Application of innovative voice technologies to further enhance safety of hazmat handling and delivery operations
Challenge: How do we continuously improve safety processes for delivery of truckloads of a potentially hazardous material?
Impact: Hands free voice based checklist offering developed to make following standard operating procedures consistently easier (example scenario)
Situation: The business had a fantastic track record of safe production and delivery of a potentially hazardous material with its customers, but wanted to keep leading the industry. Traditionally this wasn’t an area where UX and human centered design had been applied.
- Since every little change meant a great deal in terms of its potential safety impact. Every design recommendation had to be clear in terms of its value and impact
- Conducting user research in such industrial environments was challenging
- For years things had been done a certain way and drivers/operators were used to them. New systems had to be very intuitive
Approach: A complete human centered approach was needed here. Immersion into the current way of doing things and approaching opportunities with fresh eyes
- The first step was immersion in the production and delivery operations of the material. Key opportunities for improvement were identified at each stage of the process
- The biggest opportunity was the digitization of the paper checklists which accounted for over 200 things to check pre-delivery and post-delivery of the material.
- Paper checklists were found to be not very easy to use when fully suited with whole body level A PPE suits and gloves (personal protective equipment)
- A hands free approach was seen as the best option – where operators and drivers could listen to verbal commands and instructions and acknowledge of completion of a step simply using their voice.
- We were able to leverage our voice based technology which is used in picking operations in warehouses and leverage that for a quick prototype
- This was then tested with the actual process to check for ease of use and feedback from the drivers and operators. Followed by a launch
Impact: By means of understanding opportunities for further enhancing safety the business was able to maintain its leadership position
- Enhancements to truck based delivery – replacement of paper based checklists (which could be hard to handle with complete full body personal protective equipment) to hands-free voice enabled checklists
- Elimination of the possibility of human error which is likely with paper based systems
- Led to a connected worker/operator program being launched
