Tag: Sports

Tennessee Titans Turn to Evolv to ‘Get Obsessed’ About Fan Ingress Experience

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Staffing shortages and protocols associated with COVID-19 have created numerous challenges related to fan ingress at sports stadiums across the country, including at Nissan Stadium. The Business Operations team for the Tennessee Titans knew they need to make a change – and fast. Adam Nuse, VP of Business Operations for the Tennessee Titans said, “We started off wanting to address customer service, but we ended up scratching that and went directly to being fan obsessed. When Evolv appeared on our radar, it fell right in line with what we were trying to do from the standpoint of creating a fan-obsessed environment.” By enabling Evolv Express® the Titans were able to achieve the following:  

  • Doubled fan ingress satisfaction scores from 2.3 to 4.6 (out of 5.0)
  • Reduced security staff required to manage entry points from 280 to 94
  • Extended security perimeter 100 feet – catching 254 prohibited objects before they got to the security gate within a 3-game period

Case Study Video

Watch how the Tennessee Titan’s are “Getting Obsessed” over the fan experience with Evolv

Read the case study to learn how you can start your journey to a more secure and guest-friendly security screening solution in the sports industry today.

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View more of our case studies on our resources page here.

NFL Football, Fun & Families: The Human Side of Better Security

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 The pandemic has created a renewed desire for human connection and novel, fun experiences. We want to surround ourselves with friends, family, and a good dose of freedom from the many pressing concerns of life. For football fans everywhere, attending a live NFL game in one of the nation’s premier stadiums ranks right up there.   

And yet, fans have gotten used to staying at home and watching NFL games on a big screen TV, even though many prefer to get to a live game, feel the energy, and cheer for their team with other fans. Understandably, the fan experience has changed; everyone wants touchless everything from payments to ticketing to security screening.  

Stadium operators understand that the overall fan experience is more important than ever. There is a renewed focus on the end-to-end guest experience, including new security screening designed to help get families from their parked cars and into their stadium seats in a faster, safer, seamless, and touch-free way. The goal? Smooth sailing right into the experience fans came for.  

“Understandably, the fan experience has changed; everyone wants touchless everything from payments to ticketing to security screening.”

Transformed security that serves everyone 

 No one disputes the need for increased stadium safety and security in today’s heightened threat environment. As co-founder of Evolv, I’m incredibly aware of the devastating impact a single bad actor can have on thousands. It happens all too often. For those of us in the industry, we take seriously our role to protect the innocent masses from the bad few. And yet, I’m also a huge proponent of getting families and friends back into NFL stadiums without unnecessary concerns around weapons and dangerous people, and the anxiety created by crowds outside the stadium, long lines, and slow, manual, one-at-a-time high touch approaches to security screening. The desire is to return to worry-free fun.  

Our goal is to help make this happen. Evolv Express® is a weapons detection system that uses sensor technology and artificial intelligence (AI)—in combination with security ecosystem integrations—to help stadiums more quickly and effectively detect threats at an unprecedented speed and volume. Fans entering the venue can simply walk through the system at a natural pace with their family and friends. Meanwhile, targeted visual alerts are delivered onscreen to guard staff, helping them identify specific, potential threat items.  

Let’s take a closer look at how touchless physical screening for weapons detection creates advantages for three key audiences: security personnel, families, and stadium operators.  

The advantages for security staff  

The security staff at big stadiums have a taxing job. In most cases, they’re using older metal detection technology, visual bag checks, and hand-wanding technologies to screen thousands. By individually screening one person at a time, they are inadvertently causing security backups and long lines, which can turn happy fans into frustrated fans quickly. As the lines build twenty minutes before kickoff, the security team feels pressure to move people in faster. The manual processes can start to break down, and human errors can increase.   

“Using AI and advanced sensors to distinguish true weapon threats from everyday items essentially lets tech do what it does best and, by extension, lets the security staff do what they do best.”

