3 Benefits of a Data Driven Safety Solution

A strong, measurable safety strategy is the best way to improve the safety and productivity of your employees. Although lagging safety indicators can and should be used to help report safety statistics, real time, contextual data can transform a safety measurement program into one that is proactive, predictive, and engages workers much more effectively.

Fortunately, the technology exists for a new kind of safety environment that connects workers as part of an engaged safety community. Connected safety platforms can help safety managers make proactive decisions based on real time reporting from workers and sensors. When configured to meet the unique needs of each work environment and its management, a data driven safety program can analyze safety in real time, measure the impact of safety training, and deliver relevant safety information so that management can make appropriate decisions to help reduce and mitigate risk exposure. Specifically, here are three benefits of using a connected, data driven safety solution:

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1. Worker Engagement  -  Data driven safety solutions need to interact not just with passive sensors and smart PPE, they must be connected to the workers themselves. A truly connected safety platform should include handheld devices that empower workers to report potential risks via photos or messages. Safety experts know that increased worker engagement leads to improved safety measures organization-wide. When workers can report risk in real time, and they see those risks being mitigated,  they become much more engaged in their own safety and the safety of those around them.
2. Proactive Decision-making-  Just as workers will become more engaged within a connected safety environment, management will also benefit from real time, contextual information. Connected safety environments can provide key risk indicators on a 24/7 basis, so management can understand what’s happening on the ground at any given time. As a result, hazards can be identified and eliminated much more quickly, reducing the reliance on lagging safety indicators. Proactive, predictive data management can help prevent injuries and incidents before they happen.
3. Enhanced Safety Analytics - Data driven safety solutions provide information that helps predict and prevent incidents in real time, but they also give the organization a meta view of safety. Historically, leaders within an organization have only had data based on lagging safety indicators that report safety performance against some kind of baseline. A connected safety platform will help senior management understand the risk exposure they’re facing on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis overall -  by worksite, by zone and even based on individual worker risk profiles. The result is a much deeper, more knowledgeable view of safety that drives stronger long term decisions and metrics.

​The benefits of a connected safety solution that is worker-powered and driven by real time, contextual data are limitless. Understanding how everyone within the organization - from the worker to the C-suite - benefits from this information as part of a data driven safety program can help improve safety metrics without hurting productivity.