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How People Counters Save Time, Money and Staff

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Accurately monitoring foot traffic through your facility helps you make better, more informed decisions. Through dedicated and sophisticated software, you can accurately monitor your foot traffic and make the necessary changes within your organization to save money and time, manage facilities more effectively, direct your staff and take advantage of traditional marketing strategies.

People counting can assist with many aspects of your facility management, such as infrastructure, staffing, hygiene facilities, resources and equipment. Most importantly, it helps you ensure your facility is running smoothly and at optimum efficiency and profitability. Make wise choices with robust visitor traffic counting software — learn about it here.

Libraries

Installing a people counting system in your library can have many benefits. Many libraries are reaping the rewards from this software by using it to save money, justify the library’s existence and improve library services. Some advantages include:

Recording the total headcount in the facility at any given time.
Reporting metrics such as visitors per hour, day, week, month or year.
Discovering which areas of the library are most popular.
Reducing queues.
Discovering which days and times are the busiest and improving staffing and service during those periods.
Monitoring paths visitors take through the facility.
Understanding and monitoring the library’s circulation rate to customize the visitor experience.

Most of the benefits listed above aim at improving an individual’s experience in the library. Libraries have to prove their worth every time technology evolves, as people often see them as redundant. By using monitoring software such as a people counter, you can customize the library experience.

You can achieve this by having more staff during busy times to avoid queues and frustration and supplying more information and books that people find interesting based on the library’s busy sections. Understanding the patterns and habits of library visitors can help you plan ahead and save money on staffing and resources people don’t necessarily use often, increasing your efficiency within the college.

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College Entrances

The university entrance is probably one of the busiest places at a school at any point in time. This entrance provides entry to every lecturer, student, staff member and delivery person, plus anyone else visiting the university for the day.

Tracking the number of people at the college entrance during certain times of the day helps ensure the college has the proper funding and organization to keep everything running smoothly. Funding may seem worlds apart from entrance monitoring, but with people tracking software, you can monitor daily foot traffic and wear and tear. This knowledge helps you propose budgets for infrastructure improvements and maintenance, as you already know what physical changes that area will experience within the next semester or year.

Entrance tracking can also ensure colleges have enough staff members present during peak times and fewer faculty during slower periods. You can decrease staff costs by avoiding unnecessary over-staffing throughout the day.

Different college departments can also adapt their physical marketing strategies accordingly — like hanging up posters — and market to the right people at the right time. Students may be more likely to remember the advert and take action on it if they feel like it was tailored to them. You can then adapt your marketing to make your promotions translate to traffic.

Large amounts of data can be collected through entrance halls, and it becomes easier to do profiling of various demographics for marketing purposes. This information is also easy to present to key shareholders at a glance, as the software will provide users with charts and graphs to display the information collected.

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colleges are more than just education centers

On-Campus Cafes and Restaurants

Colleges are more than just educational centers — they become a place of entertainment, food, socialization and fitness for their students. Learners will spend more time at their college studying, researching and socializing with their friends if it is an enjoyable place. With campus occupancy counters, you can see whether your students are spending their money on food and coffee at your facility as opposed to somewhere else.

A big part of keeping your students at your food facilities is improving their experience. If they have a great time, don’t have to wait in queues, enjoy the food and coffee and receive great service, they are less likely to leave campus and enjoy their time somewhere else.

To make your college or university a place your learners enjoy, it is important to customize certain aspects of it. With people counting software, it is easy to monitor your peak times and provide adequate numbers of staff during those periods. You can monitor which days are busiest compared to other days based on the menu or available specials. This information can help you understand your customers better and point out exactly what they like and dislike.

Most learners these days spend their time on their laptops completing homework, researching and studying. People counting software lets you observe busy times and prepare your infrastructure for higher engagement by upgrading the Wi-Fi to handle high demand and ensuring there are enough charging points around the restaurant.

