Technology might just be the solution needed to break through employee resistance to safety program participation and drive personal commitment and engagement to new heights of effectiveness within many organizations.
Today’s high-tech safety innovations can be of benefit to workers and also enhance safety in many workplaces. The key is to align the use of technology with the needs of workers, and do it in ways that will help get your workers, your technology and your safety goals all pulling together.
Some of today’s technology solutions have a clear and obvious part to play.
Tablets and smart phones, for example, have virtually endless applications in workplace safety. Workers can use them to access chemical hazard information and specific safety procedures, or to report hazards and make suggestions. Devices can enhance security for lone workers, or summon assistance in the event of an accident or medical emergency. There are apps that can be used to check noise levels or calculate the heat index, assess the ergonomics of certain job tasks and optimize workers’ lifting practices, or coach workers in ladder safety.
E-learning is another useful technology that’s even incorporating virtual reality (VR) simulations to give workers a real-world interactive experience. Not only can these tools be used to provide general-purpose safety training, such as new worker orientation, they can also be used to provide cost-effective task-specific training. Employees can practice everything from confined space entry and DOT hazardous material transportation to Black Friday crowd control or law enforcement training scenarios. Some employers have gone as far as creating a VR gaming experience to use in training workers.
There are other technologies and many more benefits to be had. You can read all about it in a recently published Insight Report from Intelex, authored by BLR EHS Daily Advisor’s editorial team. The report, titled, More Than a Gadget: Technology, Safety, and Worker Participation, delves deeper into the value of technology in supporting organizational safety programs and reveals strategies for gaining cultural support in the adoption of technology tools that can improve health and safety efforts. BLR is a U.S.-based industry leading, and award-winning content and media company.
Those employees who are excited about the newest iPhone or the latest in UHD television technology should be primed to readily accept and incorporate workplace technologies that enhance their safety. And when you understand the factors that affect whether workers oppose or embrace a new technology, you can potentially generate that same early-adopter enthusiasm and channel it into wholehearted participation in high-tech workplace safety innovation.
Download the report now:
