AlertMeter® Impairment Detection Technology

A recent conversation with Dave D. Lauriski, co-founder of Predictive Safety and CEO of Safety Solutions International, explored some underlying causes of workplace accidents in high-hazard industries. While he strongly believes that achieving zero fatalities is possible, obstacles prevent it from being realized. He asserts that measuring regulatory compliance alone cannot prevent these hidden obstacles, but data analytics like those being developed by Predictive Safety can be used to identify and manage them in a way to proactively reduce workplace incidents and fatal accidents.

Workers in high-hazard industries are well aware that their jobs may carry inherent safety risks, and recurring safety training is virtually universal to prevent and mitigate unsafe situations.

But, unfortunately, accidents continue to occur, from minor things like cuts and bumps, to traumatic injuries, lost limbs, and lost lives. The saying goes, “Accidents will happen,” and certainly clichés like this carry some inherent truth. 

At one manufacturer, employees have made their daily pre-shift AlertMeter® tests a communal event, in which they proudly demonstrate to each other that they are fit for work. They are one example of a company embracing the use of technology to evolve its safety culture in the workplace.

Permanent changes to workplace safety cultures can and do occur within organizations, just as they occur more broadly in communities of people and society at large. When they do occur, what brings on the change? And more importantly, how are they sustained?

Millions of insomniacs, Netflix bingers, and parents with loud babies report to work every day. 

We see them everywhere. They’re the ones huffing and puffing as loudly as possible at any minor inconvenience, such as a lapdog yelping next door or a coworker crunching noisily on their chips. With maybe a few hours of low-quality sleep in them, they’re easily distracted and forget why they entered a room immediately upon entering it. They’re irritable. They mutter a few more cuss words than usual, dismissing regular filters and inhibitions. 

Relying on Compliance as a Safety Performance Measure

Safety regulations are devised by government agencies to define minimum standards of practice to minimize health and safety risks. A key term in this definition is minimum standards, meaning organizations avoid penalties if all regulatory boxes are checked. But safety systems in industrial workplaces often rely too heavily on their regulatory compliance as the principal measure of their safety performance. The assumption is that if there is no deficiency to penalize, safety performance must be excellent.

Technology Can Be The Keystone of Safe, Productive & Quality Driven Operations

Safe employees are not only a crucial aim of any organization, they are in fact the keystone of productive operations delivering high quality. Although it is no secret that safety, quality, and productivity go hand-in-hand, the prevailing cultures and safety systems in many workplaces are not structured with this principle at their core.