When everyone is able to plug in and log on, they’ll be more likely to spend their time in the cafe or restaurant and eat and drink more. This improvement is great for budgeting and can become a very profitable part of your institution.

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On-Campus Gyms

Fitness is a part of the college experience many students focus on. Exercise can be a stress reliever for many people, and gyms offer a place for individuals to work out and feel good about themselves. Tailoring the gym experience for students is just as important as personalizing any other location on campus. No one likes standing in queues for a machine or being unable to stretch properly because the gym is too full.

By monitoring the amount of traffic going in and out of the gym at certain times of the day, you can adjust staffing to ensure there are enough staff members during busy and quiet times, which helps you save costs. Knowing your gym’s capacity also lets you make equipment adjustments as needed. You may realize some machines are hardly ever used, or there isn’t enough of a certain machine type to accommodate every visitor. Understanding what does and doesn’t work helps you stay on top of machine hygiene and efficiency.

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Get a Free Quote for Traf-Sys People Counting Software

The benefits of people counting software cover every inch of your college campus. By tracking the number of people in and around your facilities, you can focus more on providing a tailored experience and providing students with a comfortable and accommodating place of learning. Plus, you can do all this while still cutting costs and making the most of your marketing strategies.

To start putting our custom solutions to good use, contact Traf-Sys today for a free quote.

How to Improve College Campuses With People Counters

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College is for more than academics — students and faculty bustle around cafeterias, dorms and sports facilities all over campus. Knowing the number of people that occupy a certain space at any given time of the day or week can help determine staffing and cleaning schedules.

If you’re preparing to welcome students and faculty back to your college campus this year, improve your campus space with people counters. People counters provide valuable data about daily traffic to areas of your campus, which you can use to enhance campus life for both students and faculty.

Hotspot Monitoring in Various Locations

People counters allow you to monitor hotspots where foot traffic is regularly high. Areas like libraries, on-campus cafes or restaurants and gyms are commonly crowded during specific times of the day. With people counters in these hotspots, faculty and staff can use the data to effectively attend to and clean these areas and even set maximum capacities to keep the campus community healthy.

Libraries

Libraries have become more than just shelves of books. These days, you can find endless physical and digital resources in these buildings, especially on college campuses. As a result, both students and faculty frequently access libraries for materials for classes. However, college libraries can also be a haven, offering quiet spaces to get work done, collaborate on group projects or apply to internships and jobs.

People counters in a library can track the number of people entering and moving about the library space, offering you accurate daily visitor counts and a better sense of the most occupied areas of the library. This knowledge allows you to serve your campus community better. Essentially, you can determine areas where traffic could flow more effectively so you can make changes to the layout to improve your visitors’ experience.

On-Campus Cafes and Restaurants

On-campus cafes and restaurants are consistently high-traffic areas, particularly on big campuses. Using people counters in these areas of campuses is essential for determining the busiest times of the day. Knowing the specific times when students and faculty commonly eat in these spaces and the length of time they spend there will be valuable information to you.

Having this information can allow you to adequately staff the high-traffic cafes to help serve patrons more efficiently. You’ll also be able to determine the most convenient times for cleaning and resetting tables. When you understand how the campus community uses the cafe and restaurant spaces, you can create dining layouts that make the most of the space to improve visitors’ overall experiences.

Gyms and Sports Facilities

Gyms and sports facilities on campus are often the hosts of sports events and special programs because they provide large amounts of space for crowds to gather. People counters can help you identify peak hours of operation, which staff can use when scheduling gym classes, programs and other events. If you have a particularly popular course or program that draws large crowds, you can use this data to determine if it’d be beneficial to offer more than one session.

People counter data helps you prevent overcrowding, which will improve your gym members’ experience. Gym facilities also require frequent cleaning as occupants leave or move to other areas of the facility. Monitoring high-traffic areas of the gym can help you determine how often cleaning should occur — and with more sensors in place, you can learn when gym-goers leave an area, helping ensure staff clean the equipment before the next use.

