2021 United States Grand Prix, which took place over 56 laps of the 5.513-kilometre Circuit of The Americas in Austin on Sunday, October 24. The race weekend drew over 100,000 attendees per day to experience racing action, music, amusement rides and local cuisine.
F1 CASE STUDY
Connectus ensured a COVID-19 free experience for more than 100,000 visitors at the COTA Circuit in Austin, TX
Connectus ensured a COVID-19 free experience for more than 100,000 visitors at the COTA Circuit in Austin, TX
Connectus Global, an Alberta, Canada based digital transformation and geospatial intelligence company recently announced the revenue-generating deployment of 15 Thurapass entry stations at the Formula 1 Aramco United States Grand Prix held October 22-24, 2021, at the Circuit of The Americas (“COTA”) in Austin, Texas, as part of the Company’s reseller partnership with Austin based ThuraPass. The ThuraPass screening solution was used for hospitality suite entrances; the SI Sports Illustrated Club (or Chairman’s Club), Tower Club, Circuit Club and catering staff check-in at the world’s most prestigious motor racing competition and most popular annual sporting series. Food/beverage and catering staff were screened each day
before the event started.
Upon arrival, guests holding passes to enclosed hospitality areas and suites were asked to walk through the Thurapass Safe Entry Station to rapidly identify multiple symptoms of infectious diseases associated with COVID-19, displaying the result in the form of a red or green light. Guests receiving a red light was asked to take a self-administered rapid antigen test. The technology behind the Thurapass station was provided by Pre-dict Medix and Juice works events for logistics and fabrication of the units.
The stations were situated in four strategic areas of the compound to ensure when patrons were entering areas that require closer seating, and that they were symptom free and had displayed a COVID-19 test within the last 48 hours prior to entry.
What do the lights mean?
Red Light – A person had displayed symptoms that were outside of CDC recommendations for COVID-19 related manifestations including Red Eyes, Headache, Congestion, Fever, Cough, Exhaustion, Sweat Gland Activation. Additional Screening protocol required.
Green Light - A person displayed no symptoms and is free to enter the venue.
Sop Violation – This violation is detected when a person enters the screening station. This could be related to wearing glasses, wearing a hat, not centered in the screening station, atmosphere to dark to read the
persons facial features or could also mean that the machine needed to be calibrated.
Project by the Numbers
- Total Scans - 6158
- Red Lights 21
- SOP Violations - 854
- Percentage of Red Lights – Less Than 1%
- Percentage of Sop Violations – 14%
- Average Length of Scan – 2-3 Seconds
- Required Staffing – 12 Personnel
- Units On-site – 15
- Total Scanning Capacity / 360 Patrons Per Hour
- Total Scanning Throughput Capacity – 144,000 Patrons
The implementation of the ThuraPass Safe Screening Stations ensured that the event was a huge success, Connectus was able to offer the circuit of the Americas with enhanced confidence in the health and safety process while maintaining a low impact entry management process.
The Circuit of the Americas events including the Moto GP and the F1 races are both prestigious events that have a high range of experiences and ticketing options, to allow each patron to ensure the highest level of engagement from the events’ multiple day engagements.
While reviewing the data from the event it was established that the over all confidence of the solution was 99% with relative sensitivity of 98% with a 14% SOP violation rate and under 1% Red Light or additional screening requirement. Overall, we are certain that this technology will give greater confidence in large event screening for health symptoms as it relates to COVID-19 and other auto-immune or infectious disease use cases with similar symptoms of methods of detection.
Mike Anderson, CEO of Connectus Global, commented, “We were excited to be working with the COTA teams on their extended health and safety plans. The safety of patrons was the top priority of the organization and the steps they were taking to ensure a safe return to live events truly re-enforces them as leaders in the industry. It’s great to see how big data can inform decision making in this space.”
“The ThuraPass COVID-19 screening system gives peace of mind to fans entering enclosed spaces, ensuring that venue operations staff are not currently showing signs of infection,” said Michael Kirschner, Co-Founder at Uptown Sports Marketing. “It is the most efficient and cost-effective way to mitigate risk and provide a safe event.”
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification 3.426-mile (5.514 km) motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Prix, the IndyCar Classic, and the Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas, a round of the FIM Road Racing World Championship.
Connectus Global is a leading Alberta-based solutions provider for process automation, worker safety and location monitoring applications across industrial and business sectors. With an integrated suite of digital workforce management and business continuity systems, the company’s internationally deployed solutions work to improve industrial safety, operational efficiency, and crisis recovery planning. Connectus has offices in Calgary AB, Victoria BC, Houston TX, and Singapore to support their customers operations.