CentralSuplec relies on Technis’ connect mat for sanitary gauges

Born from the merger in 2015 of Supélec and École Centrale Paris, the CentraleSupélec engineering school normally welcomes many students, researchers and teachers on its Paris-Saclay campus. During the pandemic, teaching shifted remotely and school staff went to telework. The administration has started to prepare for the reopening of the premises, planning to accommodate a limited number of people on site in order to guarantee good health conditions. For this purpose, the school used the floor counting system offered by Technis.

“Even before the publication of the ministerial instructions, we had launched a reflection on the means to be implemented to manage the flow of people”, explains Thomas Renais, director of real estate and work environment at CentraleSupélec. Its department of 70 employees manages all the resources made available to teachers and learners, from maintenance and works to safety and security. To ensure proper compliance with the sanitary gauges, the team had to find a way to monitor in real time the number of people entering and leaving buildings. The issue turned out to be more complex than expected: the campus has four large buildings, with a total area of ​​around 120,000 m². To resolve this challenge, Thomas Renais’ department has chosen to leave only one access point, closing the others in order to be able to concentrate the metering resources on this one, equipped with the Technis solution.

A system that is easy to install

“We were already familiar with Technis’ counting mat, which is deployed in several establishments similar to ours, such as the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne,” says Thomas Renais. CentraleSupélec had already been able to test the solution during one-off events, such as student evenings or open days for companies. In order to be able to welcome the public again as soon as the confinement was lightened, the school therefore decided to install the mat and the associated mobile application, Technis Counting. According to Thomas Renais, the solution had the advantage of being easy to install, an advantage in view of the logistical effort required to put in place the other measures (beaconing, filtering, plexiglass or even the provision of hydroalcoholic gel and masks). In addition, it turned out to be less expensive than integrating metering software into the video protection system in place.

Two floor counting systems have been installed, protected by passive mats which mark the entry and exit paths. These systems are linked to the mobile application, giving real-time visibility of the number of people to the security guards who control access. After a first rental phase, the school decided to acquire the equipment in order to perpetuate its use and to consider other applications outside the health crisis, in particular to meet the safety requirements related to the capacity of buildings welcoming the public.