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Benefits of People Counters for Campuses

Implementing people counters into your college campus facilities will benefit you and the campus community. These sensors can help administrators monitor occupancy limits and schedule usage-based cleaning to keep students and staff safe upon returning to campus.

Colleges can benefit from people counters for the following reasons:

1. Identify Peak Hours

People counters are beneficial in determining when people use your facilities the most. This data will benefit you and your college community because it allows you to better prepare the area for high volumes of people. You may need to adjust your hours of operation to accommodate more people and their availability. People counters can be key in helping to determine these needs.

2. Determine Staffing Needs Using Popular Times

Once you use people counters to identify peak hours, you can then determine what times may require more or fewer staff members. Your facilities will operate more efficiently when enough employees can staff them. Using this data to schedule your staff can also be more cost-efficient, as you can save hourly wages at times when you don’t need as much staffing.

3. Schedule Cleaning

With increased sanitation needs across campuses, maintenance workers may find it more challenging to determine which areas need more attention than others. People counters can be beneficial in helping you assess high-traffic areas within each facility, allowing cleaning staff to better focus their efforts on the areas they need to clean most often. Using this data to schedule usage-based cleaning will save you and your staff time and resources. Regularly and consistently cleaning hotspots also ensures the health and safety of the campus community.

4. Set Occupancy Limits

People counters offer an accurate way to track the number of visitors at any given moment. This knowledge can be especially helpful in setting and maintaining occupancy limits in your facilities. Keeping a manual tally can be unreliable, time-consuming and takes a staff member away from other tasks. People counters offer you an efficient way to collect this data.

5. Use Data in Funding Requests

College campuses often struggle to receive funding for their facilities. For example, academic libraries receive less than two cents of every dollar that goes to higher education. You can use the data from the people counters around your campus facilities to help justify your need for more funding.

Contact Traf-Sys for a Free Quote

People counters are a valuable way to collect data about foot traffic through your campus facilities. Their benefits help you efficiently operate these facilities, improving the campus and the experience for students and staff. If you’re looking to implement people counters to benefit your college campus, Traf-Sys people counting systems are the solution you’re looking for.

Contact us today for a free quote or request more information to find out which of our people counting sensors could work for you.

How to Choose the Best Library Door Counters

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Libraries are essential resources in many communities. They serve as gathering spaces, a place to take classes and learn new skills, and a refuge for students who need a quiet place to study and pursue school projects. Libraries often operate on tight budgets, however, and must find the most efficient ways to deliver the best service for patrons. That’s where people counting technology comes in — and onetech asset that can make a significant impact is a library door counter.

A library door counter tallies each patron who comes through your library doors to help you understand traffic patterns, justify funding requests, and adjust staffing needs accordingly. These counters are designed in various ways, so take a good look at your library’s architecture to determine which door counter is right for you.

Why Use Door Counters for Libraries?

Libraries make books, resources, technology, and information available to everyone, including people who might not otherwise be able to afford access. But they are perpetually in need of funding to supplement the meager revenue they generate. College libraries, for example, receive less than 3% of the money spent on higher education, despite studies that link student achievement with having use of a well-staffed and well-funded library.

Funding requests are most successful when backed by hard facts that clearly demonstrate the need. Circulation information, such as the number of books checked out in a given period, does not provide an accurate or complete picture of library usage. Many people visit the library for other reasons, such as using the computers to do research, or bringing kids in for story time in the children’s section. Counting the number of patrons is a better measure than counting books checked out.

Some additional signs that you need a people counting system include the following:

Justifying project funding is a nightmare: As a nonprofit, with little to no revenue generation, libraries exist at the mercy of the communities they serve. Proving that you’re a vital and well-used resource in the community boils down to a numbers game.
Determining display effectiveness is impossible: With people counters positioned in zones that harbor different displays, you can monitor traffic trends overtime— and with each change of display— to see which display generated the most interest in library patrons.
Your circulation desk is frequently over or under staffed: People counters will allow you to pull reports and analyze traffic trends overtime. With determined traffic trends, you will be able to identify your busy and slow periods and schedule staff accordingly.

