Vaping, vandalism and villainy have become growing concerns for many organisations. Here are a couple of examples, and a couple of potential solutions that will help more than simple signs.
“Can’t Use the School Loo”
According to our teacher panel, kids are not hanging out in the school bathrooms as much these days. When I heard this, I started to smile until a teacher said that it’s because “lots of unpleasantness takes place in the loo”. Kids – some so young it’s shocking – are using this former sanctuary to vape nicotine and marijuana products. Harder drugs sometimes make an appearance, along with vodka and edibles.
Often, the other kids don’t want to use the facilities while the john is masquerading as a “drug den”. Sometimes its’ because they are simply (simply?!) intimidated; other times it’s because they are being bullied in the bathroom, even at recess or between classes.
You can imagine my surprise when I learned that one of our partners, Verkada, says almost the identical thing at the beginning of its “Give Bathrooms Back to Students” e-book. In it you’ll find strategies to “curb vaping, vandalism and bullying in school restrooms”.
You might also want to read the white paper discussing how schools can address the growing problem of bathroom safety through the use of sensors, one of its solutions. Some of its other options can help reduce the likelihood of students deliberately destroying school property, in the hopes of going viral as they participate in online challenges.
What About Healthcare Facilities and Other Organisations?
With lots of family members in healthcare (doctors, nurses, phlebotomists, orderlies, radiologists, PTs and OTs, and even one hospital CEO), I often hear the same trials and tribulations associated with working in a hospital or clinic today.
I have seen patients shivering in their wheelchairs in winter, to get their nicotine fixes. So… I shouldn’t have been surprised when I heard everyone complaining about the pot and nicotine vaping that happens in their facilities, usually in the bathrooms (public and patient ensuites). I shouldn’t have been surprised but I was – just as I was to hear a senior executive saying the problem was rampant in some of their manufacturing plants, too.
The solution mentioned above can help – and has other applications, too.
Among Verkada’s various environment-related options: The SVII. This solution is a collection of embedded sensors that simultaneously measures air quality, temperature, humidity, motion and noise. It allows you to monitor environmental changes in your physical space and receive alerts according to the parameters you set, so you can respond promptly and appropriately.
If you link a camera with each sensor, you will also have visibility into the event, and can readily investigate what triggered the increased Vape Index reading. The cameras also let you use the system to monitor for vandalism and other villainy.
If you’d like to learn more, please read Verkada’s “Environmental Sensors – A User Guide for Vaping & Smoking Detection”. Or feel free to contact us at [email protected] or call us at 416.429.0796 or 1.877.238.9944 (toll free).
We look forward to hearing from you and, in the meantime, wish you and yours a very Happy Canada Day for tomorrow!
