With a tendency for development, modernization, and innovation, it comes as no surprise that several departments have opted for a digitalized version of doing things. Nowadays, with a smartphone, you can do so much more than in the past, as the variety of apps one can have is limitless. They not also come in handy as a stress-relief tool, but they can also be used for work-related purposes, for instance in constructions.
When you use certain building tools, safety should come first, especially if they involve a high risk of accidents. Ladders are a frequent cause of casualties for many professional and novice workers; therefore, a certain amount of awareness should be raised.
How to raise awareness
Since everyone owns a smartphone nowadays, the best way to help spread the word is by creating an app designed for specific targets. Certain apps should be utilized to prepare and help anyone who wishes to work with building or heavy equipment, be it for domestic or industrial use.
- And Ladder Safety made by The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is one such app. With a variety of ladder types, you can choose from, be they straight ladders, telescopic or step ladders, the app will help you correctly position and set up your equipment. Keeping in mind the injuries a fall can cause, NIOSH’s intention is to help prevent such life-threatening possible damage, spreading the word about the optimal use of such tools.
Moreover, using the measuring scale from the app and your phone’s stabilization sensors, it can instantly tell you, in real life, if the angle of your ladder is too steep or is the optimal one for a safe. Not only will it warn you using sound, vibration, and visual signs, but it will also tell you the exact inclination degrees, making your work easier while keeping you safe.
In addition to measurement, the app can also help you choose the right type of ladder you need for your work, based on how heavy it should be and the environmental conditions you will have to use it. According to what height you need to reach, its maximum weight and the necessary electric conditions it has to accommodate to, the app will show you the best choice. After the recommended kind shows up, it will also inform you where you should use such a ladder, for light or heavy duty, in households, commercial or industrial areas.
Furthermore, once your selected model shows up on your screen, you can tap on certain parts of it, the app giving you possible tips about ladder maintenance. It will also signalize you each model’s weak points so you will be already alerted what to pay attention to when you decide to buy or use the said model.
Rated PEGI 3 from its creator, the app is user-friendly, with clear and specific images, providing easy-to-follow instructions. Plus it’s also phone friendly, as it takes only 17M of your phone’s memory, so you can have it with you anywhere you go if you ever find yourself in doubt about the perfect equipment choice.
With over 50.000 installs and downloads, graded 4.4 stars by over 250 people on Google Apps, this app is extremely useful not only to raise awareness towards working safely, but it is also in agreement with Section 508 from the Rehabilitation Act. Thus, everyone can access and use such app, even people with disabilities.
- Another safety-related app is Site Coach: Ladder Safety Construction by Simcoach Games. A simulation construction game, the app presents to the user the construction site life. By putting you face to face with two different real-life scenarios, the construction of a house and a bridge, the app asks you to identify possible risks. Ranging from different ladder-related risks to electrical ones, you have to pay attention to all the tiny human-like figures inside the game, as each is put in a different situation.
With a single tap on the different construction related items spread around the area map, you can interact with them, each giving you a certain amount of information. By reading it, analyzing the item’s position related to the other game elements around it, you have to make a decision, rate is as a risk or not. When the user interacts with the workers, depending on what they are tasked to do – waiting, repairing, climbing – each will give you a piece of information to complete the necessary overall image.
Developing your attention span to details, your risk-detecting skills, the app’s aim is to boost attention especially to ladder-related accidents. It is not a substitute for formal training, but it is a great way to familiarize with a construction site life and its possible dangers.
All in all, if you wish to test your equipment knowledge, your risk-detection skills, or just be sure you have the right tools for the right type of job, be sure to check out these two apps. You will not be disappointed!
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