Benefits of Library Door Counters

Library door counters offer several benefits. First, they can help libraries make better business decisions. Budget cuts are an all-too-frequent occurrence, and they can reduce funding not only for materials but also for staffing and hours of operation. People counters provide data on which entrances and areas of the library get the heaviest use, and which times and days are the busiest. Knowing which areas experience the most traffic is helpful in deciding how to arrange resources such as exhibits, kiosks, or guest speakers. And seeing which resources are used most frequently can assist in deciding which lesser-used resources can be pruned when it’s time to tighten the belt.

Second, people counters can help libraries stay in compliance with state standards that govern such factors as labor percentages and technology usage. Library door counters provide the best detailed statistics to report so that state governments and taxpayers know how the money they provide is being spent.

Third, library door counters can help libraries make cases to administration to gain more funding. Across the country, public libraries have been enduring reductions in their operating revenue, even though circulation, program attendance, and computer use have all been on the rise. When they need to make a strong case for funding to continue providing those resources, libraries can use the data from their people counters as evidence of the demand.

Armed with traffic statistics, libraries can make appeals for additional resources and technology, such as an expanded computer lab with faster, high-capacity broadband Internet access to best meet patrons’ needs. Libraries can also petition for additional staffing and hours of operation by providing the numbers of patrons using the facility on a daily basis. The ability to clearly demonstrate necessity is the key to a successful funding proposal — and that’s what a people counter can do.

Horizontal vs. Overhead Counters

The type of doorway will influence the kind of people counter that best fits your needs. For narrow entrances, a door-mounted horizontal door counter will suffice. The horizontal door counter is the simplest of all people-counting systems. It functions by tallying every person who interrupts the infrared sensor beam by walking through the doorway. Generally speaking, only one person at a time can enter through a narrow, standard-size doorway, making the horizontal library door counter a suitable choice.

For larger entrances where multiple people can come and go at once, however, a horizontal door counter would provide an inaccurate traffic count, as two people entering and interrupting the sensor beam simultaneously would likely only be counted as one. For these wider doorways, a library door counter that’s mounted overhead would be a better option.

Overhead library door counters can use either thermal sensors — to pick up each entrant’s body heat — or video recording to count people entering the library. When deciding between the two types of overhead counters, it’s important to remember that video recording carries with it some surveillance and privacy concerns, as some of your patrons may feel entitled to have their privacy preserved.

Where to Put Your People Counters

Depending on the size of your library, you may benefit from having people counters distributed throughout your facility. For example, you might want to install people counters in the children’s reading section, the audio book area, or other spaces that experience high traffic. This will help you to determine when the highest volume of patrons visit these areas and schedule your library staff as needed.

You’ll also need to decide which type of people counter is best suited for each individual area. While your main entrance may only need a horizontal door counter, you might find overhead thermal sensors give you the best results in the children area or computer lab.

By evaluating the data provided by your library door counters, you’ll be able to understand which areas of your library need more or fewer staff members to manage and monitor patrons as well as the best placement for promotional book displays and other important materials.

How Software Can Help

Your library door counter is only as useful as the software that compiles and makes sense of all the data it collects. This user-friendly software gives you access — virtually in real time — to your traffic data via any internet-connected computer or mobile device. Use your software platform to generate reports that offer critical insights about your library traffic that can influence and inform your decision-making.

Door counters are becoming an important feature of the modern library facility. In choosing the library door counter that’s right for your institution, you’re poised to make objective, data-driven decisions on how best to serve your patrons and create the space your community needs. Contact a Traf-Sys representative today to learn how you can add people counting capabilities to your library.

