Jul 1, 2020

Workplace injuries in agriculture reduced by wearable tech

The injury rate for agricultural workers is more than 40% higher than employees in other industries, which is why Western Growers Insurance Services designed the Connected Worker Program to help prevent injuries before they occur.

According to a news release, utilizing the latest advancements in wearable technology, the Connected Worker Program measures certain motions and detects unsafe movements of employees during their shift. The data is shared with the supervisor and used to identify risk trends, improve safety measures, and coach workers on injury prevention techniques.

“In developing the data-driven Connected Worker Program, we were equally focused on worker safety and workplace productivity,” stated Western Growers Insurance Services (WGIS) President Jeff Gullickson. “With several hundred thousand hours of worker data logged, this solution is proven to lower the risk of injury from field to facility, simultaneously increasing the earnings potential of employees and lowering workers’ compensation costs and insurance premiums for employers.”

An intuitive app collects and tracks data from the wearable devices – which can range from body sensors to a smart phone worn on the belt – providing ongoing analysis of worker movements. In the event of elevated injury risk, an integrated messaging platform provides real-time safety alerts to both the supervisor and employee.

“In applying the data trends from the Connected Worker Program, agricultural businesses can identify and evaluate necessary changes to equipment or processes, ultimately promoting a safer work environment, improving operational efficiencies and cutting costs,” Gullickson said.

Additionally, the Connected Worker Program provides COVID-19 functionality for agricultural operations. With its data collection and GPS capabilities, employers can log temperature readings, record answers to health screening questionnaires and monitor contact tracing.

To request a demo, visit visit here.https://pages.wgis.com/connected-worker/.

For additional questions or inquiries regarding the Connected Worker Program, contact Ken Cooper at [email protected].

Western Growers Insurance Services is the wholly-owned insurance brokerage of Western Growers and offers full-service risk management solutions to agricultural and related industry members in California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.

Since first offering health insurance and employee benefits in 1986, WGIS has expanded to include property and casualty insurance, safety and loss control services and health care reform consulting.