COVID-19 has shown that industries must adapt to sudden changes in new hire availability and the need for technological advances that allow workers to effectively communicate remotely. Connected Worker solutions have proven to help organizations overcome these changes, and in most cases, increase efficiencies during this uncertain time.
However, organizations typically only invest in solutions for assets rather than for their workers. Little attention is paid to how frontline workers can contribute to ensuring failure is avoided, or how on-the-job incidents impact operations. Human error leading to incidents is far more common and will cost an organization even more than asset failures due to the compounding medical and legal costs human-error induced incidents can carry.
Enabling digital data capture in operations is one way organizations can contribute to safer operations while boosting productivity.
Why data capture?
Data collection can be an inefficient and time-consuming process for field workers in the heat of a hazardous task. This information is not immediately communicated to managers and supervisors when captured, meaning that possible asset maintenance issues cannot be pre-emptively acted upon. However, with Connected Worker technology implemented there is already the infrastructure for field workers to capture data at the point of need and immediately during the flow of work.
Having data digitally communicated also means that there is less chance of the errors in the data capture. Digital data can be multidimensional compared to the linear restrictions of using paper in the field, meaning not only are there fewer errors, but data is more precise.
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Errors are also prevented with specific parameters that can be set for the data capture, making capture mandatory in the correct volume.
Why it matters
Not only can managers anticipate possible incidents or malfunctions through data capture, but they can also see trends in the data that can help them identify which assets need maintenance earlier, in addition to ways to streamline work processes.
With multiple connected workers in the field, management can also begin to identify which workers are behind or need retraining based on performance data. They can also refer to the exact point when a worker encountered an incident to best react based on data gained during the completion of a digital procedure.
Saving experts’ time
The ability for managers and leaders to check a worker’s progress and data at a moment’s notice means radio communications between workers are only used to communicate the most important information. When it comes to training, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) can check the status of a new hire at any time from their mobile device so they can focus on the most important operational tasks while the newest workers contribute to the bottom line.
Continuous improvement
Using AcceleratorKMS, field workers can give their own feedback from a mobile device at any point during a task, making management immediately aware of corrections to procedure and training material. The review process for the content is then tracked to ensure it is acted upon in a timely manner.
As data is captured, management can begin to identify patterns and trends in work and processes throughout the plant. With this information managers can begin to act, finding new pieces of digital content and procedures to add safety warnings and HSSE information to, or new content they can edit for technical accuracy.
Want to see what data capture would look like in your operation?
[1] Demand Surges For Connected Workers Due to COVID
[2] Paper v Plastic Part I: The survey revolution is in progress
