Leveraging Digital Technology to Gain Job-Site Intelligence Insight

It’s no secret that virtually everyone has a smartphone these days. According to data from Pew Research Center, the vast majority of Americans (96%) now own a cellphone of some kind, 81% of which are “smartphones.” Considering the fact that only 35% had smartphones in 2011 (when the Center conducted its first survey on this topic), you could say the mobile revolution has taken hold. Statista hits this point home with similar stats, reporting that the number of smartphone users in the United States skyrocketed from 62.6 million in 2010 to a projected 272.6 million in 2020. That’s a lot of smart devices to go around — devices that ultimately are incorporated to some degree — into all of these users’ workplaces. As the use of mobile devices continues to rise, employers must develop and enforce clear security policies regarding smart devices that are company-provided as well as employee-owned in order to maximize productivity as well as boost safety among workers.

When you look at the construction industry, safety is obviously a top priority. Based on the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 5,250 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2018, a 2% increase from the 5,147 in 2017. Out of 4,779 worker fatalities in private industry in calendar year 2018, 1,008 or 21.1% were in construction. Given the hazards that exist in the construction industry, the question is how does this massive mobile workforce utilize the benefits of smart devices while maintaining the highest levels of safety and productivity?

According to a survey conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder in 2016, one in five employers (19%) believed workers were productive less than five hours a day, and three in four said two or more hours a day were lost in productivity due to distracted employees. More than half of employers (55%) indicated workers’ mobile phones/texting were to blame for this lag in productivity. Another study, “The Attentional Cost of Receiving a Cell Phone Notification,” from Florida State University found that employees are 28% more likely to make a mistake after getting a phone call and 23% more likely after getting a text — and that data is from 2015 (imagine what it is now).

All of that considered, it’s crucial for companies to harness the benefits of digital technology while finding a strategic balance that protects workers, employers, and those around them. In this month’s cover story, “Diminishing Distractions,” Joe Breaux of TRUCE Software explains how utilizing contextual mobile device management (CMDM) can boost safety and productivity in electrical construction and maintenance settings. By identifying intelligent “work zones” based on contextual indicators, the technology, which is comprised of an app on the employee’s mobile device and a management console, helps users improve job-site safety, boost productivity, and reduce errors in the field.

“With the increased use of mobile devices in the workplace, companies must now ensure they have a robust mobile device policy that grants employees access to the right applications and data — whether on-site or off-site — while limiting distracting and unnecessary apps when a safety or productivity risk exists,” writes Breaux. “Unlike other safety precautions, CMDM works as an automatic safety switch for a mobile device and manages the functionality of mobile devices in contextual zones, proactively eliminating liabilities from the time workers have their tablet or smartphone in hand.”

Read the March cover story for more on how this type of job-site intelligence can decrease distractions and optimize safety outcomes in the electrical industry.