With Industry 4.0, we are now in the era of the smart factory, and emerging innovations and technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, mobile devices, wearables, smart sensors, big data analytics, etc.
The EHS profession is also experiencing this trend. Technology is being increasingly leveraged to better protect workers and prevent incidents. EHS technologies that are being deployed include EHS software, EHS mobile applications, digital sensors, wearables, and others.
These technologies are at different stages of adoption, but the trend towards the greater use of EHS technology is here to stay.
If you’re an EHS manager, you will have to evaluate an EHS technology at some point. When that moment arrives, you may wonder what criteria should be high on your list.
Each organization is unique, but to determine the evaluation criteria for EHS technology, it helps to know what your peers are thinking. Luckily there is a resource that can inform.
A new white paper by the National Safety Council (NSC) highlights technology solutions that can be used to reduce risks of serious injuries and fatalities. The paper uses data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries from the BLS, qualitative phone interviews with 32 EHS professionals from large corporations, expert opinion from Verdantix researchers, and an online survey of 113 EHS professionals.
The top three most important criteria
The NSC asked research participants to indicate the degree to which they found different criteria important when deciding whether to implement new technology. For example, they wanted to see if cost or effectiveness was a greater factor. Here are the results with the top three criteria highlighted, and average ratings (1 to 5 scale):
1) Effectiveness of the technology at mitigating risks: 4.85
2) Relevance of technology to top organizational hazards/risks: 4.67
3) Ease of use for workers: 4.62
4) Lifetime cost of the technology: 3.79
5) Scalability of the technology: 3.77
6) Ease of implementation of the technology: 3.67
7) Upfront cost of the technology: 3.29
8) The maturity of the technology and/or technology vendor: 2.86
For the sample of EHS professionals included in the NSC research, effectiveness, relevance and ease of use for workers were the top criteria when deciding to implement new technology.
Many of the interviewees said that having the more advanced technologies does not matter if field workers will not use them.
Interestingly, the maturity of the technology and/or technology vendor and upfront cost were the least important criteria. According to the NSC, this suggests that many organizations are willing to take a chance and potential financial risk on a new technology if there is real, demonstrated potential to reduce injuries or save lives.
The NSC also stresses that its sample consisted of large, mature companies with great resources to devote to investing in new technology.
In conclusion, there are two important takeaways from the top three criteria:
- It starts with hazards and risks, not technology. Even before you start evaluating EHS technologies, you must understand very well the top hazards and risks that you need to eliminate or mitigate in your organization.
- Users must be involved in the evaluation. It’s not enough to involve EHS leaders and top management in the evaluation of EHS technology. Workers who will use the solution must have a strong voice. They should not be simply consulted. Rather, their opinion must be an important factor in the final decision.
