NCCI just announced the release of the third and final installment in its new Insights series, “The Future of Workplace Safety Technology Is Now,” which explores employer viewpoints on the latest trends in safety technology.

In the first installment of its series it shared insights from interviews with four workers compensation carriers in various stages of testing, introducing, and implementing safety technology. In its second installment, NCCI interviewed six technology innovators who are actively working with workers compensation stakeholders to create and provide various types of workplace safety technologies, For this third installment, NCCI interviewed three employers that have adopted innovative safety technology including wearables and video AI/Computer Vision.

Key insights from this new report include the following:

– – To effectively implement safety technology, an ongoing partnership between the employer, the technology provider, and the insurer is important.
– – Knowing how to interpret and use the data collected from the safety technology was a potential obstacle for at least one employer.
– – The cost of the product was not necessarily an obstacle to implementation.
– – Manufacturing and warehousing are currently the primary industry focus.
– – Employee buy-in and trust are critical for success and can be achieved through education and transparency.
– – The employers’ use of safety technologies also resulted in increased productivity and efficiencies.
– – Use of a single safety technology may not address all workplace hazards or unsafe practices but can be another tool in the toolbox for creating a culture of safety.
– – Safety technologies can be an effective tool for monitoring multiple locations remotely and in real time.

The employers interviewed discussed some of the obstacles to implementing safety technologies, including learning how to manage and act on the data collected and address employee privacy concerns. Interestingly, the cost of the safety technology was not necessarily the biggest obstacle noted by these employers.

An open, honest employer culture is important. According to one employer, employees “buy-in” when there is transparency, management explains the “why,” and wears the device themselves. While not every employee may want to wear the device, the employers believe it was now viewed like any other personal protective equipment such as a hard hat or safety glasses.

As it did for the first two articles, NCCI asked the three employers if safety technology is a “game-changer.” One employer believes that they are a “100% game-changer – especially for a department of one!” A second employer found the ability to monitor a worksite 24/7 to be a game-changer for their operations.

Interested readers can read the full report on the NCCI website.

NCCI Publishes Third Report on Future of Workplace Safety Technology