Rapid technological advancements are impacting every angle of business operations-and workplace safety is no stranger. Advances in robotics, nanotechnology, video, data analytics, and telecommunications enable managers to improve employees' health, minimize physical stress, and keep staff out of harm's reach. Additionally to protecting employees, safety technology can help reduce turnover, boost employee morale, and control business insurance costs.
Generally, any business can benefit from investments in workplace safety tech. Organizations with physically intense operations- such as farming, construction, transportation, and warehousing – may experience greater outcomes from following implementing all kinds of safety tech.
Tech & Productivity: How Can One Influence the Other?
When technology is considered in a workplace context, it is usually associated with productivity, particularly from a process improvement viewpoint. This can range from resources, organization tools, sharing information and calendars.
During the recent world health crisis, technology has also been massively linked to communication in the office as well as in more operative contexts. Agreeing in meetings through digital platforms, being able to share documents and screens, and enabling teams to contact each other online 24/7 through a host of apps has become the new normal in more advanced companies.
The truth is, the safety and health industry has yet to fully tap into the potential of technological solutions. Now more than ever, the technology works wonders for organizational safety. It's used to prevent accidents and even fatalities, thanks to smart devices like a man down alarm.
Some companies might make use of incident reporting software and trackers. Yet, many of the technologies used to keep employees safe and manage their daily operations are becoming complex, slow, outdated, or lead to even more problems for managers.
That's why modern organizations need to embrace modern ways of keeping their staff safe and well. Implementing simple and well-performing tech solutions can make a huge difference to how your staff works on a daily basis. With predictive, trustworthy, and integrated tools, workflow management and ensuring security and safety move into the modern era.
? PPE Monitoring
Before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, workers in industrial organizations were already required to wear PPE, including eyewear, hard hats, gloves, vests, and respiratory equipment. Whether it is the organization's or the employee's neglect, more often than not, a lack of PPE usage is only pointed out once an injury has already occurred – creating a liability for industrial companies. When an accident takes place on the working site and the organization fails to flag potential safety hazards, the injured employee will be eligible for an accident at work claim. Video monitoring combined with real-time analytics can significantly reduce workplace injuries and improve productivity.
Computer vision technology can detect improper PPE or lack of PPE usage by obtaining live video footage from standard RGB cameras. When recognizing safety violations, the video analytics system will automatically generate SMS or email text alerts to notify safety managers. Live notifications can also be published across all dashboards at points of entry to prevent possible safety hazards, such as employees trying to enter areas designed for a hard hat without one.
? Drones & Robots
For once, drones can easily make their way through the inhospitable environment and prevent risks in coal mines. The latest advancements in drone technology have made it possible to map and inspect hazardous underground areas without putting people in dangerous situations.
A few years back, flying drones in GPS-denied locations was not even thought of. Today, being able to bring modern scanning technology to these environments is truly exciting and ideal for keeping miners safe.
Now drones can be mounted on backpacks, vehicles, or ground robots, and it allows mine operators to get information in an efficient manner and remove people from the worksite.
Industrial robots that perform lifting and repetitive operations have long enabled organizations to minimize workplace injuries. Now you're able to further improve the safety of your workplace by assigning higher-risk tasks to advanced, highly mobile robots and drones.
? Safety Devices and Lone Worker Apps
The UK government states that all workers should "provide training, monitoring, supervision, and support for lone employees.
Part of this support should include providing in-depth and reliable forms of communication and a way to ask for support, and where necessary, may include devices programmed to raise the alarm, which can be operated both automatically and manually. That's where the lone worker solution comes in.
Lone worker devices can come in many forms, including Bluetooth panic alarms, lone working apps, standalone devices, and more. Additionally, there are more tech solutions, including checking through text or walkie-talkies.
Lone worker safety devices usually come in the form of a GPS panic alarm that operates through the mobile network. When the employee activates the panic alarm, an alert will be sent to the employee's assigned safety manager, who can follow the GPS coordinates to arrange an emergency response.
On the other hand, Lone worker apps enable users to manually request emergency help and set up automatic alerts and check-in functionality.
? Inspection and Task Manager Software
If your organization is a victim of inefficient task execution, lack of team collaboration, or deadlines being missed consistently, then inspection and task manager software might set you straight.
An efficient task management software is vital because it offers the best solution to overcome these challenges.
These systems are leveraged to track time, manage tasks, and easily collaborate with the team. These work wonders for teams, organizations, and individuals to help them conclude tasks effectively without missing deadlines.
Almost all successful companies implement task management software as they understand what it means to manage tasks the right way. But great time & work management isn't all these systems can do. Task manager systems allow you to access data anywhere, anytime, using any device. What you need is a reliable internet connection, and that's it.
Embracing tech solutions in your organizations will allow your teams to work more efficiently and safer, creating a positive and interconnected workplace environment.
