What to look for and how to evaluate the effectiveness of your investment
While wearable devices aren’t yet being used on every construction site, they are rapidly gaining traction as innovative companies begin to understand their value across many areas. In this new frontier, the companies that are willing to address the skilled trades gap with a technology-driven approach will be the ones leading the pack.
Whether the technology-enhanced tool is a safety vest, hardhat or pair of smart glasses, it has the potential to help companies address operational inefficiencies and on-site challenges. Right now, areas that show the greatest promise include safety and loss prevention, productivity, workforce development and training, employee recruitment and retention, and transparency and trust.
In addition to internal communications and other benefits, one area that shouldn’t be overlooked (and which is often the primary motivator for companies to invest in technology) is the opportunity to leverage wearables as a sales tool for landing more lucrative and larger contracts. This point of differentiation can set a company apart from competitors, especially when the communications workflow and safety benefits lead to increased productivity, reduced costs and faster completion of projects.
Establish a Long-Term Partnership
It’s important to approach the investment as a partnership between your company and the vendor. The relationship should extend beyond the initial purchase of the devices. The vendor you choose should be committed to the ongoing success of your company and be ready to provide the necessary tools and resources to train employees, provide direct support to workers, and refine workflow management as needed. By forming a long-term partnership, you can ensure that your investment will be fully leveraged.
When reviewing sales materials and pitches from potential partners, be sure to look for examples preferably case studies) of successful deployments. The earliest adopters of wearables are often companies willing to share information about how they integrated the tools and technology into their daily workflow, and the results they are seeing. Don’t be afraid to contact peers in the industry to ask about their deployments and workflow integration. If possible, find out what the frontline workers think too. After their initial training, were they able to adapt quickly? Do they find that wearable devices help them do their jobs more effectively and efficiently?
Identify and Assemble
What challenges do you want to address with the use of wearables? The shortage of skilled construction workers continues to be a pervasive industry issue. Wearables can also be used in recruitment and retention initiatives, to address worker satisfaction, and to optimize training and workforce development. On-site safety, enhancing team communications, increasing productivity and customer transparency are often cited as opportunities for improvements.
In some cases, deployments of wearable technology can fall flat. Most of the time, this isn’t due to the integrity of the software solution and device, but because an internal implementation team was either not assembled or there were not adequate champions of the solution throughout various levels at a company. Realizing the full benefits of wearables requires that key stakeholders are identified and that implementation steps are clearly documented and communicated. Finding champions of the technology (especially frontline workers) will lead to better outcomes. Your blue-collar employees may not have been involved in the decision to deploy wearable technology, but they will be the ones to determine its success or failure during the implementation phase.
Evaluate your Investment
In order to fully recognize the value of wearable technology solutions within a company’s daily workflow, you need documented success criteria. A comprehensive evaluation plan that addresses multiple business units should be agreed to up front. There should be unique and defined value across each of these units. Success should be something that is clearly and easily measured. When crafting a plan, remember that the real value isn’t in the features of your wearable technology, but in what they enable your company to do. The devices alone won’t drive efficiency for sales and services, but your employees’ enhanced ability to react and report in real-time will.
Look for vendors that work alongside your company on scoping studies to ensure successful transition from the initial evaluation to full deployment so that you can achieve the outcomes that matter most to your company. Your ability to evaluate any new wearable provider against the criteria listed above will shorten your learning curve and set you up for success.
Aaron Salow is the CEO and co-founder of Nashville, Tenn.-based XOEye Technologies. To learn more, visit xoeye.com.
