As Australia starts relaxing some of its restrictions, there is a big focus on ensuring a second wave of infections doesn’t force the country into lockdown again.

The closure of many businesses has already been a big blow to the economy. And further shutdowns, particularly once operations have resumed, will hit the economy even harder.

Since March, Australia has defended itself fairly well against COVID-19. We now have greater COVID-19 testing capacity and a government-endorsed tracing app for individuals.

But the detection of a single COVID-19 case can force an affected business to close its doors again — and even only a temporary closure can be costly for many businesses, particularly small ones.

Companies that were initially affected ranged from construction sites, one being the Melbourne Square Project, to corporate offices.

But Australian start up LeashIt says it has a solution — an asset tracking tech called LeashView — that can help prevent the need for businesses to close.

 

How does it work?

LeashView works through Bluetooth based tags worn by employees and attached to portable equipment.

These are all connected to a private secured server only available to administrators.

“If one of their staff lets them know they’ve been infected they [businesses] can go to the analytics and it gives them tracing of where they were in the business and everyone they were in contact with,” CEO Tony Lotzof told Stockhead.

Monthly tracking costs are only $2 per tag, tags cost between $5 and $20, and each room costs $80.

Lotzof pointed to the situation where a 50-floor construction site had to be shut down and 2,500 staff sent home.

“We could have fitted out that 50-floor construction site in two days,” he explained.

The company originally developed an individual item tracker after one of the LeashIt founders had their bike stolen.

The tech gradually evolved into the broad asset tracking solution it is today.

While it may not be able to completely prevent COVID-19 from impacting employee output, LeashIt says its product enables a company to minimise the extent of the impact.

“Once businesses open the doors they want them to keep open,” Lotzof said.

“With LeashView they can isolate just the people they came into direct contact with but the rest of staff can ensure the business stays open.”

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