Smart technology such as AI contributes to a safe and healthy logistics workplace, but cannot always count on the approval of employees. The idea that their doings are constantly being measured or filmed can actually make them feel unsafe. At a seminar, several experts give advice. "Transparency is crucial. Make sure it is clear to everyone what is and is not being recorded."
New digital technologies sometimes have unintended effects. Take the smart shoe soles developed for people working in remote locations. There is a sensor in the soles, which sounds an alarm if an employee falls and does not get up again. His colleagues can see where he lies and quickly come to his aid. "So this is heartily useful and safe," says project manager Annick Starren of EU-OSHA, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. "But what did we see happening? That companies decided to send only one instead of two employees to remote sites. As a result, safety actually went down."
Starren speaks at a seminar organised by the Netherlands Focal Point, which represents EU-OSHA in the Netherlands. She has more examples of digital technologies that can have unwanted effects. Take the system that uses camera images and body sensors to give employees feedback on their ergonomic posture. Who guarantees that the stored data is not secretly used to measure productivity or select employees? The dividing line between monitoring health and safety and measuring performance is often only thin.
Less autonomy
The use of new technologies is also increasing in logistics. TNO researcher Wouter van der Torre talks about the increasing degree of automation in warehouses, from mobile robots that chase order pickers to automatic storage systems that reduce walking distances to zero. The higher the degree of automation, the lower the autonomy. By autonomy, Van der Torre refers to the freedom employees experience to organise their own work and pay their own pace. "With far-reaching automation, the system determines the speed of work. Taking a break is out of the question, because the system has to keep going."
Often the deployment of technology also clashes with employees' rights to privacy. Take dashcams in trucks, which increasingly have two cameras: one filming the road and one filming the driver. By analysing the driver's images at lightning speed with the help of AI, the driver can be alerted if he gets tired or is on his phone. But that camera also records the driver taking a sip of water, smoking a cigarette or picking his nose. What happens to those images?"
Legitimate reason
That companies face a dilemma due to new technologies is also said by John Bolte, lecturer in smart sensor systems at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. "European laws and regulations state that companies are obliged to reduce health and safety risks while taking technological advances into account. In other words, if you can measure something, you must do so. On the other hand, the General Data Protection Regulation states that there must be a legitimate reason for physiological measurements."
The AVG also states that employees must give consent if companies want to film or measure. But what is that consent worth if an employee depends on the company for income? "Application of this kind of technology must really benefit the safety and health of the individual employee. And the technology must actually make a difference. It should not be the case that you only deploy the technology because you as a company find it so convenient."
Engaging employees
Bolte calls on companies to cocreate: give employees a say in how smart technologies are deployed. "You can prevent a lot of misery with this, but you also have to make sure that work remains fun. If technology leads to only the rotten jobs being left, people will actually not use them. Another point of interest is data storage. What data is recorded for how long and who all has access to it?"
Starren also advises involving employees early on. Inform them about the plans at an early stage and ask for their ideas. "Give them a chance to get acquainted with the new technology during a trial period or a test market. Explain how they should use the technology and discuss the experiences. Or organise workshops where you discuss together what the technology should or should not do."
Transparency is crucial
Employee privacy also requires attention. For example, design the system so that data is only captured anonymously. Do not record more data than necessary, so that employees can trust that only safety and not productivity is measured. And make sure the data is properly secured so that hackers cannot tamper with it. Starren: "In any case, make sure it is clear to everyone what is and is not recorded and what happens to it. Transparency is crucial."
