One of South Africa’s most popular family restaurants is rolling out a new security measure to ensure that the children who are checked into its play area are kept safe at all times. The technology is being launched in partnership with security company Fidelity ADT.
The project was first piloted in May 2019, at the Spur outlet in Sunninghill. During the pilot, Sensormatic technology was used to ensure the children checked into the play area are kept within a safe zone.
“The proof of concept was so successful and well-received by patrons that the initiative has been rolled out to 29 other Spur franchises around the country,” said Ilze Van Eck, retail lead at Fidelity ADT, to BusinessTech. “This could not have come at a better time considering the increase in incidents involving children being reported on of late.”
Upon entry into the play area, each child’s clothing will be tagged by a childminder for that specific area. The tag will not damage the child’s clothing, and will also not hurt the child during attachment. The tag can only be removed once the child’s family checks them out and leaves with the child.
“If a child attempts to leave the restaurant without his or her parents an alarm activates,” van Eck said.
Van Eck hopes this technology will go a long to ensure that restaurants and other venues that are frequented by children are secured and remain safe.
“The technology has been used for years in retail stores so it made perfect sense to introduce it into the restaurant industry. We believe that other restaurant chains will follow suit as there is increased demand for security, especially when it comes to children,” she said.
Picture: Pixabay