When trained security personnel can easily screen 3,600 fans per hour instead of 360 with manual processes, they can let the technology do the work of initially screening everyone while they focus on what they’re trained to do; using their skill and expertise to interact with people, make judgement calls to resolve specific human issues, and address guests alerted by the system who may have a concealed weapon or pose a threat. Security staff job satisfaction increases because they’re doing human-to-human risk mitigation work, not manually checking every single person, the vast majority of whom pose no threat and are there simply to enjoy the gameday experience.  

Using AI and advanced sensors to distinguish true weapon threats from everyday items essentially lets tech do what it does best and, by extension, lets the security staff do what they do best.  

The advantages for families and fans 

Families who pay for that big stadium, NFL game day experience—rather than watching from home—choose it for the elevated experience, memories, shareable pics, and hopefully a win by their team. But if the experience at the perimeter checkpoint is more about waiting in a long, cold security line followed by a single-file screening process including bag check and metal detection (which might alert for a 9-year old’s cell phone) then the experience quickly becomes more about anxiety and entrance commotion—before they’ve even entered the stadium grounds.  

“Ingress tends to be one of the most congested experiences in live sports, which is especially annoying because it’s the fan’s first interaction with the venue on game days. That makes technology like Evolv Express even more important for the live sports industry coming out of the pandemic.” –Sports Business Journal, November 2021 

Juxtapose this scenario with no waiting and no lines, the ability to walk side by side as a family past touchless screening without breaking stride, and the guest experience is night and day. The family can focus on being together, the event, and all the bells and whistles the venue has created for an exceptional, whole-fan experience.  

Families can focus on what’s beyond security, not on the security. 

“Stadium operators want their fans to fully enjoy the experience and feel well-protected everywhere inside their venue. And, they want their security teams to have the assurance that they can reliably pinpoint and stop threats. This shouldn’t be a tradeoff.”

The advantages for venue operators 

Because NFL stadiums only host games weekly or bi-weekly during the season, and with the current nationwide labor shortage, it’s not easy for stadium operators to consistently find the trained security staff they need. Nissan Stadium, home to the Tennessee Titans, recently installed Evolv’s AI and sensor scanning technology and have seen their security screening personnel needs drop by 66%. This advantage enables them to move the staff who worked old machines to a wider venue perimeter to detect prohibited items and potential threats further out—increasing fan safety even more.  

As well, the AI built into the Express creates event analytics that stadium operators can use to more accurately plan and staff the busiest entrances. This allows them to balance staff with the expected throughput for each gate and deploy them in greater numbers inside the venue at specific high-traffic locations. They can evaluate the past arrival curves at each gate by time of day, weather, and type of event.   

Stadium operators want their fans to fully enjoy the experience and feel well-protected everywhere inside their venue. And, they want their security teams to have the assurance that they can reliably pinpoint and stop threats. This shouldn’t be a tradeoff.  

Creating a win-win experience   

When fans don’t notice security technology, that’s a game changer. When technology helps security personnel do what they’re trained to do, they are more effective and experience higher job satisfaction. When stadium operators can remove the biggest fan criticism of the game day experience and have access to planning data that helps them make smarter staffing decisions, they improve operational efficiencies and maximize their profitability. That’s a win all the way around.  

Digital Threshold Live powered by Evolv – “The Transformation of Security in Modern History”

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What is Digital Threshold Live?

Digital Threshold Live is a webcast series hosted by Evolv interviewing security leaders across a variety of verticals bringing you security trends, best practices and thought leadership to help you provide a safer tomorrow. It’s time we make everywhere safer.

Watch Digital Threshold Live powered by Evolv – “The Transformation of Security in Modern History”

How has the scope of security changed in 2021? What is driving this transformation? What do we see on the horizon for 2022? As you start to think about how to move your company down this path, listen to two security leaders about how they have started the security transformation.  

Four Key Takeaways

Transforming Your Business

Setting a clear vision for the company, establishing trust and confidence, and creating a safe environment for your employees to take risks are all necessary to transform your business.