How to Use Your Gift Shop as a Tool to Drive Foot Traffic

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Gift shops. You may consider them as a way to gain a little extra revenue from guests who come to “ooh” and “aah” at the fascinating exhibits in your museum, check books out of your library or to purchase university branded items from you student store but if you think like a retailer when it comes to what you stock and how you display it, you may just notice your gift shop becoming one of your most popular sources of extra revenue. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Swag

Have you considered that your gift shop could be a shopping destination on its own? You may not think that people are visiting your museum, college or library just to see the gift shop, but if you offer unique gift options that visitors find valuable, they may just make you’re their go to spot the next time they need to buy a great present for someone. Most people who visit you are already fans, so use that to your advantage and offer artistic décor and functional products that fit with your themes. For example, the Museum of Modern Art in NYC offers unique bookshelves inspired by art exhibits, and the Metropolitan Museum carries book ends modeled after the divine guardians of the Assyrian palace at Nimrud. Offering functional décor not only drives foot traffic, but it allows visitors to create their own artistic displays within their homes.

Flow

The popular and mysterious graffiti artist known as “Banksy” released a documentary titled “Exit through the Gift Shop” in 2010. While his documentary focused on the inauthenticity of one man’s street art, the title came from a common practice within museums and theme parks. It’s not hard to see why this practice is so common. Control the flow of foot traffic within your space and make the gift shop the natural final destination of your visitors. If you place your shop at the end of your tour, circulation desk or museum experience, you encourage additional purchases because the souvenirs and products you offer reinforce their visitor experience in their minds, making them likely to remember you for their next shopping trip.

Local Artists and Vendors

What better way to drive foot traffic and promote talent than to showcase and sell the work of local artists, craftsmen and small businesses in your gift shop? Featuring products locally made and sourced is a great way to invest in your own community. Many small vendors are happy to have their products featured in your gift shop as a way to showcase their products, especially small online merchants who may not have a brick and mortar presence.

eCommerce

In season 2 of the hit show “Stranger Things,” one of the characters dons a purple hoodie from the Science Museum of Minnesota, complete with a brontosaurus skeleton on the front and the words “Thunder Lizard.” Fans of the show were eager to get their hands on the shirt, and the science museum saw an increase in foot traffic because of it, but many weren’t able to make it all the way to Minnesota. Luckily, they had an eCommerce site (which subsequently crashed from all the online traffic after the episode aired). By showcasing your best-selling souvenirs online, out-of-town fans will be able to purchase them. Not only that, but you can do cross promotions on your online store with specials you are running in your physical gift shop to drive traffic to your location.

Utilize People Counters to Improve Your Gift Shop

Measuring foot traffic gives you valuable data so you can determine how many of your visitors make it to the gift shop. This provides valuable insight when making data driven business decisions. Putting people counting solutions in the entrance and in different areas around your gift shop can tell you what the natural flow of foot traffic is within your gift shop, and where your most popular displays are. Use this data to create new display areas, order inventory, and re-vamp your current souvenirs. If the data reveals that you aren’t getting as much traffic in your gift shop as you would like, you can determine what needs to be changed and measure the progress.

You are probably fantastic at creating memorable experiences for your visitors that keep them coming back, but if your gift shop isn’t putting its best foot forward, your visitors may be left with nothing to show for their trip. By thinking like a retailer and using your gift shop as a tool to drive foot traffic, you can give your visitors a way to commemorate their visit and bring in new visitors with who may have never made the trip otherwise.

If you are looking to increase your foot traffic to your museum, library or university and are ready to start gaining valuable data to aid you in your business decisions, contact us today to discuss the ways we can help.

How to Measure Attendance at an Event & Count Crowds

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You invested a lot of time and money planning, marketing, and holding your special event. After all is said and done, you may feel good about the outcome—it seemed like a success. Or was it? Your true marker for positive return on investment hinges on reliable large crowd counting to determine the actual number of people that attended your new store opening, a guest author engagement at your library or a visiting exhibit at your museum.

Using estimated counts or cruder methods of crowd size measuring do not give you the important data you need to determine success. Use these processes to get the answer you really need: The actual number of attendees.

