You may be surprised to learn that a fit-for-work program using AlertMeter® can support and enhance the responsibility for safety that everyone shares--not only among the front-line employee users, but at all levels, no matter their exposure to worksite hazards.
Safety is everyone's concern, so let's examine how AlertMeter® works as a tool for awareness and communication in the shared responsibility for safety.
Who is Responsible for Safety?
Self-Awareness and Self-Accountability
Because AlertMeter® measures your performance against your established baseline (average performance range), you will, over time, gain an impression of how your performance on the test can fluctuate. For instance, you may notice that when you get a little less sleep than would have been ideal, your scores could be lower than when you have a full night of restful sleep. Or, you could notice that your performance on the test tends to be above baseline on days you have a nutritious breakfast. Although minor performance fluctuations like this would not be so severe as to trigger an outside normal range (ONR) notification, such insights can inspire healthier habits and improve self-accountability about your mental state and readiness for work on a given day.
Who is Responsible for Safety?
Awareness of Environmental Factors
Working conditions are rarely comfortable and encourage alertness, so AlertMeter® test performance can help reveal which employees may be succumbing to fatigue due to the working environment. For example, extreme temperatures can exacerbate fatigue symptoms. Hot conditions accelerate dehydration, and working in rain or snow can worsen physical fatigue. Many work environments involve large and noisy machinery, and continuous loud noise can accelerate fatigue too. Beyond appropriate PPE like hearing protection, fall protection, weather-appropriate gear, access to shade and water, and so on, AlertMeter® can provide a quick and easy way to check that everyone in the crew is alert and fit to continue, or if someone needs to apply countermeasures.
Who is Responsible for Safety?
Co-Worker Awareness and Support
In the same way that AlertMeter® performance can help guide your own actions toward better self-accountability and healthier habits, knowing that your crew mates are being provided the same feedback from AlertMeter® not only provides peace of mind about their fitness for safe work, but it can help encourage camaraderie around alertness and safety performance. Companies have seen their work crews using their pre-shift AlertMeter® tests as daily rites of passage, showing off their scores to each other as proof that they are alert and ready to work safely.
Who is Responsible for Safety?
Greater Supervisor Visibility and Vigilance
Supervisors can't act on information that they don't have, and AlertMeter® provides information that in most situations would otherwise be invisible to them. The insight AlertMeter® provides separates it from many other safety tools because it allows for truly preventative intervention. Where a safety harness will save you from falling from a height, your AlertMeter® score may suggest that you should not be working at heights in the first place because you may be experiencing impaired judgment, compromised motor skills, and so on. Even in the case that you don't score ONR, your AlertMeter® test performance may show you and your supervisor that you may need to be more attentive to your mental state and do things to encourage alertness during your shift like having high-protein snacks and moderate doses of caffeine.
Who is Responsible for Safety?
It's About Culture
No workplace is immune to fatigue risk. Plus, illness, environmental factors, and personal issues can impact anyone's ability to focus. Using AlertMeter® goes hand-in-hand with the understanding that impaired cognition, diminished motor skills, and compromised judgment can occur for a variety of reasons, not simply drugs or alcohol. And ONR scores are opportunities for communication and maintaining safety, not opportunities for reprimand. The insight that AlertMeter® provides can be a keystone in your organization's safety system, inspiring better communication and accountability. This way, a culture of prevention pervades the responsibility for safe work that everyone shares.
AlertMeter®'s proven safety and productivity benefits empower middle managers and protect employees. Ensure your safety before accidents happen. Get in touch to learn more.
More Resources:
The Ultimate Guide to Safety Culture
Bottom-Line Benefits of a Positive Safety Culture
3 Ways Great Operations Managers Increase Productivity And Safety At Work
Using Technology to Evolve Safety Culture in the Workplace
Safety Value Examples
Thwarting the Accident Cycle through Effective Safety Communication