Predictive Data

The pandemic has illustrated the need for security data to make business decisions. In preparation for all future unknowns, predictive data allows businesses to feel better prepared and be able to pivot faster.

Digital Transformation

Even in this age of digital transformation, security will always have a physical component, so when looking at successful security businesses, those that blend both physical security and data will be the most successful.

Audient Shift

We are seeing an audience shift in the industry with security decisions moving up to the c-suite level experts which are elevating the importance and influence of security professionals.

About STANLEY Security

STANLEY Security, a division of Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK), is a global provider of integrated security, health and safety solutions and services. With more than 200 locations, serving six continents, we’re trusted by customers across the globe for innovative solutions; seamless installation and integration; reliable maintenance; 24/7 monitoring; and insightful analytics. At the heart of our business is a vision for creating safer, healthier and more efficient environments – guided by a purpose to help the world progress.

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About Evolv

Evolv Technology provides touchless security screening that delivers safety without sacrificing the visitor experience. Evolv Express® spots concealed weapons and other threats using advanced digital sensors and artificial intelligence. It’s incredibly accurate and can screen up to 3,600 people per hour – 10 times faster than traditional metal detectors. Our customers include L.L. Bean, Six Flags Theme Parks, Wynn Las Vegas, and hundreds more.

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Report: Guns in America: A Survey on Public Violence, Anxiety, and Threats

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“Guns in America: A Survey on Public Violence, Anxiety, and Threats” is a new report that quantifies not only the impact Americans’ anxiety around guns has on their everyday lives but also demonstrates the choices they make – and the businesses they patronize – are affected by the level of risk or threat Americans perceive those places to have.  

Download this report to learn more about the mental toll gun violence, shootings, and terrorist events are having on Americans across the country. 

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eBook: Five Ways Data Improves Physical Security

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Summary

Access to digital information is changing the world dramatically, and physical security is no exception. Leading venues across sports, entertainment, theme parks, industrial workplaces, schools, healthcare, and places of worship can improve their security posture by leveraging better information about visitor curves, alarm rates, and threats across their venue during specific events … if they know where to find it.

Evolv Express® screens your visitors for weapons threats while they simply walk through at a natural pace. It also captures and presents critical information about visitor flow rates, alarm rates, and threat items in its companion, web-based application, Evolv Insights™— improving the data available for evidence-based decision-making across venue security and operations teams.

Fill out the form below to download the eBook and learn about five ways to utilize data to improve your physical security.

The New Standard for Workplace Safety

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One of the first responsibilities of an employer is to provide a safe workplace. It’s just the right thing to do. It’s also a good business decision, and a regulatory requirement (see OSHA Section 5). The COVID-19 pandemic has tested employers’ commitment to workplace safety. Many employers have passed the test and kept their people safe from the virus. However, as the virus yields to gradually rising vaccinations and workers return, they are being greeted by a second, often forgotten pandemic: workplace shootings. 

The COVID-19 pandemic initially seemed to reduce gun violence, including workplace shootings. Based on the tragic headlines below, it now seems clear that the temporary lull is over: 

It feels ominous and tragic to me that we’ve had four workplace shootings in the first two weeks of October. Historically, there has only been about one workplace mass shooting per year. A recent Ontic survey of 300 security leaders at large companies found that nearly a fifth of them (18%) have had to deal with an active shooter event at one of their sites in the first five months of 2021 alone. It feels like something has fundamentally changed in the threat environment. 

What’s driving the change? Experts recently interviewed by NPR theorize that potential shooters have had a lot of extra time to plan attacks during the pandemic and that there are more targets available now that more people are back at work in more locations. I would add a few additional important drivers: the prolonged stress and isolation of the pandemic, rising resistance to mask/vaccination mandates, the spread of extremist ideologies, acute political polarization, widespread social unrest, and widely available firearms. It has all combined to create a tragically perfect storm. The DHS and FBI summarized the threat their May 2021 joint report, saying “The greatest terrorism threat to the homeland we face today is posed by lone offenders, often radicalized online, who look to attack soft targets with easily accessible weapons. Many of these violent extremists are motivated and inspired by a mix of socio-political goals and personal grievances against their targets.” 

