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 Editor-in-chief Kris Oldland hightlights three technologies that could help field service organisations enhance protection for employees working alone, reduce potential risk and fulfill duty-of-care responsibilites.

The field service worker is often required to work alone and for the field service organisation this presents a large number of challenges of its own. Legislation across countries varies in this respect but at the very least it is the employer's moral obligation to ensure that any of their employees including those in the field have suitable processes in place to help ensure their safety.

Fortunately, technology is proving an ever-reliable tool to help automate many of these processes and as the continuing trend of wearable technology continues to evolve so will the potential new tools for lone worker protection.

New developments are happening all the time in this exciting space but in this article lets take a look at three concepts I’ve come across recently that could genuinely offer additional lone worker protection.

1. Smart Glasses

   Whilst perhaps the most high profile brand of Smart Glasses, Google’s Glass project met an abrupt end to its well publicised beta program the fact remains that the Smart Glasses market whilst still embryonic remains vibrant.

   However, whilst there is a consumer niche for the devices in areas such as extreme sports, many manufacturers and developers of smart glasses, including Google are turning their attention to the world of business as a target market and field services is an obvious core sector.

   For the lone field worker the ability to receive notifications and instructions whilst keeping both hands free could be a vital health and safety feature, particularly for example for engineers working in high risk environments such as an electricity pylon or scaffolding etc.

   Other benefits of Smart Glasses in field service are evident such as the opportunity for more skilled engineers to guide less qualified colleagues through a repair with a true ‘see-what-I-see’ viewpoint. However, it is the safety aspect that could perhaps be the biggest selling point for Smart Glasses when it comes to adoption by field service companies.

2. Bio Sensor clothing

   It might be the newest area of development for wearable technology,  but Bio Sensor clothing is perhaps one of the most exciting when it comes to the protection of field service workers.

   Bio Sensor clothing is perhaps one of the most exciting when it comes to the protection of field service workers.

   The health and fitness sector is already awash with wearable clothing designed to monitor biometric data ranging from wearable vests, socks and even false teeth. However, once again the applications for these wearables have a perfect place amongst field service engineers.

    

   For example a vest that detects heart rate could be invaluable for the lone worker when they are behind the wheel.

   One can’t help but think that the tragedy just under a year ago year when Harry Clarke fainted at the wheel ploughing his bin lorry into pedestrians in Glasgow city centre, killing six people. Had Clarke been wearing a bio-monitoring vest, perhaps even connected to an Bluetooth enabled engine cut-off mechanism, then perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided.

   Due to the nature of their roles, field engineers are often alone behind the wheel and this is just one potential use of bio sensor clothing that could help not only protect them but also those they share the roads with.

3. Wearable cameras

   The potential for wearable cameras for helping secure lone workers is absolutely huge.  London's Metropolitan Police force is utilising these devices  - they are light enough to not impair the wearer in any way but are also capable of not only capturing and recording video but also of transmitting that data live via either a 3G or 4G signal.

   What this means is that simply by triggering a panic button on their person should an engineer find them selves in trouble for whatever reason the team back in HQ can instantly log-in and see the situation in real-time. Also as the cameras are capable of utilising GPS,  triggers could be put in place for the camera to send an alert and start streaming should an engineer leave an accepted area.

   Such visibility into lone workers can prevent them becoming isolated in the event of any threat to their security and as such can also go a long way to helping ensure our lone workers are as safe as they possibly can be.

These are just three potential applications of wearable technology that can help protect our lone workers, but there are many more. As employers it is our duty to ensure that we embrace the emerging field of wearable technology in order to further enhance the safety of our lone workers in the field.

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Fashion, smart clothes & the future of wearables:  Uri Pintov, Product Line Director, ClickSoftware takes a look at the role Wearable Technology could play in field service.

Picture this: A customer service representative is helping an irate customer on the phone and becoming flustered and frustrated. Rather than hearing about the incident after the interaction has escalated, customer service managers are able to step in and offer assistance because they have access to the rep’s vital signs and health signals.

Or, imagine one of your fleet drivers becoming tired and falling asleep at the wheel and a fleet manager having the ability to talk him through getting to a rest area safely, thanks to having access to his health signals. All of this, and more, is possible, thanks to wearable technology.

