Navitor, North Mankato, Minn., has partnered with scientific experts to develop Scent Check, an early detector test used to identify loss of smell. The product comes at a time when businesses and private organizations across the country need tools to support return-to-workplace symptom screening. More than 140,000 tests have been produced so far, and now the company is able to scale to hundreds of thousands of tests weekly.
The collaboration that went into developing Scent Check took into consideration CDC guidelines and up-to-the-minute clinical research to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by screening for one of the most prevalent symptoms. Navitor has been working with experts in the field to develop this new tool for our communities.
Testing at Our Facilities
“We continue to look to the CDC for guidance,” said Rick Roddis, president of Navitor. “Early on, we saw the CDC and NIH stating loss of smell is often an earlier symptom than fever or respiratory symptoms, and now we see the guidance as loss of smell being a ‘hallmark’ symptom and ‘the most predictive’ of COVID-19, we saw an opportunity to add more layers for our symptom screening. We first started adding smell tests to our facilities several months ago and found it to be extremely telling. Within a short time, at one facility, we had five employees who couldn’t smell during the screening and four of them tested positive for COVID-19. None of them had any other symptoms nor any known exposures.”
“Just like so many manufacturing facilities, Navitor has implemented sanitization procedures and reworked our plant floor to enable social distancing,” said Mike Johnson, general manager for Navitor. “We had already added daily thermal temperature readings and daily digital symptom recording, so smell testing easily fit into the procedures. Navitor has just recently started the next phase, which incorporates browser-based technology where employees can input their answers on a phone, sending automated reporting to the company. “Testing needs to be effective and fast; we can’t have people lining up at the door. Scent Check PRO provides the accuracy and speed to help our employees feel more safe.”
Community Need
With fever testing showing more flaws and less predictive qualities, adding smell tests to employee screening is an additional layer of protection businesses, schools and workplaces can provide. Scent Check combined with temperature checks and other symptom-screening tools help people make decisions about going to work, school or other public places.
“We just see in the news over and over again loss of smell is one of the best and earliest indicators of COVID-19,” said Stephanie Drago, director of marketing for Navitor. “We’ve heard from customers firsthand about the confidence it gives them. My favorite so far has been a mom whose child is immuno-compromised—she added Scent Check to her family and in-house healthcare assistants’ routines. If her son gets ill, even with a cold, he is hospitalized for weeks, so it’s really scary. She saw this as ‘one more thing for a little peace of mind.’”
Scent Check is a simple and effective tool that helps ensure public safety by giving employers across a multitude of industries the information they need to keep themselves and their employees, associates and constituents safe. Daily testing for loss of smell, a leading indicator, can make a big difference in helping to keep communities safely open.
“Smell testing is another tool for early detection which will help identify contagious employees that standard symptom surveys and temperature checks missed,” Drago added.
Selling Through Distributors
Smell testing is not a replacement for COVID-19 testing. It’s used daily, before students come into a school, before employees enter a facility and before families visit Grandma. A simple smell test can be combined with a temperature check or symptom screen at the door.
Wholesale distributors interested in bringing this product to their community can order through navitor.com. Membership is required through a simple and fast online application process. Kits can be ordered directly or distributors can opt into an educational series for smell testing and symptom screening.
To provide their customers and members insights and information on new symptom screening innovations, Navitor is hosting a no-cost,open webinar on Dec. 9, 2020.
For more information on Navitor, visit www.navitor.com.