Given the current threat environment, how can employers best fulfill their duty of care in providing a safe workplace? The most obvious way to prevent shootings in the workplace is to keep guns out of the building in the first place. Most employers have policies to prohibit guns on private property, but they have largely been unwilling to enforce their policies through weapons screening. Why? Because screening for weapons with old metal-detectors creates a prison-like experience for workers and leaves workers stuck in crowded waiting lines that are just unacceptable in a pandemic recovery environment.  

In an intensely competitive labor market, employers may feel forced to choose between a positive worker experience and a gun-free workplace, and when push comes to shove, they have often chosen worker experience. That choice is tragic because it is based on an outdated understanding of what’s technologically possible.  

AI is transforming every sector of the economy, and physical security is no different. AI-based weapons screening like Evolv Express® makes it possible to have both a great worker experience and a gun-free workplace. Reliable weapons screening that doesn’t require workers to stop and empty their pockets or surrender their bags as they walk through is a game changer.  

I believe this disruptive new technology is redefining the standard for employers’ duty of care to workers. Having a “no guns” policy without any effective enforcement is no longer an option. If proven technology to enforce a no-guns policy is broadly available, operationally feasible, and commercially affordable, it won’t be long before board members are asking why management is taking unnecessary risks. 

Sports stadiums, performing arts and entertainment venues, and tourist destinations were the first to discover and implement the new standard in weapons screening because visitor experience and safety are fundamental to their operation. Now that the leaders in these industries have made their move to AI-powered weapons screening, the followers are racing to catch up. The same pattern will likely play out in industrial workplaces, citizen-facing government offices, health care facilities, office buildings, and other workplaces.  

Now is the time for employers to reshape their workplace safety strategy to reflect the current threat environment and the technological disruption that is underway. The good news is that investing in meeting the new standard is not going to break the bank or be disruptive to normal operations. We’ve worked hard to innovate not only in technology, but also in our pricing model. Our customers (and their CFOs) are often pleasantly surprised by our subscription-based “security-as-a-service” pricing for Evolv Express. They also love that they can often train existing staff to use our equipment, so there isn’t a huge labor cost hurdle to overcome. As a mission-based company, we want to make it easy for employers to do the right thing for their workers. It’s a win-win-win situation.  

As the pandemic recovery continues and seasonal hiring surges this fall and winter, more workers than ever will be walking into workplaces that are unprepared for the current threat environment. We should all hope and pray for their safety, but we can finally do much more than that. If you are an employer who is ready to do more, let’s talk soon. 

Download our workplace violence infographic to learn more about how violence in the workplace is persisting and on the rise in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic.

The Future Is Here: Smart, Connected Venue Security with Evolv

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Senior security leaders across multiple industries, surveyed in a joint study by Microsoft and Accenture, cited “reactive threat management” and “intuition-led decision-making based on subjectivity” as top challenges in physical security. The technologies predicted in the study to transform these challenges? “Artificial intelligence and signals processing” at the venue’s threshold; the power of analytics to “sift through overwhelming amounts of data”, and Internet of Things-connected sensors and devices to “collect intelligence in real-time.”

These once sounded like the stuff of science fiction: so-called “smart cities” with “smart venues” that screen visitors unobtrusively, only stop potential threats while letting everyone else pass through, and stream business intelligence back to security teams to improve decision-making and enable a more proactive security posture.

Hello world! With Evolv Express AI-powered security screening and its companion analytics application, Evolv Insights, this future is here. In the latest software release launching this month, new capabilities for connectivity and analytics improve five important dimensions of physical security:

1 – Balance Physical Safety with Visitor Experience

Security screening with Evolv Express is powered by advanced sensors, cameras, and artificial intelligence to distinguish weapons threats from everyday items. It moves guests through a venue’s entryways up to 10 times faster than metal detectors: up to 3,600 visitors per hour at normal walking speed. No stopping to empty pockets or hand over bags means screening is less obtrusive, improving the visitor experience. And no stopping or queuing up means Evolv Express is safer than traditional methods, virtually eliminating the threat of “soft target” scenarios for mass casualty events.