How to Measure Attendance at an Event

Events that are enclosed and have defined entrance areas with a place to mount an overhead sensor in a doorway or entryway are the easiest to manage. Thermal-based and video-based sensor people counting devices are perfect for these situations and for large crowd counting.

Thermal devices monitor body heat signatures to collect data while video people counters have the ability to filter strollers and children, as well as tight groups of people entering at the same time, making it ideal for counting people at an event where you experience a heavier volume of foot traffic than you normally experience.

These people counting technologies can achieve a 95% to 98% accuracy rate so you can feel confident in your counts, regardless of the number of people that are attending your special event.

Estimating Attendance at Open Venues

Public events that are not ticketed such as community festivals, college days or outdoor fundraisers require a different method of large crowd counting and are a little trickier. However, you can also use thermal and video counting technology in these cases with a little creativity.

First, to estimate attendance at an event, you will have to define a specific entrance area where all the guests must pass through. Second, you need to build something to give you overhead mounting capability for your people counting technology. Generally, this can be easily accomplished with a simple trussing system.

The extra effort is worthwhile when you consider how difficult it is to count the number of people at a free or public event. If your event is an annual occurrence, then understanding your attendance rates for budgeting and funding purposes is even more crucial.

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Use People Counters to Count Attendance at Events

Using thermal-based or video-based sensors to gather accurate date and analyzing that data can provide information for journalistic or even historic records. Additionally, accurate large crowd counting arms you with ammunition to procure future funding by showing concrete proof of ROI. This hard data can also help determine staffing needs for future events, whether you need extra security or more volunteers to make things run smoothly.

Whatever your venue, understand that an accurate count of the extra people you bring into your space because of a special event is going to provide you valuable insight for planning future events.

Improve your next event with the help of Traf-Sys people counters. Request a free quote today!

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The Pros and Cons of a Video-Based Sensor

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Overhead video-based sensors are an excellent way to track your customers entering and moving about your retail stores. This data can help you chart shopping trends or determine your staffing needs based on the busiest times of day. Using video-based sensors can also enhance security and theft prevention.

The video-based Eclipse people counter uses advanced image recognition technology that records highly accurate data under a wide set of conditions, such as high traffic areas, variable lighting, and wide entrance areas.

The Advantages of Video-Based People Counter

Consider these ways a video-based sensor for people counting can benefit your business:

Using multiple units, you have the ability to cover wide areas, which is beneficial for larger stores and shopping malls.
There is support for remote video capture when using an Internet-connected laptop or tablet.
In the event of a power outage, data can be safely stored within the solution’s flash memory, saving up to 10 days’ worth of data.
Video-based sensor counters can adjust quickly to changes in lighting and temperature.
These solutions have the ability to filter carts, children, and strollers, providing you a more accurate count of actual shoppers versus total number of people in the store.
It’s easy to upgrade these solutions so they are always running the latest software version.

When Video-Based People Counters May Not Be the Right Solution for You

Even though video-based people counters offer a wide variety of advantages, there are situations in which they may not be the optimal choice. Here are some additional facts to consider:

Areas of your facility affected by shadows, complex backgrounds or varying light levels may impact the counting accuracy of a video-based counter.
The capital investment and time and labor cost for installation is sometimes greater than for thermal sensor or infrared beam people counting systems.

Which System is Better?

Business owners and managers may question whether a video imaging or a thermal imaging people counter is the better choice. The fact is, both systems have their advantages. A thermal imaging counter system is superior for obtaining accurate counts, whereas overhead video-based sensors give you “eyes” to verify the numbers or filter to count only the demographics you are looking for. Speak an experienced people counting solution provider to determine which is the right system for your business.

Traf-Sys is dedicated to providing solutions that can meet the needs of any business or organization that needs reliable, accurate people counting data. Learn more about the Eclipse video-based sensor system here.

