In times of need, technology is able to quickly adapt. Take the case of Andonix , a Detroit-based SaaS platform firm that works with companies to provide training tools to upskill front-line workers. As the need arose to keep workers safe during COVID-19, it adapted its software
The new digital tool, called Safely, tracks the likelihood of an employee contracting COVID-19 at work by monitoring physical touchpoints, social distancing and more.
“As companies scale up to previous production levels, many adjustments will need to be made," "says David Salazar Yanez, CEO of Andonix. "They are facing a new environment that requires specific rules to keep their employees safe as they start to return to work,” says David Salazar Yanez, CEO of Andonix.
One way to keep workers safe is to track procedures required by the CDC and other health protocols. The app allows for information can be centrally updated when there is a change in policy or CDC recommendations, and the results can be audited from a single location to ensure the procedures are being followed properly.
“Using a visual management system, the program takes employees through a step-by-step process to create a safety boarding pass,” says Yanez. “Similar to an Instagram wall, employees can see best practices, along with videos and follow color-coded instructions.” This friendly easy-to-use system is one that empowers employees, explains Yanez.
Using digital data entry, the company can both verify and enforce associate and visitor workplace compliance with new rules and mitigation policies. The device can record employee or visitor temperatures and issue a checklist before and after site access. The technology can be used to quickly identify associates and visitors that show symptoms or were exposed and act to notify and contain only affected work stations and people.
The system, using geolocation and time stamp technology, is also set up to monitor the distance between workers as well to ensure proper distancing.
In addition to the above-mentioned procedures of testing upon entry and tracking distance, the app creates a digital checklist to ensure that proper procedures such as disinfecting the plant or warehouse are used.
As touching of surfaces should be minimized as much as possible, using an app on a personal device is increasingly being implemented as the safest and most manageable process for this reason.
“As the technology is very user-friendly, it allows for any size company to have a management system that centralizes all of the processes and procedures that are necessary to monitor COVID-19,” says Yanez. To help companies of all sizes, Andonix has produced an ebook that explores a number of issues related to how to manage COVID-19.
While in many locations using this technology is new, it offers a practical solution as companies return to work in an environment that is unprecedented. “While companies tend to take a more conservative approach to technology, this is an example where being agile and nimble by implementing technology, offers a much-needed solution,” says Oliver Theiss, Co-founder, and Chief Revenue Officer.
“The idea of decentralizing decision making is something that many companies are going to need to do in order to adjust to rapidly changing circumstances we are now under.”