We wanted to share some of our favorite ways to use the product to improve safety outcomes at your facilities by using leading indicators. In this blog post, we will detail our five (5) favorite use case and implementation methods for the Vigilant Technologies (VIT)'s Arc device in your facility. These use cases are a result of research, testing, and discussion with our beta customers and pilot locations. Every facility is different, so use these use cases as a guideline and tweak your implementation as necessary. If you have suggestions or results for a different type of implementation, let us know and we’ll give you a shout out!
Implementation Comparison Matrix
Example for 100-person warehouse
(Cycle time = how often a user wears a device)
Implementation Description
All employees at a facility are issued an Arc device. Employees wear device on a daily basis for a long period of time. Stats are tracked, experiments undertaken, results analyzed, and changes are made. In this scenario, all employees benefit every day through instant awareness alerts via haptic (vibrational) feedback when they enter risky positions on the floor. Ideally, team members have full access to, or regularly see, their data so that they can offer input and make changes. Transparency is key to driving full adoption and engagement of new technology or processes.
Goal Alignment
What company goals would align with this type of implementation?
Recommended device quantities
Low end: ~67% of workforce, enough to cover 2 shifts to allow batteries time to recharge
High end: 100% of workforce.
Benefits of Implementation Type
Implementation Description
Some companies may not have the money or bandwidth to provide every employee with an Arc device and we totally understand! Arc devices are person-agnostic. They are calibrated each time a user signs in, and job-position can be logged. This means that multiple team members can use the same device, as long as the battery is fully charged before use.
In this use case, a rotational program is put in place where every member of the workforce cycles on the device 1–4 times per year. Repetitive reinforcement reminds workers to lift safely while on the floor. Workers cycle back onto the devices to ensure that they do not regress to poor safety habits. Different parts of the warehouse can be analyzed at a time, action can be taken based on results, then changes can be measured during next cycle.
Ideal cycle time: 6–8 weeks on.
Goal Alignment
What company goals would align with this type of implementation?
Recommended device quantities
Based on cycle times:
Benefits of Implementation Type
Implementation Description
Typically, new hires have the most issues with safe job performance. They may be hired and thrown into the job with little training, especially if they are temp/seasonal employees around the holidays. Even when new hires are given safety training, they have so many other things to learn and worry about that thoughts about safety often fall by the wayside. Often, new hires in warehouse and distribution facilities are brought on board on a temporary basis, only given permanent hire status after hitting exceedingly high performance metrics for a certain amount of time.
In this use case, Arc devices are used as a training tool, supplementing a traditional new hire safety training program. New employees are taught how to lift safely, then given the devices for the first 2–6 months (or more) of employment. Consistently hitting safe lifting targets may be made a requirement for permanent employment.
Goal Alignment
What company goals would align with this type of implementation?
Recommended device quantities
Based on company’s “new hire” designation and employee turnover. Need enough devices to cover however many employees have been with the company <6 months at any given time.
Generally we recommend enough devices to cover 15% of workforce, unless the customer has specific turnover/new hire data that suggests otherwise.
Benefits of Implementation Type
Implementation Description
Sometimes a company has specific issues or ideas about how they want to use the leading indicator data. Typically, a company has identified a problem area but does not have enough information about the cause of the problem to move forward. Or they may have a solution to the problem, but don’t know if it makes sense to implement it.
In this use case, the company uses devices to perform periodic assessments and evaluations on workforce and warehouse, as well as perform experiments to improve lifting safety and reduce injuries:
Workforce:
Warehouse:
Experiments examples:
Best Practices evaluation
Productivity expectation evaluation
Implementing a new safety initiative/program
Goal Alignment
What company goals would align with this type of implementation?
Recommended device quantities
Variable. Enough devices to run at least one experiment at a time.
Recommendation: # of devices = (# of employees per shift in largest department) x 2
Benefits of Implementation Type
Implementation Description
Many companies use incentives programs as a tool to improve employee performance and morale. In this use case, Arc data can either integrate into an existing incentive program or be used to start one from scratch. Team members volunteer to use devices to get incentives. Company assesses baseline lifting scores and provides incentives for consistently using devices, improvements from baseline scores, and/or for maintaining a score above a set threshold.
Goal Alignment
What company goals would align with this type of implementation?
Recommended device quantities
As many as the # of employees that want to participate. Plan for ⅓ to ½ of workforce and may need to add more devices if the program is popular
Benefits of Implementation Type
These are just a few of the use cases that we’ve seen implemented so far, but there are many other options. If you’d like to talk through another use case, get more information on these, or discuss how you can use Arc to solve problems and improve safety outcomes at your company, please reach out to us at info@vitinitiative.com!