Sam’s Club kiosk makes associate health screening touchless
The solutions that Sam’s Club has implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic aren’t just limited to customer-facing ones. In addition to building out its Scan & Go and curbside pickup offerings, the Bentonville, Ark.-based club retailer has created a touchless health screening kiosk for associates.
The kiosk allows employees to scan their badge to verify their identity and answer a questionnaire using hand motions. Then they scan their write to get a temperature check via a built-in infrared thermometer, making the entire process touch-free.
Sam’s Club product manager Ben Ellison and director of software engineering Ginese Colletti noted in a post on the company’s blog that the kiosk was created out of a need to conduct employee health screenings safely and efficiently. When third-party options wouldn’t meet its needs, the company realized that it had the capability to create a fitting solution.
The first version, Ellison said, was created by software engineer Ryan Giovacchini at home using his 3-D printer. Since then, the kiosk has gone through more than a hundred iterations based on associate feedback and the need to protect sensitive health data.
“Few health screening options on the market are truly touchless,” Ginesse said. “We knew if we could create our own first-class screening technology and make our kiosk completely contactless, Sam’s Club would be able to lower risk of exposure for our associates, streamline the screening process and seamlessly grow the product.”