Safety should always be the top priority for businesses and since the COVID-19 response is still evolving, it’s hard to keep up with new challenges around workplace health and safety standards.
First, the pandemic has resulted in a whole new set of safety protocols, with businesses implementing more stringent cleaning and sanitation practices, from more frequent handwashing to regular sanitation of high-touch areas. Additionally, businesses must adhere to social distancing guidelines, capacity restrictions, masking mandates, and employee temperature checks.
Another huge challenge is that many people left their on-site jobs. Restaurants, hotels, and other businesses where people converge, have closed or operated at reduced capacity. Others left because of child-care issues or because of fears of contracting COVID. And as businesses are scrambling to attract, recruit, and hire new employees, managers are experiencing unprecedented chaos and stress.
Thankfully, tech tools have advanced to such a degree that they have become essential in implementing safety protocols consistently, thereby restoring confidence in the workplace. Here are 5 critical ways that technology can boost emergency safety and mitigate risks.
1. Increase Safety, Quality, Accuracy, Productivity, And Efficiency
Even with reduced teams, businesses must still prioritize safety, enforcing “regular” safety protocols plus new pandemic procedures. tech solutions are significantly faster, easier, and more accurate than manual processes, helping businesses maximize compliance and provide proof that employees are following proper sops. digital tools can also help reduce labor costs — a huge benefit as businesses work to recover from the pandemic financially.
2. Boost Transparency
Historically, businesses enforced safety protocols “behind the scenes,” but now, there’s a huge demand for transparency in safety efforts. Key audiences — including customers, employees, vendors, inspectors, etc. — expect to see safety protocols being implemented correctly and consistently. Transparent safety practices are essential for attracting and retaining staff, who want to work for companies that prioritize these efforts.
3. Track And Audit Performance
A new trend emerging from the pandemic — that will likely continue for the long-haul — is that tech tools are used to conduct regular self-assessments to supplement in-person and remote audits. this important practice helps guarantee all safety protocols are being followed. self-audits can — and should — be implemented more frequently than third-party audits to create a continuous quality initiative. these self-assessments will help identify and fix problems before they become liabilities.
Using manual systems like pen and paper to audit often results in increased effort, time, errors, and expenses. Additionally, paper records can be difficult to organize, access, integrate, and analyze. Digital tools provide more efficient, accurate, cost-effective internal auditing systems, allowing businesses to get a more holistic view across the enterprise, or drill down by location, to immediately spot threats before they cause some serious damage.
4. Empower Employees
Technology can boost the ongoing training process and ensure employees are comfortable following all SOPs. Increasingly, companies are leveraging digital tools to train new and existing employees, with how-to videos, reminders, COVID updates, etc. This makes it fast, easy, and accurate to relay information to all staff simultaneously. It’s also a powerful way to reinforce key lessons and information. Tech tools ensure that critical emergency safety information is easily accessible and literally at employees’ fingertips.
Training empowers employees to take ownership of their company’s emergency safety efforts. By helping your employees become responsible and accountable for safety initiatives, you make them more invested in the whole organization’s success. As part of this effort, create and promote a safety-first culture, and enforce it at every level. Make safety a non-negotiable part of employee success to retain and attract high-performing people into your company.
5. Manage Evolving Covid Protocols
COVID has added an extra layer of safety protocols to the mix, and it’s critical that all staff understand – and follow – the most updated guidelines. Manual processes such as posting flyers on employee bulletin boards are ineffective because there’s no guarantee that all employees will see, read, and follow these notices. Instead, use technology to push out real-time updates to all employees right on their smartphones.
These digital solutions automate reminders and messages to ensure all staff members are aware of your expectations and following proper protocols. Employees also need to understand how vaccination requirements are impacting businesses in certain areas as more cities, including San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, are requiring proof of vaccination to dine in local restaurants, bars or other indoor venues.
With the tricky combination of reduced staff, new COVID-19 regulations, and demand for transparent safety practices, businesses need tech tools to align all employees around safety standards and maximize compliance. Any tools that provide consistency and quality assurance will significantly benefit operations teams, who are looking for solutions to enforce and ensure safety standards. Digital management tools are the smartest investment businesses can make right now to maximize the health and safety of their organizations, employees, and customers.
Protect Life And Go Beyond With The Right Technology
One error can irrevocably damage a brand’s reputation. Tech tools help minimize risk in many important ways. Most critically, they can help ensure safety procedures are properly conducted, monitored, and enforced. This is essential as new employees are trained on a company’s safety protocols. Digital tools help enforce safety standards, reduce risk, and protect brands by optimizing and improving line checks, inspections, auditing, equipment monitoring, temperature checks, cleaning and sanitation protocols, and reporting.
About HAVRION PROTECT
HAVRION PROTECT is a complete suite of hardware and software systems that delivers advanced situational awareness, health and safety protocols, communication and response for smarter and safer schools, buildings and facilities.
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
When it comes to notifying 1st responders, administration, and staff of an emergency, we need to make sure communications are as quick, clear, and efficient as possible.
HAVRION delivers the outcome of emergency communications with faster event responses and more effective collaboration for internal and external groups to respond and support safety. HAVRION’s emergency communications can be configured to connect directly to 911, as well as drive emergency communications immediately to Digital Displays, Text Messages, Emails, Voice Mails, and Push Notifications.
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
Havrion Protect’s integrated sensors deliver situational awareness by recognizing and identifying suspicious elements that may be dangerous such as unidentified or unknown visitors or trespassers, suspicious objects and unattended items, ensuring safety within the premises.
SAFETY AND WELLNESS
Havrion Protect serves as a platform that allows you to connect multiple technologies that include a collection of sensors, devices, digital displays, and AI-driven systems to address a number of modern challenges including gun safety, school wellness, and public health guidelines.
- Fast, Accurate Thermal Scanning
- Centralized Data Management And Integrated Reporting
- Remote Notifications Across Displays, Emails, And Text Messages
- Compliance Management (ADA, HIPAA, FDA, etc.)
- Access Control Options
