Protecting the safety of mobile workers through software

Managing a team of mobile workers is a tough task.

It’s hard enough to manage people when they’re all under one roof but when you have employees out-and-about on the road it’s… character building.

As well as making sure things run smoothly, you also have the responsibility to ensure that it’s done safely.

Until recently, this was more a question of luck than judgement with mobile workers being ‘off the radar’ as soon as they leave the base. Without making constant calls, you had no way of knowing where they were or what they were doing.

But things have changed since the arrival of affordable mobile workforce management systems. These allow companies to monitor a worker’s location in real-time and integrate safety compliance into their everyday routine.

Here are four practical ways a mobile workforce management system can help increase the safety of mobile workers:

Location, location, location

Mobile workforce management systems use an app installed on each worker’s smartphone to allow managers to track their exact location and movement.

It means head office can keep an eye on where each employee is and monitor for any potential risks - a worker veering off a scheduled route or a vehicle remaining stationary for long periods.

If something does happen, an accident or incident; the system provides exact coordinates of the employee’s location for the emergency services.

Digital compliance checks

It’s one thing to train employees to follow safety procedures, it’s another thing to make sure they follow them. This is what makes mobile workforce management so powerful.

The systems can be set-up so that employees are provided with safety guidance, policy reminders and confirmation checks via their smartphone.

Confirmation screens can be used to ensure the employee has completed a compliance procedure before being allowed to continue with a task.

Safety in a snap

A quality mobile workforce management system will allow images taken via the smartphone app to be uploaded instantly to a head office or supervisor.

These images provide a way of verifying that a safety procedure has been properly completed before work proceeds. It also allows for any potential risks to be spotted by an expert eye.

An example of this would be a maintenance team providing pictures of an area they are about to start work on - have they cordoned it off properly, have they used the correct signage etc.

Wisdom of the crowd

An effective way to improve the safety of mobile workers is to use their day-to-day knowledge of working practices.

With a mobile workforce management system you can set-up pre and post task reports which allow the employee to make a note or suggestions or concerns they have with safety.

Catching relatively minor risks early allows an organisation to react before it becomes something major.