the country are considering how to get ‘back to normal’ – or at least find ways to resume work while keeping people safe.

For #madeinsandwell Monday, we spoke to Mac Security Systems, a specialist in home and business security solutions including burglar alarms, CCTV, access control and fire protection.

This Cradley Heath-based company is now offering thermal imaging equipment to help businesses screen people for raised body temperatures – a possible sign of coronavirus.

Based on the Gun Barrel Industrial Estate, the Mac team can supply and install (at a safe physical distance) fever detection systems, designed to read people’s temperatures to the nearest 0.3 degrees.

Footage of thermal screening technology being used at airports and in cities across the world is familiar to many of us.

Mac’s owner Matt McMaster explained how it works.

“The fever detection system has facial recognition and the ability to alert onsite personnel via an audible and visual alarm when someone entering the site has an above-average temperature,” he said. “It also has an ambient overview camera to ensure correct reading with the surrounding area. So, if someone is carrying a hot drink, for example, it won’t skew the reading”.

You can see a video of the system in action from the manufacturer, Dahua, for whom Mac Security Systems is a partner.

People can have COVID-19 and remain asymptomatic, so the fever detection system is not a magic wand solution. Rather it is one useful tool in a range of measures businesses can take to get people back to work in a safer way.

Matt said this is important in a world where everything has changed.

“In our team, we’re going about things very differently now. Face-to-face working isn’t possible at the moment, so we’re all on Zoom calls. At Mac we’re glad to be able to educate people on the technology that exists. When businesses are ready to think about returning to work safely, we are here to give the right advice for their needs.”

Mac Security held its first demonstration on Thursday (28 May) to provide a visual representation of how the system works and the benefits it can have for a business. Matt said the feedback was extremely positive.

“We invite businesses to take up the opportunity for us to demonstrate the working system to them – show the potential the system has and how it could be tailored to a site’s requirements,” he said.

If you are interested in this, please contact Mac Security Systems on 0121 271 0149.

Founded in 2016, Mac Security Systems is a family business that in four years has expanded from a father-and-son team to a workforce of eight.

“We have grown the business organically to ensure we keep our high levels of customer satisfaction,” said Matt. “Most of our business comes from word-of-mouth recommendations: people are happy with what we do and tell others.”

When a 91-year-old man in Stourbridge had his home broken into in April, Mac Security Systems was part of the community that rallied around him. The team donated and installed an alarm system for free, ensuring the man felt safe again.

“Our reward was seeing a smile on his face and receiving a heartfelt thank you,” said Matt. “He had been sleeping with his hearing aid in but now he can sleep in the knowledge his home is protected properly”.

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