​Company has planned to install two types of equipment to detect high body temperature ? an investment of 7.5 million Brazilian Reais

In the coming weeks, Vale will install 81 thermal cameras at the entrance of its facilities in Brazil to identify people with high body temperature, one of the symptoms of the new coronavirus (Covid-19). Employees or visitors in this condition will not be allowed to enter and will be contacted by a trained professional from Vale, who will provide information about the disease and send them home or to a health center.

The cameras are being imported from China and Sweden. The amount invested totals 7.5 million Brazilian Reais. The first batch of equipment will arrive in Belo Horizonte by the end of March, then it will be distributed to other states. The second batch arrives in mid-April.
Two types of camera will be installed. Those from the first batch are identical to the equipment used at airports worldwide, such as Dubai, Moscow and Kuala Lumpur. They will be positioned on a tripod at the entrance of Vale facilities. All employees and visitors shall stand in front of the equipment that checks for the body temperatures by checking the tear ducts.

The second batch of cameras will be positioned at a fixed point at the entrance of the facilities, as common surveillance equipment, to film people. With the use of Artificial Intelligence, the camera searches for different points on the faces of these people and identifies the most accurate point to check the temperature.

For both cameras, the reading lasts around two seconds, and the margin of error is 0.5 degree centigrade.

Improving Prevention

Vale has been taking all measures required to reinforce the prevention of Covid-19 in its workplaces and where it operates. The company has focused on reducing the administrative and operational teams in the units to keep only essential services.

In addition to the remote work implemented since March 16 for employees whose functions are eligible for home office and employees from risk groups - as established by the Ministry of Health -, the company has taken preventive and proactive actions to avoid crowding, such as reducing the number of people at the entrance of the facilities, buses, and restaurants.Vale reinforces its compliance with the health and safety protocols established by the authorities and agencies of each of the countries in which it operates and is monitoring the situation.