Industrial health and safety experts must continually review workplace policies, new legislation, seasonal risks and other factors when determining how to keep employees safe and prevent regulatory fines. Wearable technology has become increasingly common in modern workplaces because it can flag concerns sooner, enabling proactive, efficient responses. 

However, many wearables become e-waste, raising concerns that these products might interfere with companies’ ongoing sustainability goals. How can safety professionals, product developers and other concerned parties prioritize worker well-being and eco-friendliness as they become familiar with connected safety products?

Use Wearables for the Long Term

One of the most practical and sustainable ways to use wearables at work is to have accurate expectations about what they can and cannot do. Many companies plan small-scale trials to determine if their chosen wearables will likely bring the desired outcomes. If the data suggests they will, businesses ramp up deployment, often giving the devices to all workers. However, safety managers should explore ways to maximize this technology before taking that step.

That could happen by: 

• Selecting options with proven durability.
• Participating in extended warranty plans.
• Resetting devices so multiple workers can use them.
• Aligning wearables with complementary safety programs.

Even products chosen with the best intentions could become unsustainable if people never use them or, worse, throw them into landfills. However, committing to integrate them in workflows for the foreseeable future — even when challenges arise — elevates eco-friendliness by ensuring ongoing usability. Those involved should identify potential obstacles and methods of overcoming them. Choosing metrics to track throughout the implementation process is also worthwhile for calculating the return on investment or indicating when leaders should adjust their deployment processes. 

Decision-makers committed to long-term usage should also stay abreast of ongoing industry progress that could make this product category significantly more sustainable. In one case, university researchers developed biodegradable e-textiles. Their small-scale experiments involved humans wearing gloves that could effectively measure their heart rate and temperature, meeting industry standards. 

Most wearables used for workplace safety and other reasons contain materials such as metals, which do not rapidly break down after disposal. Additionally, their eventual decomposition often leaches toxins into water and soil, causing adverse environmental ramifications. However, this progress and similar efforts will reveal promising alternatives. Staying informed of these developments is an excellent way for safety managers to learn when some become commercially available. 

Connect Wearables to Larger Company or Industry Aims

Wearable usage in the workplace is also optimally sustainable when leaders agree on how and why to deploy the respective products and develop realistic use cases. Updated rules may influence their choices, especially when regulatory bodies require more stringent monitoring to strengthen worker protections. 

One proposal increases employer obligations associated with workers in environments of at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit to reduce occupational heat exposure risks. In addition to mandating that workers get breaks and water and can access shaded areas, the potential rule would require employers to conduct assessments to identify heat risks. The updates also require implementing prevention and response plans, and wearables could become factors in each. 

Though waste reduction is an often-discussed sustainability goal, operating a sustainable workplace also extends to rolling out policies that are sufficiently thoughtful and tied to identified needs or objectives. Otherwise, safety managers are more likely to primarily use wearables to participate in a current trend, which could become an unsustainable decision. 

Decision-makers should begin analyzing all the factors that sparked their interest in wearables. Whether the intention is to mitigate a particular injury risk or increase lone-worker protection, scrutinizing those factors aids people in examining how wearable deployment directly supports their aspirations. 

Considering the most suitable ways for people to rely on wearables promotes sustainability by encouraging worker adoption. If users find the products interfere with their tasks or create additional complications, they will be less likely to use them as instructed. Watching workers in action and getting their direct feedback supports sustainable wearable usage by supporting existing workflows and new requirements.

Purchase Wearables Any Worker Can Use

A downside of wearables such as smartwatches is that they often contain data tied to specific workers. That characteristic makes them more wasteful from an eco-friendliness perspective. Even if safety managers can deploy them to different workers once those originally assigned to use them leave the company or otherwise will no longer need the devices, that option does not wholly address sustainability needs. 

It is even better for those interested in workplace safety wearables to explore options all workers can use during their shifts. Then, the products stay in near-constant rotation in the workforce during a company’s operating hours, regardless of the individuals scheduled for each shift. 

One example is a connected high-visibility vest intended for construction and utility workers. The wearable’s sensors detect the user’s movements and activate lights on the garment when needed. A built-in processor also analyzes the associated data and issues alerts as needed.

The idea for this wearable came from assessments of truck drivers in Sweden and the realization that though the drivers are fairly safe when in their cabs, they are vulnerable when they step out and move around their vehicles. 

The vest can detect 1-meter falls and notify a worker’s supervisor. Those prompt them to investigate the situation further, shortening the time when an injured person is alone and potentially unable to seek help themselves. Also, recipients can trace them to individual garments, which is ideal if monitoring the safety of workers spread throughout a large site. Since the tracking mechanism links to individual vests rather than the people wearing them, these wearables are sustainable options that safety managers can distribute strategically for maximum benefits. 

Careful Deployment Enables Eco-Friendliness

Unfortunately, most workplace safety wearables are not inherently conducive to sustainability. However, these tips demonstrate how safety managers and related professionals can overcome the existing barriers by identifying clear use cases and the most eco-friendly options available. This proactiveness allows exploring the potential of workplace wearables to keep people safer while minimizing unwanted environmental impacts.