The Rise of Wearable Technology
Wearable technology is nothing new, but its applications to the enterprise and customer service are just now being realised in a major way. A 2013 study on wearable tech from the Centre for Creative and Social Technology at Goldsmiths, University of London, showed that about 33% of U.S. and U.K. adults found that wearable tech had helped their career development. Other research from Human Cloud at Work showed that wearable tech increases job satisfaction by 3.5% and boosts employee productivity by 8.5%.

As reported for RealBusiness by Shane Schutte,  lead researcher Dr. Chris Bauer sees the results of the study showing “the potential power and application of wearable devices in the workplace from employee biometric CVs to organisational real-time executive dashboards for resource allocation…. Using data generated from the devices, organisations can learn how human behaviours impact productivity, performance, wellbeing, and job satisfaction.”

 

Wearable technology adoption will increase as people and companies see the benefits of it, including how it improves an individual’s life or a company’s performance. Nigel Beighton,  UK CTO of Rackspace, sees the need for individuals and businesses to analyse the data from wearable technology “and understand the wider context surrounding the data, such as the weather location, posture, even temperature and mood of the individual. By focusing on the data as well as the devices, wearable technologies can provide meaningful insights that can be used to improve performance and satisfaction. Essentially wearable tech and big data go hand-in-hand.”

Smart Clothes as a Tool for Business
Using smart clothing to track employees’ vital signs and health signals is a reality now. According to Wearable Technologies, 2015 is a “banner year” for the emerging smartwatch and smart clothes market. One of the most important features of smart clothes and smartwatches is their health related sensors and monitors that rack vital signs. Smart clothes provide real-time feedback of the wearers’ vitals and health and connect to apps to deliver the information to smartphones and computers. Most smart clothes can monitor heart rate, breathing rate, sleeping patterns, calories burned, intensity of activity, temperature, and heart beat.

While most of the smart clothes are in the health and fitness market today, they are starting to be available for the healthcare industry for hospitals and personal care facilities and for businesses that want to monitor their employees.

Smart Clothes and the Mobile Workforce
More companies and organisations are going mobile, and there are more field workers and independent contractors than ever before relying on mobile devices and mobile apps. According to a CIO article, a recent Apperian survey of organisations found that more than 70% of respondents plan to equip more than 1,000 users with mobile apps and 1/3 are deploying mobile apps to more than 5,000 users in the next two years.

Additionally, Gartner predicts that 50% of employers will require employees to supply their own device for work and reports that 38% of companies will stop providing devices to workers by 2016. As more companies adopt bring your
own device (BYOD) policies, it becomes crucial for the mobile workforce to be able to charge their devices quickly and easily while on the go.

 

Wearable technology and smart clothes are solving this problem, as designers are becoming inspired by flexible solar panels and are creating clothing and accessories that power and accommodate handheld devices. We have found a few designers who are creating everything from shirts, to jeans, to ski jackets, to winter gloves that could make being part of a mobile workforce easier than ever before.

Wearable Solar – Dutch fashion designer Pauline van Dongen is designing lightweight wired garments that include solar panels so the wearer can charge a smartphone. Her designs charge smartphones up to 50% when worn in the sun for an hour. She collaborated with Christiaan Holland from the HAN University of Applied Sciences and
solar energy expert Gert Jan Jongerden on the Wearable Solar project, to integrate photovoltaic technology into the clothing.

WTFJeans – One company that accommodates smartphone users is WTFJeans. With smartpockets that give wearers easy access to their smartphones and clean the phone screens, WTFJeans also include EMF shields to reflect cell phone radiation.

Zegna Solar Ski Jacket  - Clothier Ermenegildo Zegna teamed with Interactive Wear to create “the world’s first ski jacket powered by solar energy.” The jacket has solar cells embedded in its collar to convert sunlight into renewable power that wearers can use to fully charge their smart phone, iPod, or other mobile device. The collar is
removable so that it can be used as a power source even when you’re not out in the elements.

Agloves – It is nearly impossible to use smartphones and tablets when wearing gloves, since typical gloves are not compatible with the touch screens on mobile devices. Agloves offer a variety of gloves, including the Grip Touch,
Sport, and Natural, that are constructed with real silver for warmth and high conductivity, so that all ten fingers are conductive for use with any touchscreen device.

 

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