Technology is praised for improving communication, collaboration, and efficiency in our workplaces from all industries. But can it also make our workplaces safer and more productive? Find out in this article!
Whenever technology is discussed in a workplace context, it is generally associated with productivity, especially from a perspective that involves process improvement. Technological tools can help with essential processes like sharing information, calendars, and other resources.
Recently, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has sent many workers to continue their jobs from home, the technology proved extremely useful for ensuring efficient communication, even if coworkers no longer worked from the same office. Technology helped deliver meetings via online platforms, share screens and documents, and basically allow colleagues to contact each other 24/7 through a variety of apps.
However, technology has the potential to do more than improve communication, and it can also improve safety for employees. This article explores how.
Employee wellbeing must be a priority in businesses from all industries. Not only that well and safe employees are more productive, but employers also have the moral and legal responsibility to ensure that their workers don’t get injured while doing their jobs.
As the legal experts from Compensation Calculator UK explain, “All industries have safety risks, ranging from slips and tripping hazards to working from heights, being struck by unguarded machinery, or handling hazardous substances. Even the modern offices can put employees at risk through repetitive work, sitting for long periods, tripping on power cords, or work-related stress.”
This is where technological solutions shine, making workplaces from various industries more secure and safe for employees.
Technology can help prevent worker fatalities and injuries by allowing improved employee safety monitoring, training, and reporting processes. Technology also offers the means for employees to perform risky tasks without exposing themselves to any danger.
Tech solutions that improve safety in the workplace
Businesses worldwide are stepping up to ensure, as much as possible, the health and safety of their employees by using technological tools. Luckily, there are plenty of such technologies that can help eliminate or reduce certain risks in work environments from all industries, including:
Autonomous cleaning solutions
One of the most common and basic accidents that can happen in any workplace is slipping or tripping on dirty or wet areas. But we get it, and it would be really counterproductive and time-consuming to have a designated employee to clean your work surfaces all the time.
But, what if you use an autonomous cleaning solution to do this job and ensure that all work areas in your workplace are hazard-free? Cleaning robots for floors and surfaces can do wonders in keeping your workplace safer for your employees. Not to mention that this solution will also keep your work environment virus-free and reduce the spread of germs.
Real-time data technology
High-speed communication doesn’t just keep your employees productive. It also keeps them safe if used for that purpose. For example, it allows team members to communicate fast and efficiently, which eliminates potential human errors due to a lack of sufficient information. It also allows employees to keep you updated on their safety status. Plus, employees can use these communication tools to report the risk of potential hazards and reduce the risk of someone getting hurt.
Incident reporting software
Unfortunately, even when you go above and beyond to keep employees safe, bad things can still happen due to external factors that are either out of your control or not considered. This is when incident reporting software tools allow you to collect all data about what went wrong and get accurate incidents reports.
Mass notification software
Depending on the industry you’re in, mass notification software systems can prove very useful in alerting all your workers about a potential hazard and protecting them. Keeping your employees informed about what risks they are exposed to can give them the necessary time to seek shelter or avoid being involved in a hazard or massive accident.
Mass notification can really make the difference between how many of your employees can get injured in a potentially hazardous event. Mass notification is a time-saving solution that allows you to alert your workers quickly and efficiently.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality is no new concept. However, this technology has only recently been adopted in all sorts of industries as an essential tool for training workers who perform risky tasks. VR is becoming a popular training tool in occupational health and safety as it allows workers to experiment with dangerous environmental conditions without genuinely being in danger. Using VR to train your employees will enable them to learn how to respond to very high-risk situations while being in a 100% safe environment. In other words, virtual reality allows employees to get a more “hands-on” type of training that will help them prevent any accident. Hands-on training is far more effective in keeping workers safe than just reading a manual of how to do things.
Drones
Drones are fascinating technological tools that allow us to record or photograph stuff from high heights. But, used in the workplace, drones can also improve safety by allowing employees to perform dangerous tasks. For example, sending a drone to check the area gives the team of employees crucial information about what they will find in a particular environment, without any human employee having to risk their wellbeing to get this information.
Wrapping up
Safety technology in the workplace does not only make employees more productive and efficient. Technological tools of all sorts can also help employees stay safe while at work, significantly reducing the number of injuries and deaths in the workplace.
From allowing workers to communicate efficiently to helping them perform high-risk tasks without being in real danger, technology keeps workers safe. This is excellent news for both employees and their employers.
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