As a connected device, dare I even say an IoT device, Evolv Express captures critical information such as visitor flow rates, alarm rates, and threat types detected at every venue entrance, making this data available for consumption and interrogation across multiple business dimensions—date, time, location, entrance, and event type—in its Evolv Insights analytics platform.

To maintain the highest degree of guest experience and physical safety, Evolv Express offers a range of settings, and the new What-If Sensitivity Setting Analysis in the latest release of Evolv Insights lets security professionals use historical data to see how the system would have performed on an alternate setting. This helps security teams refine their concept of operations (ConOps) strategies and further reduce nuisance alarms, improve guard performance, and improve the guest experience without compromising visitor safety.

2 – Know Your Vulnerabilities

New features for Alert Categorization and Analysis in the latest software release advance the system’s ability to report on what threat types are found at a venue. Security teams resolving issues at the Evolv

Express system simply “tag” alerts with a single, one touch icon set to indicate threat items or nuisance items.

Using this information, new dashboards in Evolv Insights let users drill down into where and when each type of alert appeared, across entryways, times, and events. Armed with this knowledge, security leaders can better focus staff training, deploy more experienced staff when and where they will be needed, and improve overall staff preparedness.

3 – Improve Venue Operations

Better data can help teams beyond security improve visitors’ experience—with ticketing, concessions, retail, ushers, guest services, guides, and more—because the better informed these teams are, the more seamlessly they will operate. Information gathered at every Evolv Express system and available in Evolv Insights analytics will help venue operations improve decisions about staff to guest ratios, staff deployment at different locations and times, along with other resource decisions to boost efficiencies and reduce waste.

To better understand how security and operational needs differ across types of events, the latest release of Evolv Insights introduces Event Type Analysis. Different types of events—think rock concerts, sporting events, corporate events, speaker series, and family productions—will likely exhibit very different characteristics across dimensions like threat types and frequency, alarm rates, visitor flow rates at different venue entrances.

Evolv Insights makes it easy to compare event types side-by-side to find commonalities and differences or to compare events of the same type to find and address anomalies, improving planning across many teams throughout venue operations—including security.

4 – Transform Security from Cost Center to Value Driver

Keeping venues secure not only protects people; it safeguards the brand—for venue leadership, their corporate sponsors, and the talent they attract. But security is too often seen as a necessary evil: a cost center rather than a value driver. I found this callout in the aforementioned Microsoft and Accenture study spot on and worth noting… No matter which metric the organization prioritizes, a data strategy will be required to optimize the outcome. An effective strategy will enable physical security to become the core intelligence platform of the organization, transforming from a cost center into a value hub. I could not have said this better myself.

With Evolv, the power of data and analytics at every visitor entrance means security teams can provide a high degree of value to executive leadership by providing transparency and visibility with accelerated, streamlined, reporting capabilities.

Evolv Insights offers both pre-defined and flexible dashboard views that users can save and return to, share with colleagues, print to file, and export to work with adjacent analytics packages. And in the latest release, subscribed users automatically get “pushed” Post-Event Summary Reports, without a separate need to access the Insights application.

5 – Adopt a Proactive Security Posture

When venue teams need critical data about their venue in the moment, wherever they’re located, the latest software release from Evolv offers the MyEvolv Portal mobile application. Teams can now access analytics, scanner monitoring, and management, and proactive communications from any device, including Android- and iOS-equipped smartphones and tablets, to facilitate faster, better decision-making and respond in the moment to security needs across their venue before they become an issue.

Evolv prioritizes connections between venue staff and its security systems both through analytics and through communications technologies like Request Assistance—a discreet, one-touch alert from the operator tablet to additional venue security to help resolve an incident at the system.

