The Buddy System on Steroids or BSO?

The Buddy System, where workers "buddy" each other up and, using visual cues, alert each other to physical problems on the job (e.g. if you feel heat from a nearby fire, look over to see if your buddy is experiencing a loss of concentration, then signal them using sign language to get out of that area) seems like a brilliant way to avoid accidents and make things much safer on the job. The same thing would seem to be true of more high-tech examples of BSO such as:

• A sensor on a tool warns the worker when the tool starts to move to the left or right too far and thus potentially gets the worker into danger. This is similar to the idea of a device that lets a worker know their tool is starting to drift to the left or right.
• A sensor monitors a patient or other subject and alerts a caregiver if the patient or subject moves to much or in the wrong direction, or if there is a problem with their heart rate or blood pressure.
• A sensor placed under a worker's armpits on the machine they're working on can help them sense the heat they are radiating off the machine, so they know when they're starting to overheat (not a recommended practice, but I think if you are going to overheat, you might want to figure out what that is before you do it!).

The Cubist Invention

The idea of designing work so that there are no accidents is one of my favorite examples of BSO. I remember reading in the book Building Safety into Design that this approach was often called a cubist method of engineering, because it took a complex problem (like the space shuttle landing) and broke it into many small pieces so that no one piece had to handle too many things. That makes sense to me. It seems like a way to keep things simple, safe, and reliable.

Lessons Learned

Most of these examples from different types of work can be used in our work. What can we do at work to make things safer for us?

• Is there a sensor that detects our presence? Such as a proximity sensor. (A sensor that detects when an item or tool is near or behind the object we are.)
• Is there a wireless sensor that detects whether we're getting tired or experiencing loss of concentration, like with a heart rate monitor?
• Is there a sensor that detects physical problem like a temperature sensor?
• Could we add physical obstacles like a physical beam that senses when a tool approaches it (with an electrical contact and a sensor on the tool), or a wall that has a sensor that detects if the tool has been leaned against it and is blocking the line of sight?
• Could we add sensors to tools (like a temperature sensor on a saw blade) to detect if there are any problems with the way we're using a tool?

I think that most of these things exist already, but the point is that by giving it some thought and doing a little research, we can think of ways we could add sensors to make things safer for us, or for others. These changes are not going to cost a lot of money or take a lot of effort. They can improve our personal safety, and they can improve work safety. A lot of other benefits can be found just by improving our tools, devices, or equipment.

Closing Thoughts

The idea of making technology that improves our work, that makes it safer, seems to be just as interesting and applicable to our work as creating technology that is just focused on improving our performance.

I believe that we have a lot to learn and improve when it comes to thinking about our own safety, and the safety of others at work. Not only are there a lot of workers comp cases (and Fellowship of Reconciliation union cases) being done in courts around the world, but there are also many opportunities for workplace safety improvements.