Smartphones and tablets are everywhere these days, and they have many uses. In a doctor’s office, your medical information is probably on a tablet. In a school, you can find lesson plans and textbooks in tablet formats. But you still may not be getting everything out of these expensive, multifunctional devices that you could be.
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Here are three more apps that environment, health, and safety (EHS) managers can use to help enhance workplace safety.
Chemical safety information. The national Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards, which has long been the well-thumbed Bible of the EHS set, is now available as an app. The guide includes general industrial hygiene information for 677 chemicals or chemical classes and offers key data for both individual chemicals and substance groupings, such as cyanides, fluorides, and manganese compounds. The latest version of the guide includes all chemicals or substances with NIOSH-recommended exposure limits (RELs) or Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limits (PELs). The guide is searchable and allows users to “favorite” often-used chemical listings.
If NIOSH’s app is too bare-bones for your tastes, third-party developers have incorporated NIOSH’s database into apps with more information and features. For example, some apps also include International Chemical Safety Cards and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Emergency Response Guidebook in a single app.
Ladder safety. There are many apps that turn a smartphone or tablet into a simple tool—for example, some apps can measure the height of an object, which allows supervisors to quickly judge whether workers are exceeding fall protection trigger heights. Other apps enable a smartphone or tablet to act as a level. Combine these sorts of functionality, and you end up with NIOSH’s ladder safety app, which helps workers with extension ladders check the angle of the ladder by using visual and audio signals. The app also offers useful tips for using extension ladders safely and is available for free download for both iPhone and Android devices.
Personal safety apps. Many workers in remote locations or those workers whose jobs raise personal safety concerns use their smartphones to protect their personal security. Often, this is done without an app by having the worker call in to a supervisor at specified intervals to report that he or she is safe. Personal safety apps offer an extra measure of security for these workers by automating parts of the check-in process. Apps of this type generally allow users to preset a list of contacts to be notified if they don’t report in within a specified period of time. Some have a single button to activate a security alert or call 911.
Need more advice on putting technology to work for you? Check out the high-tech resources at Safety.BLR.com.