SAFETY/
Technology Advancements are Improving Workers Safety By Cameron Barrett, Field Safe Solutions
M
ost people are familiar with the Internet of Things. Fewer know about the Internet of Behaviors (IoB) – using data to change behaviors. From a worker health and safety program perspective, this means collecting data from the field and proactively using it to influence behaviors that create a safer work environment.
BENEFITS OF A DIGITIZED WORKFORCE
Digitizing your workforce keeps at-risk workers connected to other team members, improving their safety through the ability to communicate in real-time. It also creates additional benefits that help business leaders use data to prioritize operations.
ing and later at a different site another site-specific safety training. Because they have this information ahead of time, site administrative personnel can quickly identify the safety training required for each worker and have materials ready for completion as they arrive to keep them safe and focused on the task at hand. By automating the process of surfacing worker safety compliance requirements before they even get to site, clients with many field workers can save hundreds of person-hours each month. 4. Re-assignment of personnel to higher-value projects. Manual processes create a substantial administrative inefficiency requiring multiple full-time employees. Digitizing the process eliminates the need to sift through files and spreadsheets to identify existing certifications and training gaps that must be addressed according to each site’s unique specifications.
1. A safer, more connected workforce. In North America, there are more than 6,200 workplace fatalities and more than 1.2 million injuries per year. A digital By digitizing processes, environmental, health and the resources previously safety (EHS) solution is an WHAT IS GEOFENCING? assigned to manually assist important tool in protecting GPS identifiers create virtual borders (geofencfield workers with their workers from being part of es) around a location. These identifiers allow you certifications are now being these statistics. It can do to monitor contractors and employees, track their re-assigned to perform this by connecting workers check-in and check-out times, identify their training tasks that generate a highso the organization knows and certifications, and direct them to the projects er ROI and greater worker instantly where they are and most in need of action. satisfaction. their status, and can provide direction if an incident arises. Help can be dispatched quickly and the data conUSING THE IOB TO INFLUENCE BEHAVIOR cerning the incident used to mitigate future occurrences. Teams of oil and gas workers traveling every day across site are not unusual. IoB can manage health and 2. Improved workforce planning and well site safety data to influence and improve that trip. Data feeds maintenance scheduling. With a digital solution, field a process where scheduled workers are provided the data is easily and quickly collected and used to deternecessary forms at the start of their day, saving the time mine the maintenance requirements of each well site and required to manually find them (assuming they remember track the qualifications and skills of work crews. As a reto look in the first place). sult, team members with the right qualifications perform These forms can include a vehicle inspection form. work prioritized for the highest revenue impact. EHS This simple reminder to take the necessary steps to data can also be leveraged to help meet ESG goals. inspect a vehicle can help your company: 3. Faster safety and certification processes “at the gate.” The IoB – in combination with geofencing – tracks workers (including their training and certifications) at a given site. A contractor may visit a site in the morning that requires a specific well-servicing certification train28
Well Servicing Magazine/December 2021
• Save time in the process by surfacing the form, rather than requiring the worker to locate it. • Lower vehicle maintenance and operation costs by
