Technology that can alert a manufacturing worker of a forklift operating nearby or a construction worker that there’s a fall risk is being deployed to help with a new workplace danger in the COVID-19 pandemic: other people.
Wearables that can alert a worker a hazard is present have emerged as employers seek safer ways to return employees to sites. The deployment of tracing and tracking programs that can track outbreaks or when workers experience symptoms is also on the rise, according to experts.
“Since COVID started (employers) have been scrambling on how to put safeguards in place as they open up,” said Jacob Sipko, Dallas-based vice president of Genex Services LLC, a managed care provider working on solutions to help companies move forward.
Technology is filling the gaps with a “new dynamic” of risk that “has to do with human beings in close contact,” said Lorraine Martin, president and CEO of the Itasca, Illinois-based National Safety Council.
“There are technologies that are very much uniquely suited to find out where humans have been and who they have been in contact with, and physically how to create an environment that enables you to get your work done,” Ms. Martin said in a recent webinar on the swift deployment of technology to solve the safety dilemma posed by a highly contagious disease that can spread via people who may not be showing symptoms.
While the gadgets and programs differ, a common denominator is many of them were already on the market and repackaged or redesigned for use during the pandemic.
“I am seeing a lot of contact tracing applications. A lot of existing wearable tech companies are leveraging what they already do,” said Sean Salvas, Phoenix-based senior market strategy lead for environmental health and safety at risk management software firm Origami Risk LLC. The pandemic is “pushing the connected-worker devices, but that trend has been going up every year.”
Norwalk, Connecticut-based Triax Technologies Inc. markets tracing and tracking devices for workers, primarily in the construction and oil and gas industries. In April, the company pivoted, realizing that those working in offices and other settings would benefit from knowing where workers are and which workers are in the vicinity of another, Triax CEO Robert Constantini said.
“We leveraged the technology of the devices we already had,” he said. “The main element is contact tracing. (With a COVID-19 infection) you might not have to shut down entire sites. You know where to focus cleaning efforts and which individuals should quarantine.”
Interest in tracing and tracking devices has been “astronomical” in recent months, Mr. Constantini said, adding that such industries as manufacturing, food service and education are catching on the quickest.
Software company Iterate Labs Inc. is also using preexisting technology to meet current social distancing and safety requirements, marketing similar technology that sends alerts when workers come within six feet of each other. The technology collects data that could be useful if a worker becomes ill, allowing an employer to swiftly identify those with whom that person was in contact.
“Being a company that has developed wearables and with our experience in data science” we saw a “unique opportunity to help build out software analytics for contact tracing,” said Jason Guss, CEO and founder of Boston-based Iterate Labs.
In the workplace “you are trying to keep your distance and train people to make sure they are adhering to social-distancing parameters,” said Scott Smith, Laguna Niguel, California-based safety professional and director of ergonomics at Aon Global Risk Consulting. “There are a lot of (technologies) applicable to COVID, but the social distancing thing is probably what I am seeing the most among clients,” he said.
Helping the “desk-less worker” is one of the goals behind San Francisco-based Parsable Inc.’s platform that enables workers, such as those in manufacturing, who typically engage with each other on a daily basis to avoid close contact, said Jaime Urquidi, San Diego-based head of consumer packaged goods and regional vice president for the software company.
The platform uses software to complete such tasks as quality checks, maintenance inquiries and trouble-shooting “without having to break social distancing,” said Mr. Urquidi, who spent much of his career in manufacturing with companies such as Coca-Cola Co. and Proctor and Gamble Co.
“Previously, many of these tasks were face to face,” he said. “In my experience (workers) are very dependent on the interaction between people. These technologies bring them together.”
Another area where technology is filling a need is tracking worker health before problems arise.
Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Genex Services this fall plans to fully launch its program Safe2Work, which is designed to enable employees to conduct self-assessments before they go to work. This will provide employers with a centralized data point to know who may be exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 or who may have been in contact with someone who tested positive.
The program, which is already available through a web-based portal and will be accessible on a smartphone app this fall, was created from Genex’s program for managing leave among employees.
“We were able to build a software program that can correlate (a) mass amount of data for most companies to check trends or even mitigate, as much as possible, outbreaks that could be happening within their organization,” said Bryan Stonecipher, Denver-based president of Optis, a tech company owned by Genex that developed the program.
Angela Childers contributed to this report.
