Originally Posted November 23rd 2011 Journal of Commerce

by GREG MECKBACH digital media

The proliferation of consumer wireless devices and cloud computing services is changing the way workplace safety managers track their data, Canadian industry experts say.

The increased popularity of the iPad and iPhone from Apple Inc. and wireless devices loaded with Google Inc.’s Android operating system, has allowed our doors to open to new ways of managing workplace safety information in the construction industry, said Somen Mondal, chief executive officer and co-founder of Field ID.

The firm recently announced that Rosemount, Ill.-based McShane Construction Co. selected Field ID to enforce regulatory compliance on jobsites.

Supervisors can now load quality control checklists on to mobile devices, record notes and take photos of work in progress. McShane also uses Field ID to communicate findings to sub-contractors.

Field ID doesn’t manufacture hardware, but instead functions as a systems integrator and software developer. It uses what information technology vendors call cloud computing, which essentially refers to using someone else’s server to store your data.

So with Field ID, customers don’t need to use their own hardware to store the data. Instead, through an internet connection, the company will store it on their behalf. Mondal said an advantage of this is the speed of deployment. McShane had its service up and running within two weeks.

Access to safety records is an issue, especially for construction firms with multiple sites, said Chris Moore, manager of training and education services at the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.

“You can search for them a number of different ways, not just the way they happen to be filed,” he said.

“For example, if you have a web-based system, you can access those records from anywhere that you have an internet connection.”

Moore was commenting on webbased safety records in general. Field ID has inspection checklists for numerous items used in the construction industry, including cranes, ropes, slings and personal protective equipment.

Users can read the devices using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, bar codes or their mobile devices.

Mondal noted RFID capability and near-field communications (NFC) is now being built into some wireless cellular handsets.

The same technology that lets consumers make payments and buy movie tickets with their wireless devices could also be used by safety staff to get, for example, the record on a harness.

Users can use either the checklists provided, import their own or customize checklists to their workplaces.

Mondal said companies could keep records on employees to ensure they have the correct training to use certain pieces of equipment.

“The trend in construction is to move away from paper-based processes,” he said.

“With paper-based systems, you have no way to know in realtime whether something has been inspected.”

But, paper systems do have some advantage.

“You always have access to it if you are where the paper is,” he said.

“You don’t have to worry about downtime of computer systems and that sort of thing.”

Moore added where inspectors require original signatures, there is an advantage to paper-based systems, though you can always scan paper copies and store them electronically. Overall, Moore said, there is an advantage to electronic storage, especially in construction.

“If you want to see how many people have taken a particular training course, with an electronic system you can compile the records into a report, whereas if you’re using a paper-based system, that type of reporting would all have to be done manually by flipping through the pages,” he said.

He added a reputable provider will backup electronic records.

“Construction is a very good example of a situation where having electronic records makes a lot of sense,” Moore said.

“People are moving around all the time, they need access from different work sites, so certainly unless you’re carrying everything around in a box from site to site, it doesn’t make sense to maintain paper records.

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