3M and Guardhat announce partnership on connected safety

CIOTechOutlook Team | Friday, 03 March 2023, 03:19 IST

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3M today announced a partnership with Guardhat, a market leader in linked safety software. Because connection is such an important component of safety programmes, 3M is transferring its Safety Inspection Management (SIM) software to Guardhat. The transition should be completed by mid-2023. In addition to the SIM transition, the two companies will consider future collaboration opportunities, such as combining 3M's expertise in personal protection equipment with Guardhat's leading worker-centric software platform to create connected safety opportunities that aim to keep more frontline workers safe. 
 
SIM is a cloud- and mobile-based technology that connects people, places, and PPE to simplify compliance, increase safety, and make work easier for EHS teams. Operations staff have access into equipment status and location, training schedules and needs, and inspection workflows through mobile apps, RFID tags, and barcodes, allowing them to keep work moving while keeping employees safe. 
 
A maintenance team, for example, can rapidly scan the RFID tag on their fall arrest system using the SIM app on their phone before starting work to inspect the equipment and ensure it is ready to use. This examination is documented, and the equipment can then be checked out to a worker or location. The system will also notify the team when the next inspection is due, as well as providing transparency for compliance requirements, inventory management, workforce training requirements, and other factors.
 
The Guardhat IIoP (Industrial Internet of People) Platform is an open, device-independent software solution designed for the industrial workforce and its unique requirements. This includes data privacy, management of unstructured data generated by workers and their wearable devices, processing for critical events at the human edge - to ensure that decision-making isn't reliant on network connectivity - and considerations for people's unpredictable reactions to events and alerts.
 
"3M and Guardhat share a common mission to help workers get the job done and get them safely back home," said Ray Eby, President of 3M Personal Safety Division (PSD). "A collaboration between our organizations brings together our expertise and innovation across PPE with Guardhat's pioneering, worker-centric software platform to better serve that joint mission. Connectivity is increasingly beneficial in safety solutions, and together we can deliver at scale." 
 
Saikat Dey, CEO and co-founder of Guardhat, added, "3M is synonymous with safety at worksites the world over. This collaboration allows us to dramatically expand the lives we touch. It combines best in class safety equipment and software to streamline asset management, speed remote support and emergency response and even prevent incidents before they occur." 
 
3M and Guardhat anticipate that this collaboration will speed up the development of SIM software and other Connected Safety solutions, as well as integrate them into the Guardhat platform - a platform designed for real-time safety and collaboration with and among frontline workers that provides proactive alerts to and from frontline teams to help prevent incidents, respond to issues quickly, and keep work moving.
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