Technology can be transformative for facility safety, providing 24/7 data and serving as management’s eyes and ears. However, it must be “mined” and utilized to make a difference. When data is used to recognize and reward good behavior, it can elevate the safety level of everyone involved.
Work to Zero: You have the Technology in place to support a safer facility, but how do you get People to make it a reality? 4 Steps to Success
Data is critical, but technology provides only part of the answer. People are the key element in making it happen. Having them engaged, involved, rewarded, excited and ultimately responsible is vital. While each individual stands accountable for Safety, how do you get everyone to work like they are?
It comes down to the fact that technology is a huge help, but a person may ignore what the technology is telling them. Motivating people involves a four-part strategy that uses data and engages individuals: Collect, utilize, act, share.
Collect Meaningful Data
There are many ways to collect actionable data. It can be as simple as putting tracking in place or using a collision avoidance system that gathers data on zone breach incidents. For example, a fork truck may have a close call with another vehicle, or a pedestrian may walk into its designated area. The zone breach information generated tells a story. One major benefit of this data is that it is not based on emotion or interpretation – it’s the objective “truth” based on facts. People may have their perspective on why an incident happened, but there’s no denying that it did take place.
Utilize Data to Advance Safety
Some operations see data only as a fail-safe back-up to provide information when incidents occur. In this case, they are missing a huge opportunity to prevent accidents, injuries and material damage. Good data can be monitored and analyzed to identify safe and unsafe drivers, and steps can be taken to reward those doing the right thing and retraining those who aren’t. A near-miss reporting initiative is an example of using data to generate a safer facility.
Take Action with Data as Measurement
It’s true in the classroom, and it’s true in the warehouse: rewards for good behavior drive positive responses. Having good safety data gives you the basis for who and what should be lauded, and a well-developed rewards system motivates good behavior. There are many types of competitions and reward programs for safety. Check out the ones at companies known for their safety initiatives and look for positive examples.
One type of “healthy” competition identifies the top three-to-five workers and rewards them periodically with a gift card (e.g., Starbucks, Amazon), a pizza party at lunch, or even extra PTO. Make sure everyone knows who won and why. Display a chart in the workplace showing how everyone is faring – those doing well down through those at the bottom who need improvement. Remember that over time, people can become complacent, so come up with new/innovative ideas that reinvigorate the team. Finally, celebrate the success!
Involve Everyone
A key element of the rewards system is dissemination. Safety data should not be limited to the supervisory or management level. A good system, such as one for collision avoidance, can provide a trove of information available to improve and strengthen safety across the board on a daily basis. If you want people to buy into the program and believe it, share the data.
Technology can be transformative for facility safety, providing 24/7 data and serving as management’s eyes and ears. However, it must be “mined” and utilized to make a difference. When data is used to recognize and reward good behavior, it can elevate the safety level of everyone involved.
New! Matrix’s OmniPro® Vision AI Collision Avoidance System – Enhance Your “4 Steps to Success”
OmniPro Vision AI is a state-of-the art collision avoidance system featuring Matrix’s NIOSH* award-winning Visual Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. This highly accurate, powerful system identifies and alerts on pedestrians, vehicles and key objects in the path of mobile equipment, ensuring safer facilities, mining operations and industrial sites. The system provides zone breach data and analytics that can be used as part of the “4 Steps to Success.”
OmniPro Vision AI allows for fully customizable zones and the ability to work in low-light and all-weather conditions, making it suitable for a wide range of equipment applications and operating environments.
With its high-speed processing rate, OmniPro Vision AI minimizes false positives and nuisance alerts that often desensitize workers to alarms. Operating without the need for personal wearable devices or tags, OmniPro Vision AI easily integrates with OEM controls for slowing and disabling machine movement.
With its OmniPro InFocus cloud application, facilities can tap into detailed collision avoidance data 24/7. InFocus features an advanced dashboard with real-time metrics and analytics, providing management with essential operational insights and intelligence to make the best decisions for the operation. All data, including zone breach incidents and timestamped photos, are recorded and stored for future reference and reporting.
Matrix is a US manufacturing company that has been in the proximity detection business since 2006.
Learn more about OmniPro Vision AI at www.matrixteam.com/omnipro-vision-ai/
*OmniPro received a U.S. National Institute for Occupational Health & Safety (NIOSH) technology innovations award.