Tech-driven solutions for safer workplaces
THE employees are a company’s most important assets – and as human beings we are all entitled to a safe and healthy working environment.
Legislation in the form of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Act 85 of 1993) was written and passed by Parliament to address this matter. The main objective of the Act could be described as a proactive attempt by government to provide and maintain a safe and healthy work environment for all. Preventing unnecessary injury, illness and loss makes good management sense.
Maintaining exceptional health and safety standards is integral to the ongoing success of any project in mining and construction, as well as in the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) industries. However, the time and expenses involved can be discouraging – often leading to less effective outcomes.
For experts in the health and safety field, the solution is clear: utilising technology can streamline the health and safety process. Moreover, it can lead to more beneficial outcomes for companies, contractors and stakeholders across the board.
A focus on health and safety in the workplace substantially lowers incident risk, protects employees, reduces lost time and injury frequency, and ultimately protects against substantial profit loss. Companies in mining, construction and manufacturing that lead in health and safety innovation, also tend to lead in their respective industries.
Developing and managing impactful strategies is resourceintensive and requires significant input from employees, which often deters some businesses from implementing health and safety practices effectively.
The goal is to simplify and even automate the process to the point where barely any additional thought or effort is needed to maintain nearperfect safety standards. The best way to accomplish this is through integrating technology into normal operations.
Larger companies in high-risk industries in South Africa have largely made the transition to technology-driven health and safety solutions, but small and medium businesses can also benefit and should consider making the move.
TRANSITION STEPS
The first step companies often take when introducing technology into their health and safety processes is converting physical data to a digital format. Digitisation streamlines health and safety-related administrative tasks, reduces paperwork, and is ideal for capturing and managing employees’ personnel files, training records and certifications.
It not only eliminates the burden of manually completing paperwork, but also ensures data accuracy and accessibility.
A common second step is incorporating technology into health and safety training practices. Learning modules can be digitised and easily shared among employees, and companies can develop simple training apps that empower employees to complete their training on any smart device. Workers are also able to review safety protocols or revisit modules on the same app, whenever necessary.
From there, risk assessment and emergency response software that integrates geospatial data, weather forecasts and real-time communication channels can be used to accurately identify potential risks, as well as assess the impact and likelihood of those risks occurring.
Advanced analytic tools allow for vast quantities of data to be analysed at speed to identify patterns and threats – enabling project managers to institute pre-emptive measures or prepare a reactive response plan.
LOOKING AHEAD
Health and safety does not happen in a bubble – it involves many individual employees, teams, departments and subcontractors or suppliers that may access the project site at any point. These variables must also be controlled and managed, with specific health and safety standards applied to subcontractors and suppliers, which often involves intensive auditing processes.
By leveraging the power of technology and digitisation, you can effectively automate auditing processes across a project’s entire ecosystem.
Looking ahead, the use of digital data analytics and machine learning algorithms will soon be widespread as companies seek to identify risks and deviations more accurately and proactively, enhancing their oversight and accountability.
Ultimately, technology makes the workplace much safer – freeing up valuable time for safety professionals and employees to focus on proactive safety initiatives and engagement with other relevant teams.
This results in improved consultation on the client side or with subcontractors and ensures that the whole project is aligned, with health and safety practiced consistently and effectively throughout.