Rob Leech
It’s no coincidence that conversational interfaces will help drive incident reporting in the future as we’ve been using this technology every day in our lives without even thinking about it! But how can voice first technology advance incident reporting?
Airsweb has partnered with IBM and kiosk manufacturer Odema, the company behind the internal and external ordering kiosk’s at branches of McDonalds, to extend EHS best practice in diverse hazardous locations using voice first application.
Binding new technologies, Airsweb has created a safety centric kiosk. The kiosk, which can be installed on site, is currently able to carry out incident reporting and some analysis of a customer’s Airsweb AVA system, all by using simple verbal commands or the unit’s touch sensitive screen.
For example, it can pinpoint the number of incidents logged at a particular location.
By combining IBM’s Watson and Google’s Voice Recognition, the voice first kiosk could become the central source and access point for best practice incident reporting and hazard identification. Airsweb believes the ease in which on-site workers and contractors can verbally report an incident will help drive a more positive safety culture and identify risk patterns on site.
The units, which could be branded to suit a customer’s needs, contain a built-in microphone, speaker and camera.
Reporting without a mobile device
Airsweb is currently in talks with several companies about trialling the machines, including manufacturing firm NGF Europe, a leader in the manufacture of Glass Reinforcement Cord used in timing belts. Rob said the appeal for companies in the manufacturing industry is that often workers don’t have mobile devices on them on the shop floor, so the kiosk would be an ideal fast solution for incident reporting and obtaining information without the need for any login.
Clients in the construction and engineering space have also expressed an interest in installing a kiosk onsite, allowing site workers access to information about the build and the hazards on site.
Virtual Assistant
The built-in microphone means the kiosk can link up with the AVA Virtual Assistant, allowing conversation between the user and the system.
Future models will aim to act as a point of safety information, gain information on what work is happening in a particular area of a site or facility, find out what permits are open, what audits are scheduled for the day and access risk information, for example.
It may also be capable of including training both from Airsweb itself, but also from customers that will be able to have their own training material installed onto the kiosk.
Rob suggested that in the future it would also be possible to add a printer into the kiosk, allowing visitors to register and print off a visitor badge before accessing a site.
Facial recognition is also a possibility using the built-in camera. The kiosk can then automatically tailor the display and provide the information that it thinks the individual needs to know. Future models will also have a wireless radar, allowing it to power down and then ‘wake up’ when people approach, and bleeper which sounds if it detects a vehicle getting too close.
It’s also hoped that the kiosk can push notifications to the mobile devices to passing employees, warning them of anything they should be aware of in the vicinity.
See Rob’s product demo and educational talk on the subject at Safety & Health Expo 2019. Rob will be appearing in the Safety Technology Zone at 12:40 on the opening day of the show, Tuesday 18 June. To register for your free ticket, click on the link below.