Reasons to Choose Thermal Imaging People Counters

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There are many people counting products available in the retail business market (e.g., door-mounted horizontal infrared beams, overhead video, thermal imaging, etc.), and not every type is right for every application. For malls and larger retail stores, museums, and libraries, the smart choice is a thermal imaging people counter designed to accurately monitor foot traffic numbers and pattern and to provide insights into customer or patron habits. Traf-Sys designed its Gazelle series thermal imaging systems to meet the challenges of these applications and deliver the best coverage and data collecting accuracy in the market today.

Here are six reasons thermal imaging people counters are the best investment for your business.

1. Foot Traffic Data from Thermal People Counters

A thermal imaging people counter provides more accurate foot traffic data when compared with less expensive systems such as infrared beam door monitors. Using infrared radiation detection, it is triggered by body heat, and can determine exactly how many people enter your store. Our Gazelle IP features state-of-the-art thermal counting technology and also provides you remote configuration capabilities.

2. Variable Lighting Conditions

Whether your establishment has bright sunlight or darker, lower lighting conditions, a thermal imaging people counter will be able to accurately determine traffic data because it does not depend on ambient light. The infrared sensors monitor temperature changes only, so the amount of light is irrelevant. This is especially beneficial in rapidly changing lighting conditions such as day-to-night outdoor monitoring. Our Gazelle 2 90° Wide-Angle Format people counting sensor is designed for highly accurate counts in these conditions. It also provides a 40% greater detection area than standard counters.

3. Accuracy Over an Extended Area

Larger facilities such as major retail businesses, university libraries, and museums have a more complex layout but still need an accurate people count over a large area for proper data analysis. Using multiple thermal imaging solutions, such as our Gazelle DualView or Gazelle IP along with Gazelle IP Node and Gazelle Relay Output for areas where a wired connection is impractical, provide counting capability over extended areas.

4. Easy Installation

Do you prefer a system that can be installed well out of the way? Thermal people counters usually are ceiling mounted — though they can be affixed to a wall with brackets if preferred — and you can install them between 11.5 feet and 27 feet from the ground. Discrete and unobtrusive, thermal people counters are a great solution for businesses looking to keep their traffic-tallying technology tucked away.

5. Array of Sizes of Thermal People Counters

While some people counters are limited in terms of where they can be installed effectively, thermal people counters perform well in entrances that are expansive or narrow, again because they rely on heat mapping to assign a count to each person in your doorway. In especially wide entrances, you can network together several thermal people counters to ensure that you’re achieving the most accurate count possible.

Thermal people counters also separate individuals entering from those who are exiting so you better understand the comings and goings of your traffic patterns.

5. Benefits of Thermal Imaging People Counter vs. Video Counters

Business owners and facility managers may question whether a video imaging or a thermal imaging people counter is the better choice. Each system has its own advantages, a thermal imaging counter system is superior for obtaining accurate counts and video gives you “eyes” to verify the numbers or filter to count only the demographics you are looking for.

Why debate? A solution that integrates both technologies will provide you with the best of both worlds. For example, in a retail application where you want to consider only adult consumers who enter a store, you can opt for our Gazelle DualView that includes thermal detection technology along with video that enables verification.

Choose Traf-Sys Thermal Imaging People Counters

Thermal imaging people counters are clearly the best choice for retail stores or other facilities that have high customer traffic, larger coverage areas, and challenges with lighting. Our Gazelle series incorporates this technology into solutions that can meet the needs of any business or organization that needs reliable, accurate people counting data.

Click to learn more about our Gazelle series or request a quote for additional information.

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2018 Seasonal Library Program Planning Guide

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As you strategize your library programming schedule for the year use this seasonal library program planning guide to aid your efforts. We’ve compiled a month-by-month list of a few holidays, national days and awareness months for you to consider. Once you use this library program planning guide to get organized and outline a solid schedule, don’t forget to have the means in place to measure the success of your programming efforts with technology like people counters.