The latest software release extends this connectivity and communication with new Remote System Management in the MyEvolv Portal. Available in both the mobile and web-based application, system administrators can now remotely log into Evolv Express systems and interact as if they were co-located with the system for monitoring, troubleshooting, and configuration changes. And whenever critical changes to the system occur, subscribed users receive new Proactive Notifications via text, email, or in the application.

Conclusion: The Digital Transformation of Physical Security is Here

While much has been imagined about the benefits of a future world—with “smart venues” powered by connected products and better data to improve visitors’ experience while making everywhere safer—Evolv brings that future to life today. It enables venue security and operations leaders to access better data for evidence-based decision-making, ensure connectivity between people and security technologies throughout a venue, and improve the guest experience while maintaining the highest standards in physical safety both today—and tomorrow.

The Boston Marathon Bombing: A Moment of Fear and Clarity

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The Boston Marathon marks its 125th event anniversary on Monday. It’s the world’s oldest annual marathon – an event that now attracts more than 30,000 participants and upwards of 750,000 spectators each year. At its centennial in 1996, close to 36,000 people finished the race. That day, more than a million friends, family, and race fans converged along the 26.2-mile route from Hopkinton, MA to the Boylston Street finish line to celebrate this Boston institution and its dedicated participants.     

Then, crashing into this venerated race in 2013 was something that shocked our nation. It also personally impacted me in a way that would set the course of the rest of my working life. Just 45 minutes before the first bomb detonated, my wife Jane had finished the race and I and my three kids ages 11, 9, and 5 were at the finish line to celebrate with her. We shared lots of excitement, hugs, photos, and well wishes. On the ride back home, Jane was describing the course challenges and highlights when her mobile phone started pinging with text after text. It wasn’t until we were back home and watching the TV that we realized how close we’d all been to the madness that killed three and injured 264 that day. 

One of the injured that day was John, a good friend who worked on Boylston Street. He stepped out of his office for a few minutes to watch the race finishers. Down the street to his left, the first device went off. Then, the second device detonated close to him. I went to see John at Mass General and found him—a big, strong rugby player with wounds up and down his body. He recovered, but today still carries shrapnel in his body. Madness.  

I call it madness because it is. Two young men had researched propaganda on the internet about how to assemble and detonate bombs, then strategically did just that in the Back Bay. They took lives, damaged the psyches and bodies of hundreds, altered families forever, and once again reminded the whole world that the face of terror is as close as where we live, work, eat, shop, play, and go to school. We don’t ever see it coming. And that’s the madness.  

Jane, my kids, and John lit a fire  

The Boston Marathon bombing and active shooter tragedies in San Bernardino, Pulse Nightclub, Fort Hood, Sandy Hook Elementary, the Las Vegas music festival – and many more – forever changed those who were just going about their daily lives. This was happening in too many towns, in too many locations, to too many people.    

For me, the combination of stories from that terrible day became a driving force to do what I know how to do in business – go find the best technology, work with the best people, and solve a really hard problem. It was a needle in a haystack problem: how do we screen hundreds and even thousands of people as they continue walking without ever stopping while simultaneously identifying those few who could pose a threat? The concept is simple. Putting it into practice is hard.         

Partnering to reverse a terror epidemic    

Fast forward eight years from the 2013 Boston attack to today. In this time, I’ve been fortunate to co-found Evolv with Mike Ellenbogen. We’ve introduced a technology solution that is working to take the terror epidemic head on by identifying and extracting the few bad actors ready to do harm – from the 99.99 percent of good people who just want to enjoy life, attend events, and move freely and safely at the pace of life.   

We describe it as a secure and seamless screening experience. Essentially, we’ve fused advanced technologies including sensors, machine learning, cloud analytics, and a human centered design approach. Now, visitors to any public venue can keep moving – with no security lines, bag checks, or metal detectors to slow them down. Our Evolv Express® solution makes it easy for security personnel to spot guns, knives, and explosives more easily and with better accuracy. As of last month, our customers have screened more than 100 million visitors and stopped more than 10,000 weapons from entering public attractions, stadiums, casinos, hospitals, schools, entertainment venues, government facilities, houses of worship, and hotels. Only the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has screened more people than Evolv in the United States. 

