Enhance Your Fall Protection Program with Technology
Our modern world largely revolves around data and technology.
- By Kevin E. Wilcox
- Dec 01, 2022
It is easy to forget how much life has quickly changed due to advances in technology. From the most mundane examples (remember paper maps?) to the most amazing medical advances, modern technology has transformed everyday life. So, why are most safety professionals still trying to solve critical fall protection program challenges in disjointed and outdated ways? Considering that fall fatalities continue to rise, it’s clear that the “old ways” aren’t working.
Organizations can take advantage of a variety of different technologies to address all aspects of a managed fall protection program—from updated methods to identify and control fall hazards to digital map-based tools that allow us to manage and maintain an enterprise-wide program.
The Value of Data & Technology
Data can often feel like a double-edged sword—too little and there’s not enough information to help make intelligent decisions, while too much can be overwhelming—leading to confusion or inaction.
For the same reasons so many aspects of everyday life have moved to apps and web-based tools, similar benefits apply to technology solutions for fall protection program management:
- Leverages automated, organized and intuitive data
- Simplifies information access and collaboration with all stakeholders
- Reduces time spent on tracking actions
- Improves decision making with simple, actionable data
- Provides accurate, real-time monitoring of needs, progress and next steps
- Accommodates map-based data to easily locate information spatially
- Specifically for fall protection programs, technology tools deliver the same benefits listed above, as well as the following:
- Reduce need to put personnel at height for data collection
- Minimize business disruptions by ensuring usable, compliant fall protection systems
- Simplify management of required compliance, inspection and record documentation
- Extend the lifespan of equipment and system investments
- Document completed corrective actions and subsequent risk reduction
- Inform planning decisions, related to priorities, budget and schedule
Leveraging technology to reduce risk is not an all-or-nothing situation. Some technology solutions may not work well for your organization’s culture, staff, infrastructure or processes. Still, it is likely that any organization can gain efficiencies, improve accuracy and simplify management by using a subset of the available technology solutions. And the more these solutions can be customized to a specific environment, the more beneficial they are to the organization.
This article originally appeared in the December 1, 2022 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.