To talk about digital PPE, it is necessary to understand the acronym that defines it. PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment, and they are all those products, devices and solutions that were designed to protect people against risks to their health and safety in the workplace. Their main purpose is to reduce or eliminate the risk of occupational injury or illness.
PPEs are used in a wide range of work environments, including construction, manufacturing, mining, healthcare, agriculture and many other industries. Some common examples of PPEs include hard hats, gloves and safety glasses, hearing protectors, respiratory masks, safety footwear, reflective vests, among others. There are many types and variations depending on the specific hazards of the work environment.
The first digital PPE and differences with the traditional ones.
In Drixit Technologies we developed the first digital PPE , a solution that combines hardware and software and allows industrial operators to perform their work safely and efficiently. The main differences compared to traditional PPE are:
- It incorporates technology: Beyond the fact that traditional PPE includes technology in its manufacture, to optimize assembly processes and offer higher quality materials (and protection), the digital PPE includes state-of-the-art technology: IoT sensors, RFID card, LoRa, UWB, GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo) and USB connectivity. In addition, within its small size of approx. 9×6 cm, it includes two accelerometers and a barometer, magnetometer and gyroscope.
- Stores safety data: an integral part of the digital PPE is the Drixit platform, which receives, stores and processes all safety data, in real time and historically. This allows knowing the current state of workers’ safety and what happened historically and why, allowing proactive improvements to be made to meet safety standards.
- It allows digitizing safety management: The EPP allows companies to move from an analog and offline world to a digital and online one, thus offering greater protection to their workers. More on how this is done later.
Meet the Drixit Tag.
We have already said that the digital PPE is made up of hardware and software. These are the Drixit Tag and the Drixit Platform. With a compact and ergonomic design, and a long-lasting internal battery, the Drixit Tag is a robust and portable device, developed to operate in the most demanding conditions of industrial environments. It is waterproof, dustproof and certified for explosive atmospheres.
The Drixit Tag is designed with a system that includes lights, vibration and an intuitive design, with the objective of providing effective protection to the worker. This allows the worker to concentrate on his main job by providing the necessary signals to keep him safe and alert.
Among its functionalities, the Drixit Tag has a panic button, fall and still man detection, detection of entry into dangerous or unauthorized areas, and collision prevention*, among others, allowing it to protect the worker in a wide variety of situations and types of operation. This makes it immensely useful in diverse industries, from mining, oil & gas and renewable energies to logistics and distribution centers, or food production plants.
Meet the Drixit Platform.
The Drixit platform, ally of the Tag to conform the digital EPP, is a powerful tool that allows transforming the way in which companies approach industrial safety. The Drixit Tag sends real-time information to the Drixit platform, where you can digitize the golden rules of safety. How? In its interface you configure which safety events will trigger customized alerts and who will receive them.
There are countless security events you can configure. Some of them are: man still or immobile for a certain time, entry and exit of hazardous areas, work at height, fall, maximum speed, proximity to vehicles (such as forklifts), start of an evacuation process, requests for immediate help, among others.
The Drixit platform also processes and presents all the information of the operation in real time and history, to understand what happened, why and when, and to proactively improve the protocols. It has three very interesting modules: Event Manager, Analytics and Maps. We will discuss them below.
What can I find in the Drixit Platform?
EVENT MANAGER: With the Event Manager, you can keep track of all security events created and triggered, who received alerts, when the event happened, etc. The platform presents in a simple and accessible way what has happened, and allows you to create investigation cases. With them you can track progress, assign tasks and ensure that incidents are properly addressed.
ANALYTICS MODULE: Gain insight into security performance. Filter and sort data to identify trends and areas for improvement. Learn about injury rates, incident severity and compliance with safety regulations. Ensure your organization is always at the forefront of safety excellence.
MAP MODULE: Improve safety performance with greater visibility. It enables real-time visualization of the operation and also offers historical maps in the form of heatmap and spaguetti, which allows you to identify dangerous areas and patterns. Maps are the great tool to understand where and how accidents occur.
The implementation of digital PPE is an effective solution to improve industrial safety. It puts us at the forefront of safety, protecting our employees, preventing accidents effectively and responding quickly and efficiently when they happen. If you are interested, you can contact us here for a live test day at your own plant.
*For collision prevention, the Drixit Tag must be used together with the Drixit Spotter.