Actively listening to those who know   

My role has been to partner with hundreds of venue owners and operators, guest experience professionals, and security leaders from a wide range of industries in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. I ask every single one the same questions: what threats are you most concerned about, how are you detecting them today, and ideally how would you like to prevent them from entering your facility in the future? It’s ongoing, global field research that continues to make our threat detection solutions better and better.  

I work with an incredible team. We all wish we lived in a world that didn’t need Evolv. But that’s not reality. That said, each of us is gratified and humbled to help make the world a safer place, one venue at a time.  And we’re just getting started.     

What matters most 

Jane, my three kids, and John are never far from my mind. They fuel what I’m about every day. The terrorist actions of the Boston Marathon and all the other horrible terrorist events only produced a stronger counteraction. These events inspired each of us at Evolv to equip security leaders, venue managers, and law enforcement with the technology they need to stop the madness from ever happening again. 

A New Standard Sets a New Milestone: Evolv Express Screens More than 100 Million People

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Our mission at Evolv is to make the world a safer place to work, learn, and play and has been since we began. Having been with the company since near the beginning, I am thrilled to share the news that we have surpassed the 100 million mark in the number of people that have safely and seamlessly walked through our Evolv Express® systems.  

To safely screen 100 million individuals has taken a lot of hard work on the part of our teams as well as our customers. It is not easy to set a new standard in any industry, and particularly one that is so fundamental to our lives as our physical safety. Evolv has been able to do it with our advanced weapons detection solutions, as this latest milestone proves.  

Only the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has screened more people than Evolv in the United States. That’s a pretty impressive feat when you consider the company was only founded in 2013.  

We can’t take full credit for reaching the 100 million mark so rapidly and for setting a new standard for security in the 21st century. We have to share the honors and accolades with all of our customers—and particularly our early partners, who had the faith and courage to believe in the boldness of our vision and our ability to achieve our mission. 

When I think of 100 million people, the number is too staggering to comprehend. Instead, I think about many of the individuals that I’ve watched as they casually walked through our digital thresholds, smiling and chatting with friends and family, typically unaware they are passing through an advanced, modern weapons detection system that is keeping them safer.  

I’ve talked to many of these patrons who told me they thought the venue didn’t have any security because they didn’t experience metal detectors stopping them in their tracks and forcing them to get in a slow-moving line, pull out their cell phones, empty their pockets, etc. When I tell them they actually passed through a new type of threshold that uses advanced sensors, cameras, artificial intelligence and other digital technologies to detect weapons, they are typically amazed that such a solution exists—and grateful that the venue’s owners were committed to modernizing security in consideration of the experience and safety of visitors. 

Here’s another thing about the 100 million milestone.  It’s taken a lot of hard work to get here, but it’s only a brief stop along the way. I fully expect to be seeing more of these announcements in the future, new milestones and new achievements, and I won’t be surprised to see the pace accelerate. That’s because the Evolv Express is setting the standard in physical security for a wide range of venues where large groups of people gather—concert halls, sports arenas, theaters, other performing arts locations, casinos, schools, hospitals, tourist sites, places of worship, shopping malls and more. 

As more customers and potential customers recognize that there is a new standard for weapons detection—and it really works—they will realize that they cannot and should not be left behind using 20th-century analog solutions in the 21st-century digital world. I look forward to more milestones as we continue on our journey to make Evolv an unobtrusive yet ubiquitous part of our everyday lives.  

Securing Entertainment Venues

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One thing entertainment venues, sports stadiums and theme park officials want to accomplish is getting people back into their seats. That is happening today—but not without understanding and technology.

In this podcast episode by Security Today, AJ DeRosa shares his insight on how COVID-impacted businesses are able to face safety and security issues with confidence and technology. We also discuss visitor expectations and how venue officials can ensure their space is secure as they welcome visitors back.

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