HOW INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES CAN IMPROVE YOUR … · 2018-02-14 · digital revolution. New,...

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The rate of workplace illnesses and injuries has decreased over decades thanks to strong health and safety

awareness programs. Still, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 6,300 people worldwide lose

their lives to occupational accidents or work-related diseases each day while millions suffer non-fatal occupational

injuries each year. Organizations across the globe have made vast improvements in their health and safety

programs, but too many people are still harmed or injured. One key to improvement might be found in the

HOW INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES CAN

IMPROVE YOUR HEALTHAND SAFETY CULTURE

digital revolution. New, innovative technologies can assist on a journey

to operational excellence. Whether it is a safety management system,

an innovative approach to training, or new approaches to old problems,

each has the ability to aid health and safety professionals in creating

a culture that promotes and values health and safety. Ultimately, what

matters is how a company can use them.

As we embrace these new technologies and ingrain them in our

organizations, we need to understand that perspectives play a pivotal

role in a culture of health and safety. These perspectives can vary from

an older worker, who may not be as familiar with new technologies,

to a younger worker who has been intertwined with technology his or

her entire life. They can differ from the worker who chooses to report

near misses and observations, to the one who ignores them and sees

the overall program as sufficient and acceptable. These differences

in opinion and experience are crucial to consider in the light of new

technologies and potential changes to procedures.

VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINING

Workplace training has long been an important tool to improve a com-

pany’s health and safety program. In the past, instructor-led classroom

learning was the primary format and then later, e-learning. Both of

these remain crucial in an organization’s training program. But recent

developments in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), gami-

fication, and social learning have widened the possibilities to improved

learning and retention.

Consider an employee performing a new job in a highly hazardous en-

vironment. He or she may take an immersive training experience to

learn how to perform the job without danger. The possibility of rec-

ognizing, anticipating, and mitigating hazards prior to actually enter-

ing the environment can provide a “leg up” for the worker. The learner

gets the opportunity to utilize his or her senses and actually “be” in the

moment, without having direct consequences of hazardous situations.

They are provided an identical situation to real life, but only through

immersive, virtual reality training. In most cases, this should deliver a

huge benefit to not only the worker but also the manager, who can en-

sure his employee is receiving vital training and a greater opportunity

to return home safe

WEARABLES

Wearable technology is another tool that can promote worker safety

through continuous monitoring. A study from Goldsmiths, University

of London found, “Employees equipped with wearable technology

reported an 8.5% increase in productivity and a 3.5% rise in job

satisfaction.”

Workers could employ sensors to monitor back injury. The sensors con-

tinuously collect data that can be used to determine if the worker is

HOW INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES CAN IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY CULTURE PAGE 2



lifting excessive forces, maintaining an extreme degree bend of the

back, and/or performing excessive repetitive movements. Information

such as this would empower management, and the worker, to have a

greater understanding of what the job entails, and how to best miti-

gate and prevent musculoskeletal disorders.

Other examples of wearable sensors are units that measure airborne

chemicals and alert the worker about dangerous chemical exposure or

wristbands and badges that can detect falls, measure heat exhaustion,

and the level of drowsiness. Heads-up displays can ensure the job is be-

ing done in the safest manner and assist in spotting hazards within the

environment. Another specific example is personal dust monitors that

can continuously monitor and warn the wearer when concentrations

become too extreme. This monitor could play a pivotal role in prevent-

ing coal workers’ pneumoconiosis

Smart glasses are also providing experts the opportunity to “visit”

multiple sites per day even though they are not physically there. By en-

abling a person on-site to wear the glasses, the expert doesn’t have to

travel and spend extra, inefficient time. They can see multiple sites in a

shorter time period and only visit imperative locations when the need

arises.

To add value to this scenario, imagine a team of 20 inspectors that

travel to 10 locations per month for inspections. The average cost per

inspection is roughly $500 and they spend around 60% of their time

generating inspections. If you were able to replace 20% of your in-per-

son inspections with remote capabilities, imagine how much could be

saved.

Initially, the overall efficiency would increase to around 72% instead of

60% and the cost savings would equate to around $240,000 per year.

Although this is merely an example, we are seeing organizations all

over the world use this technology to improve efficiency and enable

greater productivity.

Wearables are truly changing the way jobs are being performed. They

are empowering workers to have more knowledge, faster, and capable

of providing information to keep the worker safe from potential illness

and/or injury. In reducing this risk, they are ultimately able to play a role

in reduction of incidents that occur on the job; which in turn reduces

cost.

That’s not to say obstacles don’t exist. Hindrances such as battery life,

screen sizes, WiFi connectivity, and up-front cost can all be a barrier to

beginning the use of wearables in organizations. But understanding

the potential that this technology can have on the worker and the en-

vironment is truly impactful.



HOW INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES CAN IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY CULTURE PAGE 3

get an overview of assessments and corrective action plans. The PURE®

Platform’s native mobile iOS apps can be used to channel information

from site assessments straight into the system. Users can record data

on site using the app, which syncs automatically as soon as it re-con-

nects to the internet, speeding up the process and improving data ac-

curacy. Finally, you can consolidate everything into a single compliance

calendar, and filter by time, task or individual. You can quickly create a

status report or use dashboards to drill down into specific data, har-

nessing the information to drive performance.

UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS (DRONES)

Over the last few years, popular use of drones has grown exponentially

as technology improves and the price of drones falls. Furthermore, peo-

ple are beginning to grasp the potential of drones for business purpos-

es. According to research from the Association of Unmanned Vehicle

Systems International, employers in all 50 states are utilizing drones

for more than 40 different business applications. Applications in the

oil and gas industry, emergency management, infrastructure, and cell

tower assistance are all showing the positive impact drones have on

assisting workers.

Imagine working in a confined space and sending in a drone prior to

a human. Most risks can be greatly reduced because the environment

can be assessed prior to entry and the worker can know what is pres-

ent. Specifically, air quality can be determined and visual hazards can

be monitored to provide the worker with an actual “look” into the area.

Another example would be an aerial jobsite survey photograph or vid-

eo. Instead of sending a pilot into the air for this job, a certified operator

can deploy a drone to assess and capture the majority of needs for the

organization. Although new hazards may become present with drone

usage, many have been reduced just by “removing” the human from

the job.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the incidence of

out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is more than 350,000. When a person

goes into cardiac arrest, their chances of survival drops every minute a

life-saving charge isn’t given. Time is of the essence, and victims don’t

have the time to wait for an ambulance to arrive and provide the atten-

tion needed. This is when a research team from the University of Toron-

to decided to act and decipher ideas of how to cut this time down. The

team studied historical ambulance response times to 56,000 cardiac

arrests that occurred in southern Ontario over a nine year period. The

data delivered impactful information. They found the average ambu-

lance response times were:

• In cities, five to 10 minutes

• In rural communities, could be more than 20 minutes

The team then began to consider the proposition of utilizing drone

technology to deliver automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) and im-

prove survival. They began determining where the drones should be

stationed and how many would be needed to provide efficiency in the

population and reduction in response times versus the ambulances.

What they found, after placing drones in strategic locations through-

out the region, were the drones reduced response times by:

• Six minutes in urban environments

• Ten minutes in the most rural areas

Imagine the impact of this reality. AEDs can be delivered by drones in

a more timely manner, eliminating an emergency responder from hav-

ing to drive excessively fast to the incident and providing the patient a

greater chance of survival.

It is important to mention there are draw-backs with providing an AED

via drone opposed to ambulance services. Primarily, a bystander con-

ducting resuscitation versus a trained emergency technician. Although

the AED delivers instructions for use, errors could occur with individu-

als performing medical services contrasting to professionals.

It’s also essential to understand part of the reality for drone usage. Un-

manned aerial systems are an aviation discipline. In the United States,

commercial drone use is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administra-

tion (FAA) under 14 CFR Part 107; in the United Kingdom, it is regu-

lated by the Civil Aviation Authority. The operators are also legally re-

sponsible for flight safety and accidents and incidents are investigated

by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the US and Air

Accidents Investigation Branch in the UK. Statistics also point to the

vast majority (around 95%) of what affects a manned aircraft operation

affects UAS. There’s only one difference: the pilot location.

The economic aspect is also enormous for drone usage. Goldman Sachs

has estimated that businesses and government will spend $13 billion

on drones between now and 2020. The overall growth of the market

could jump from $1.3 billion to over $11 billion in 5 years. There’s also

a positive return on investment to consider.

Whitaker Contracting decided to put technology to the test and de-

termine if it would be beneficial to utilize this technology measuring

stockpiles. Initially, they determined how much it costs with human

interaction. Over three sites, it took a full week to collect and analyze

each site. Furthermore, when calculating the overall employee cost,

equipment needed, and third party surveyors to assist, the annual cost

of measuring the stockpiles was around $37,832 with a six times/year

frequency. With the new method of operating drone technology, the

costs were reduced. Time was also positively impacted with each site

being measured within a few hours, increasing the overall frequency

per year. The only equipment needed is the drone and technology as-

sociated with the drone, and there is no need for a third-party surveyor.

Ultimately, using drone technology showed a positive ROI for this com-



PAGE 4

pany task. They were able to measure their stockpiles two times more

frequently, while spending four times less time overall as opposed to

the human interaction. Further benefits included the removal of the

human element which reduced potential risk to the worker and the

potential for lost time incidents.

Although there are a plethora of uses and positive results from drone

technology, there are still many adverse factors to consider prior to im-

plementing this technology within your own organization.

EVIDENCE-BASED DECISION MAKING (BIG DATA)

Now what does a company do with all of that data it have collected

from wearables to drones? There are still many more technologies that

exist which can capture continuous data, reveal potential hazards in

the workplace, and assist workers in becoming healthier and safer

workers. Where does that data go? What does it really provide?

Kristian Hammond stated in the Harvard Business Review, “There is a

huge distinction to be made between ‘evidence’ and ‘data.’ The former

is the end game for understanding where your business has been and

where it needs to go. The latter is the instrument that lets us get to

that end game. Data itself isn’t the solution. It’s just part of the path

to that solution.”

Large amounts of data do not necessarily equal high-quality and re-

liable data. Ensuring the data is “worthwhile” is a fundamental piece

of the puzzle. When we validate data, we provide an advantage to our

workers. According to an MIT study, companies that incorporate big

data and analytics into their operations show productivity rates and

profitability that are 5% to 6% higher than those of their peers.

All this data isn’t the “answer” but it can provide evidence to assist an

organization in achieving operational excellence. Data can enable em-

ployees to make more educated and faster decisions, optimize quality

and productivity, and contribute in preventing injuries and illnesses.

This data can bridge gaps and change the way people within an orga-

nization work together. It helps in creating a culture that is looking to

the future and utilizing all necessary tools move processes in a positive

direction.

STRENGTHS AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF TECHNOLOGY

Ultimately, all this technology is meant to be an aid in helping organi-

zations move towards operational excellence. Technology is empower-

ing employees to make decisions that are educated and that have the

potential truly transform not only the workers, but the culture within

the organization. A few critical strengths of new technology are:

• Reduces potential risk to the worker – by taking the human element

out of the job, the hazard will not affect the eliminated worker. In

many instances, the worker might not be completely removed, but

at least the worker can be more informed of the hazards present.

• Allows real-time data collection – enables the workplace to become

significantly safer by capturing hazards, completing audits, and ac-

cessing training documents in real time. The capability of monitor-

ing the worker in “real-time” is available with this time of collection

• Reduces administrative work – data is automatically electronically

transmitted. This reduces Health and Safety professionals having to

spend time entering information in a system and allows them to

allocate more time to the ultimate goal: mitigating hazards in the

workplace and ensuring everyone returns home healthy and safe

every day.

• Provides an easier method to track leading indicators – technolo-

gy allows near misses to be tracked in real-time, easier methods for

training, and allows employees to complete audits and observations

faster.

Unfortunately, even though new technology can provide benefits,

there are also many unintended consequences of this same technolo-

gy. A few unintended consequences of new technology are:

• Removal of the human element – although this is a benefit as well,

there is also a negative impact of removing the human from the job.

How can a tool, such as a drone or sensor, replace a worker who has

many years of expertise? In the short answer, there will be a gap

from this aspect, which is why we must figure out ways to allow the

expertise of the worker to shine, even if their physical presence is

not required.

• Introduction of new hazards to the environment

– Fire and explosions – most wearable technology products rely on

batter power. Lithium-ion batters for example, have the potential

to overheat and explode or burst into flame

– Chemical reactions – extended contact with the skin has the

ability to cause a reaction, which can result in rashes or other

allergic responses.

– Hazardous environments – not powering down radio

transmissions in potentially-explosive environments could lead

to catastrophic consequences.

• Worker behavior (culture) – with an evolving and aging workforce,

how will this technology be adopted by users? Will management

support this type of change?

• IoT Security Issues – the more data that is available, the greater the

risk of exploitable information. A survey conducted by AT&T’s Cyber-

security Insights Report found that 85% of companies were in the

HOW INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES CAN IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY CULTURE



PAGE 5

process of or planning on deploying IoT devices. Of those, only 10%

felt confident that they could secure those devices against hackers.

• IoT Privacy – the amount of data that exists today is truly astound-

ing. According to Business Insider, “a Federal Trade Commission re-

port entitled “Internet of Things: Privacy & Security in a Connected

World” found that fewer than 10,000 households can generate 150

million discrete data points every day.” With that enormous amount

of data, the potential for vulnerability is higher than ever.

When we consider implementing a new technology into our process,

deliberate the advantages and disadvantages to what it will do to our

organizations.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Merriam-Webster defines culture as, “the set of shared attitudes, val-

ues, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organi-

zation.” How do we truly create a culture of health and safety? What

elements do we need to incorporate? How do we create value for our

workforce?

Properly answering questions such as these, will aid our organizations

in achieving operational excellence. Operational excellence occurs

when a company:

• Has a highly engaged leadership

• Believes in continuous learning

• Views “compliance” as a baseline for where everything should begin

• Is leading indicator-driven

• Has hyper-aware employees

• Use technology as tools

• Values Health & Safety

Reaching operational excellence is about moving beyond compliance

and commitment, and moving towards a culture of health and safety.

It requires understanding how we can utilize our tools and resources

to better our own organizations. Part of that is creating an investiga-

tive mindset. An investigative mindset consists of guiding principles by

which all investigators should function. These principles are:

• Accidents can be prevented

• Addressing causes will prevent similar accidents

• Failures are rooted in work systems

• People generally mean well

An investigative mindset is part of the “process”. When accidents hap-

pen, it’s usually a process that failed; not the worker. Additionally, our

processes should result in three goals: Safety, Quality, and Productivity.

All three of these work together and are what creates an organization

that we want to have. Without safety, our quality and productivity will

suffer; without quality, typically our jobs aren’t going to be as safe and

ultimately productivity will lack as well. Productivity is a parallel com-

parison too, because although our operations and jobs can appear to

produce properly, that doesn’t mean the quality of the job or the safety

of the worker is where they should be.

So why is all this really important?

Because finally, we want to ensure our workers are healthy and safe in

everything they do. We want our organizations to understand the most

important thing they can do is continuously learn. Everyone feels val-

ued and has a responsibility for health and safety and strives to follow

this mindset every day. The culture that embraces learning, will grasp

these new technologies and want to learn how they can be utilized to

improve the workplace. They will understand that utilizing all the tools

available will aid their organizations in having a workplace culture that

succeeds all expectations.

Technology can play a crucial role moving our organizations into the

future. But if we get distracted thinking they are the “answer,” we will

never reach our goal of operational excellence. So think about your

workplace. Consider what elements you need to add value for your

workers. Lastly, understand that health and safety is not a priority, be-

cause priorities change. Instead, make it a value, because values last

forever.

HOW INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES CAN IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY CULTURE

AUTHORLangdon Dement, MS, CSP, AEP, is an EHS Advisor with UL EHS Sustainability

where he supports UL’s mission to promote safe living and working

environments around the world by advising companies on improving safety

and health in the workplace. Langdon has a decade of experience in general

industry, healthcare, and construction projects. In his current position,

responsibilities have included safety program implementation for a variety

of industries, industrial hygiene analysis, ergonomic program development,

and trusted advisory services for international clients and regulatory bodies.

He has also become a frequent speaker and facilitator at health and safety

conferences nationally and internationally. Langdon received his Bachelor

of Science in Biology from Harding University and a Master of Science in

Occupational Safety and Health with an emphasis in Industrial Hygiene (ASAC/

ABET accredited). Langdon holds a certification of Certified Safety Professional

(CSP) and Associate Ergonomics Professional (AEP). He is also an OSHA

Authorized Outreach Trainer for general industry.

HOW INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES CAN IMPROVE YOUR … · 2018-02-14 · digital revolution. New,...

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