Technology has changed the way industries relate to customers, employees, and suppliers. Nowadays, it is possible to monitor the performance of the team, monitor the delivery of products and send e-mails with devices that fit in the palm of the hand.

Using technology to improve Health & Safety

It is fundamental to use the most modern tools and strategies that exist in the technology arena. A forward thinking approach encourages the improvement of the quality of products, an increase in productivity and the reduction of accidents and incidents.

The most productive sectors are always those which are continually testing and adopting the use of new technologies. Health & safety is often overlooked in the commercial sectors and often relies on archaic processes and practices.

This post will help you to better understand the subject of technology and health and safety. We show you six technology trends that are revolutionizing the market and how they can help you in management.

1. Beacon, IoT, and wearable

The beacon is a very useful technological product in various business sectors, and could not be different for the industry. It is a device that emits information, through low energy Bluetooth technology, directly to smartphones or tablets.

Applying beacons in the routine of workers results in the improvement of the monitoring of their activities, in the location of equipment and identification of bottlenecks that can disrupt the performance of your teams.

In addition, it improves job security results. Imagine the following example: after an explosion or any other major accident, management can easily find the location of the workers and determine how many are at the point of rescue. In this way, decisions are made safer and taken in real time.

The internet of things (IoT) and wearable(s) are also concepts that are beginning to be used by the industrial sector. They create an interactive environment in which managers track employee performance and analyze a large amount of data efficiently.

Those who work with real, up-to-date data can engage employees more easily and bring about changes that improve job security.

2. Virtual Reality

Workplace accidents happen when least expected. It is therefore essential to prepare the team to handle tools safely, to respect the rules and to act with caution.

Virtual reality allows the training of the practices and operations to be carried out in the work environment with great precision. In view of this, employees become more empowered and prepared to perform their tasks.

In addition, it facilitates the analysis of the behavior of each of them and presents flaws and standards to be solved.

3. Digital Twin

The digital twin is a current trend. With it, industries create virtual models of their production lines. As a consequence, the management can analyze the procedures and find the problems and flaws that exist, besides proposing changes in their dispositions.

In all cases, it is possible to see the results of the actions taken and to determine which of them should actually be put into practice or not. This increases productivity and makes job safety a priority in every decision you make.

4. Drones

The drones have already conquered several segments of the market and have come to stay. They are commonly used for entertainment and shooting moments with friends and family but also offer great options and versatility for the industry. They have already begun to be used in the inspection of sites that pose great risks to human labor.

For example, a roof inspection is a recurring situation in any type of venture. It happens to check the clogging of gutters, broken or cracked tiles and to ensure the integrity of the materials, supplies, and equipment that are in the shed.

In the conventional model, a worker must climb to analyze the conditions of the structure. It uses a hinged ladder or crane with a cabin to reach the roof. At these times, an oversight can happen or even a tile break.

Either way, the life of this worker is put at risk. Therefore, drones are used to optimize this activity. It photographs and inspects the entire area and identifies defects. After that, work orders are generated for another team, in fact, climbing the roof to repair.

Other activities are also benefited by the use of drones such as the maintenance of roads, bridges, viaducts and transmission lines, and the crane corrosion check of oil exploration offshore platforms.

5. Robots and Automation

The replacement of humans by machines in the workplace is seen by many as negative and bad. However, this situation must be analyzed from a different point of view. Certain locations pose great risks to individuals, such as height and confined space activities.

Any detail or inattention can cause a fatal accident. In this way, everyone involved loses and the company suffers very bad consequences for its reputation. In this way, robots and other automated tools can be used to work in such situations and avoid accidents.

In addition to facilitating the exchange and maintenance of parts in difficult to reach locations, they work for longer periods and increase productivity in the industry. Also remember that the development of increasingly modern machines creates new demand for skilled and specialized professionals in information technology, programming, and robotics, generating a great demand for employment.

In most cases, these new jobs offer better working conditions, have a greater financial return and generate less risk to workers. Science fiction films may even show several bleak scenarios in which machines steal the function of human beings. However, the reality is different and you need to be able to use these technologies to rationalize costs and improve work safety in the industry.

6. Mobile Apps

Mobile Apps are representatives of the employer and employees. It is possible to discuss and propose improvements to work safety. Mobile Apps give more credibility to the selection of these representatives, streamlines processes and makes the dissemination of results democratic.

Mobile apps are useful in providing state-of-the-art employee compliance management, site inspections, medical surveillance, competency monitoring, incident management, reporting, etc. If you are looking for a complete health and safety solution, try out the “OHS Assist” mobile app for improved SHEQ management. The app provides all the necessary functions required for health and safety management. For instance, you can use this app for user tasking and workflow and make remote legal appointments among many other useful features.