By using our monthly 2018 seasonal library program planning guide you can:

Plan your entire year of programming for your library
Create a marketing and social media plan for each program
Finalize your requests for funding

January

National Blood Donor Month
Every two seconds in the U.S. someone needs blood. Partner with your local American Red Cross to make your library a mobile blood donation center and help the community, as well as draw patrons to your branch.

National Mentoring Month
The impacts of mentoring are far reaching. Consider making a special day where mentors and mentees can participate in special activities together at your library.

Holiday to Highlight: Martin Luther King, Jr Day

February

African American History Month
Honor the accomplishments of African Americans and their contributions to our culture from art to music to literature.

World Read Aloud Day
There is something special about hearing books read aloud. Children love story time and listening to books read aloud but it’s not just for kids. According to a report by the Audio Publishers Association twenty four percent of Americans enjoy listening to audio books.

Holiday to Highlight: Groundhog Day

March

National Women’s History Month
With so many amazing and strong women authors, leaders, civil rights advocates, athletes, scientists, doctors, philanthropists, and inventors throughout history it will be easy to devote an entire month to women.

Read Across America
Celebrated on the venerable Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2. This national day of reading awareness and motivation has become a favorite of children across the country.

Holiday to Highlight: St. Patrick’s Day

April

National Autism Awareness Month
Make your library an autism spectrum-friendly center for the month of April with hands-on displays, interactive stations and reading visuals.
National Library Week
Encourage the community to showcase your library, and don’t forget to show appreciation for your volunteers and staff this week as well. This year’s theme is “Libraries Lead.”

Holiday to Highlight: Arbor Day

May

National Foster Care Month
Give foster children, foster families and foster agencies extra special attention this month. Consider highlighting famous writers and people who were foster children.

Children’s Book Week
With the goal to make every child a reader, promoting this special week should be an easy win for your library.

Holiday to Highlight: Memorial Day

June

Hunger Awareness Month
Turn your library branch into a donation center to support the local food kitchens in your area.

National Selfie Day
On June 21 encourage selfies at your library and ask visitors to hashtag your branch. This is a great way to engage your volunteers, staff, and visitors through social media.

Holiday to Highlight: Flag Day

July

National Ice Cream Month
Invite patrons into your library, out of the July heat to enjoy some air conditioning and ice cream.

International Day of Friendship
The United Nations designated this day as a way to bring humanity together through friendship.

Holiday to Highlight: Fourth of July

August

American Artist Appreciation Month
Line your walls with featured American artists and invite visitors to become American artists themselves by offering workshops for painting, sculpture and drawing.

National Crayon Collection Month
Help collect school supplies for the kids headed back to school and feature fun coloring events during this month.

Holiday to Highlight: Book Lover’s Day

September

National Hispanic Heritage Month
A people rich in culture there are so many ways your library can incorporate Hispanic heritage into your programming from food to music to poetry.

National Recovery Month
Celebrate those who have overcome addiction this month. With the staggering drug epidemic putting a positive message into the community as well as bringing awareness through your programs could connect you with many of your visitors.

Holiday to Highlight: Labor Day

October

Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Think pink this month and use your library to offer breast cancer awareness education and activities this month.

National Reading Group Month
Invite book clubs to hold their meetings at your library this month and offer special benefits such as guest author speakers.

Holiday to Highlight: Halloween

November

Native American Heritage Month
Highlight your local Native American tribe in November. If you have reservations near you, invite them to participate in programming throughout the month.

National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month
Studies have shown that even late stage Alzehimer’s patients can usually read. Plus, reading is one of the leading activities that may help prevent the disease by exercising and keeping the mind active.

Holiday to Highlight: Veteran’s Day

December

Write a Friend Month
Turn your library into a writing center and celebrate the almost lost art of writing letters.

Pearl Harbor Day
Highlight World War II history and the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December.

Holiday to Highlight: Winter Solstice

Plan for Success for Your Library
Whether you are looking for new programming ideas or just need help organizing your thoughts, we hope the 2018 seasonal library program planning guide will help you have a successful year and don’t forget to measure your program success using people counting technology.