Top 5 tips for introducing Digital PPE to your workplace in 2021
How to adopt digital H&S tools and make the right technology choices for your organisation
Protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of workers has never been more important. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘PPE’ was a term generally reserved for safety-critical environments. Now, it is commonplace everywhere from supermarkets to the kitchen at home. In a world with mobile technology at the disposal of almost all working professionals, Personal Protective Equipment now goes beyond the typical hard hats, boots and gloves.
When we launched the Fit for Work app with Morson Group earlier this year, we couldn’t have predicted how important digital PPE would become and how widely it would be used. Originally designed for remote workers in the rail and construction sectors, the Fit for Work app is now used by customers in the rail, construction, security, utilities, sport and finance sectors. Through one (ongoing) global pandemic and a year of PPE development, here are our top 5 tips to launching digital PPE effectively in your organisation next year…
1. Start a two-way conversation with the users
The usability of your new digital PPE system is going to be key to its successful launch and adoption. If the intended users of the system find it difficult to use, it won’t take them long to put it down and find a more convenient workaround.
“We have worked in close collaboration with the Fit for Work team to develop a version of the system that works for us. The team visit us at our site so they can speak directly to the system’s users and get a better understanding of our requirements and how we work.” — Lee Walker, Operations Manager, Morson Group
Replacing an analogue, paper-based H&S system with an intuitive, digital system that gets good adoption will require you to talk and listen to your users — before the procurement process begins and throughout the lifecycle of the system.
2. Make data privacy your #1 priority
In this digitally connected age, your duty of care for your employees’ privacy is paramount. Visibility on things like worker location, health and wellbeing can enhance the safety of people in the workplace (especially in safety-critical environments like remote rail and construction sites), but this visibility comes with a duty of care as their employer.
According to the Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR — gov.uk), ‘… Personal data shall be: … collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes… relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed… ’
Make sure you are clear on what the purpose of your digital PPE system is and the reasons for gathering workplace data. Communicate the purpose clearly to the system’s users. For example, if the purpose is ‘to improve visibility of potential risks in the workplace in order to keep workers safe’ then make this clear to users (i) before they are on-boarded to the system, (ii) as they are on-boarded and (iii) throughout their use of the system.
3. Don’t duplicate systems — integrate complementary ones
A common mistake that many organisations make when reviewing their digital systems and procuring new ones is trying to find a system that ‘does everything’. This can often lead to overlooking systems that are tailored (and often better) for specific areas of the process, leaving the shortlist of potential systems too short and therefore putting up with pain points in the long term.
‘Through our partnership with SAP, we have created a seamless integration between Fit for Work and SAP Fieldglass. This not only gives SAP customers more choice and access to the latest digital PPE technology but, by having different workflows managed in the platform, it opens up a wide range of data points and allows the technology to streamline and effectively manage quality of work and payment requests in a fully automated manner. This is a game changer for field services-based organisations.’ Jon Holden, Chief Revenue Officer — Aventi Global
Start by mapping out your end-to-end H&S process as it exists today. There are probably a number of analogue and digital systems that communicate with each other in some way. Talk to the people that use them — what are their pain points, what do they like and dislike about each system? Use this feedback to build a picture of what your organisation’s real requirements are, and not what you think they are.
4. Pick systems that are configurable and dynamic
Your requirements on day 1 will most likely be different to your requirements on day 365. When we first launched Fit for Work, it had been designed specifically for remote workers in the rail and construction sectors. Today, it is used far more broadly and we are constantly improving and customising the system based on feedback from our customers.
A good example of needing to be flexible is the upwards trend in remote working this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has played a key role in accelerating this trend for most sectors, and forcing it on other sectors that may not have wanted it. At the start of 2020, we weren’t focusing on the industries and customer types that we work with today because many of them weren’t working remotely. The configurability of the system meant that we could quickly adapt to changes in the landscape and customer types.
Choosing a dynamic system to work with will help to future-proof your choices. Before making a decision, running a pilot (trial) is often a great way to find the right system and configuration for your business.
5. Get early engagement from your board for a smoother roll-out
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on workplace H&S and this will continue to be at the heart of company decisions in years to come. In 2021, your organisation’s overall business strategy, HSQE strategy and digital strategy are going to be closely linked.
Aligning your overall digital strategy (including digital PPE) with your organisation’s overall business strategy at board level will enable you to choose the right H&S systems for your company’s wider objectives. Having a conversation with your board about digital PPE early in the new year can make the roll-out of new systems far smoother, knowing that you have support for your digital H&S agenda.
Conclusion
Digital PPE and the improved workplace H&S visibility that it brings will continue to be a growing trend in the coming years. With it comes new decisions and responsibilities for you and your organisation. Engaging with your employees and the potential users of new H&S systems will help to steer better system choices. A system’s access to and use of personal data must always be balanced with the individual’s right to privacy.
By mapping out your current H&S process as it exists today, you can understand the pain points and enhance existing processes and introduce better ones for the right reasons. You can future-proof your system choices by keeping them configurable and dynamic.
Over the coming years, the prominence of roles like Chief Technology Officers, Chief Data Officers and Chief AI Officers will increase and the trend towards digital-first business will continue. Be sure to engage with your board and take them with you on your digital PPE journey.
If you would like support with your digital PPE strategy and plans for 2021, please get in touch — info@fitforwork.ai
