Page 28 - OHS, October 2022

WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
Smarter, Safer, Smaller:
The Future of Wearable Technology
More data than ever is being collected.
BY TIM TURNEY
Nearly 90 percent of Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) professionals feel technology is essential or valuable to EHS management success. Wearable technology has been touted as a panacea for productivity
and health and safety improvements for several years, but there has been difficulty in establishing a cost/benefit argument as well as dealing with worker concerns over privacy. However, technological advancements could see smart wearables increasingly deployed, as they become smarter, faster and more economical, delivering an undeniable return on investment (ROI).
The prevalence of mobile electronics has given access to
better microprocessors and driven battery-powered technology, allowing devices to be made smaller and with more capabilities, a trend that will continue. New sensor technology such as Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is also allowing new, lower- cost and smaller sensors and products to be developed.
Personal air sampling pumps and noise dosimeters could be considered the “original safety wearables” occupying the marketplace for more than 40 years. However, current monitoring practices tend to result in a small number of workers being monitored for short periods throughout the year because of the length of time it takes to set up monitoring devices, the expense
24 Occupational Health & Safety | OCTOBER 2022
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