Page 85 - Occupational Health & Safety, June 2018

not adhere to them. Therefore, it is important that organizations find ways to ensure their employees are complying with these criti- cal policies and procedures.
There are a number of solutions that can contribute to this goal. Among the most powerful of these tools is video surveillance, the use of which is growing within transportation environments. Long considered a security solution, today’s IP video systems are playing an important role in many other functional areas, as well. So while security is one of the contributing factors for the increased use of video, there’s more to the story.
Consider that a transit agency will typically have thousands of video cameras installed within their surveillance system. These are used for security purposes, but they are also used for much more, in- cluding operations, maintenance, and safety. So while security is one of the focus areas for video surveillance—and security dollars may be used to pay for the system—safety is the primary core value and a critical function for transportation companies and organizations.
Below are three main areas where video surveillance systems can deliver powerful benefits for improving workplace safety.
Compliance
Ensuring the safety of employees is crucial, and compliance is key. Video surveillance provides a definitive means for organizations to verify and validate whether employees are following established policies and procedures. In the event of an accident, video can de- termine whether compliance was in question and/or whether non-
compliance with procedures may have been a contributing factor.
Monitoring the workplace with video surveillance allows or- ganizations to better control employee safety and the potential hazards that may exist within the environment. Transportation organizations must and do take safety seriously; they are con- stantly identifying and implementing solutions that will minimize potential accidents and injuries, and video surveillance systems are a valuable tool on that front. In transportation, employees face a number of hazards on a daily basis, including working around high-voltage infrastructure as well as heavy equipment that may be in continuous motion.
Investigation
In addition to verifying compliance with safety policies and pro- cedures, video surveillance is also a valuable tool for helping to identify hazards and preventing incidents from occurring in the first place.
Using video surveillance cameras and systems, operations and maintenance groups within transportation organizations can iden- tify the causes of workplace injuries and take measures to address potential issues in the future. Following an incident, management can review video footage to determine whether implementing or improving existing policies, procedures, and processes could help reduce the potential for future incidents.
The only way to develop a solution to a problem is to understand its cause, and video provides organizations with the insight neces-
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