Top health and safety tech trends in the manufacturing & industrial sector
The manufacturing and industrial sector is always on the lookout for new technologies.
Usually, technology is adopted because of its positive impacts on improved workplace productivity and efficiency, and resulting in increased return on investment. But it is important to note that the latest technology can also be of immense benefit to work health and safety practices established within our workplaces.
Whether implementing brand new technology or upgrading to the latest on the market, it’s not just about making an organisation look efficient and productive. It has to work too – especially when it comes to the health and safety of your people.
When implemented well, new technology can greatly improve a workplace’s ability to adhere to health and safety laws.
There are many ways in which the latest technology can be used for safety purposes. Safety monitoring, reporting, training, and communication can always be improved upon, and updating tired and traditional methods can be a good solution to drive improvements in overall safety.
So what’s happening in technology for health and safety in the manufacturing and industrial sector? Here are a few of the latest technologies that are trending right now:
Work health and safety training with augmented reality
No longer just in the movies, augmented and virtual reality equipment is becoming increasingly popular in health and safety training in various industries.
Virtual reality allows workers to be exposed to very high-risk situations in a completely safe environment. Rather than reading about a hazardous scenario in a manual, they can experience the situation virtually and effectively train for a real-life scenario.
Hi-tech safety wearables in manufacturing
Safety wearables such as smart goggles and smart vests are not only this season’s must-have looks, but they can also be used by employees for improved visibility within their workspaces.
Wearables help reduce risk and human error and improve response times in the event of an accident. These items can also produce timely and trackable data that you can use to help improve work conditions and worker accountability. For example, smart glasses, with specially embedded cameras, can record details of the wearer’s work to ensure they are performing their role safely.
Smart jackets and vests can quickly report to its wearer with environmental data such as air quality, airborne pollutants and noise levels. They can also measure heart and breathing rates, perspiration rate and orientation, and send vibrations to the wearer as a warning signal when safety thresholds are surpassed.
Who knew a piece of clothing could be so smart?
WHS software and mobile apps
Health and safety apps can help you stay connected with your team, irrespective of their location and whether they are on site or working remotely.
OHS mobile apps are also a quick and easy way to capture and report hazards in the workplace, and some even have the ability to report incidents offline too.
Because everyone from your workmate, Gary, to your dear old gran carries their phone with them everywhere these days, this is an easy way to implement a reporting process.
Safety Champion Software is one such example, and it can ensure you can report offline when you have restricted access to the internet. This is especially useful at times where critical events are occurring, or in areas of factories with limited coverage and where the internet cannot be accessed.
Using healthy and safety software has the added benefit of giving you real-time data to monitor ongoing process and can be used to drive improvement within your workplace health and safety procedures.
It also keeps a record of all your past data so that you can easily evaluate your safety performance over periods of time. So, it might just be time to say goodbye to that filing cabinet full of paper-based forms and replace it with a nice plant to brighten the office.
Benefits of looking to technology for better safety
Advancements in technology have always gone a long way in assisting the prevention of workplace injuries and fatalities. As tools and gadgetry like those mentioned above become ever more sophisticated, workplace safety will only become all the easier to manage.
To finish us off today, consider some of the key benefits of getting the right technology in place in your organisation;
- When implemented well and in alignment with an organisation’s overall health & safety program, technology can help keep your employees happy, and most importantly, safe.
- Your employees will feel a greater personal sense of safety knowing they have a high level of protection.
- You can monitor and track your safety progress, and quickly find areas for improvement. The future of tech in this space will even be able to predict areas that need attention.
- Technology brings greater productivity and efficiency by reducing administrative burden doing things the old way.
- Great tech will allow you to continually improve and spend your time and energy on parts of your operations or business that need attention.
So why not sit down with your leadership team and think about how you can improve health and safety practices in manufacturing with the additional of a little tech bling. Not only could you see great improvements in performance, but your team will certainly appreciate the effort and resources you put in to help keep them safer while they work.
Start your 14-day trial with Safety Champion Software as a first step towards embracing tech in your safety practices.
