3M OMNI-SENSE™: CONNECTED SAFETY SOLUTION ECOSYSTEM
It’s a fact that prolonged exposure to high noise levels over a period of time will cause permanent hearing damage. Currently, the only way to verify that a worker's hearing protection is adequate and effective is through regular hearing tests. But even the most advanced hearing protection devices (HPDs) will fail if workers aren’t wearing them.
3M’s Industrial Safety division approached my team to develop a connected solution that could inform stakeholders whether or not a worker is protected on the job.
Solution:
An interconnected Safety Suite leveraging existing 3M technologies to mitigate environmental sound, provide individual hearing protection, and allow continuous monitoring, testing, training, and reporting through Safety Manager and Worker-facing software programs.
client:
3M Industrial Safety Division
methods:
Deep Dive Research
Journey Mapping
Ecosystem Mapping
Wireframing
Prototyping
understanding the opportunity space
Deep Dive Research
Diving into research to gain an understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the problem space, my team investigated the following areas: Awareness + Detection, Sound Measurement, Worker Behavior + Rationalization, Training, and Factory Environment. Focusing on hearing damage awareness and protection, my research covered OSHA regulations, testing procedures and reporting protocol, existing devices, and elements of successful safety management programs.
Deep Dive Insights: Awareness + Detection
Connected Experience Mapping
Combining key insights from research with Safety Journey documents provided by our 3M Industrial Safety Representative, we developed an expanded eight-phase Safety Journey Map. Hardware, Software, Safety Manager processes, and Worker attitudes were then assigned to each of the phases of Survey, Control, Protect, Test, Train, Test, Report, and Evaluate.
Informed by the updated Safety Journey, we then created a network map visualizing the relationships between workers, their environment, hearing protection devices, and the safety managers in charge of the system. Our proposed OMNI-SENSE™ ecosystem functions within this framework by providing both the first line of defense, environmental sound mitigation products, and the second, an interconnected suite of smart HPDs, environmental sound sensor devices, and software which records, tracks, and collates sound level data in portals tailored to worker and safety manager needs.
Safety Journey Map + Connected Experience Map
three lines of defense
“the HPD should never be the first line of defense.”
From our Connected Experience Mapping and consultation with our 3M Industrial Safety representative came the understanding that our proposed hearing protection ecosystem must involve three layers of defense: Environmental Mitigation, Hearing Protection Devices, and Management.
first: environmental sound mitigation
3M currently manufactures acoustical, sound absorptive materials for auto applications. Developing vibration and sound mitigating products for high decibel work environments like factory floors gives 3M full ecosystem control and allows them to provide solutions for each line of defense.
Second: Interconnected hpd + sensors
An interconnected family of individual hearing protection devices and sensors compounds the sound reduction provided by environmental solutions.
My contribution to prototyping was to visualize the first and second lines of defense within the work environment, demonstrating how each of the touch points connects to the ecosystem, pictured below.
third: management software
At the heart of our proposed Safety Suite is the 3M Hearing Conservation Program Manager and Worker Portal, a robust software program that connects to each touchpoint and provides a single platform for monitoring, testing, training, and documentation. Safety Manager and Worker-facing programs tailored to the needs of each role inform and empower users to take charge of their hearing health.
prototyping: safety manager suite
Designed to help Safety Managers monitor workplace sound levels, ensure HPD use, track individual employee hearing health, and maintain compliance with regulatory agencies, the Safety Manager Software Suite connects all touch points in the work environment and delivers organized data in real time through desktop and mobile applications.
Safety Manager Software Suite prototypes by team member Willie Stephenson
dashboard
The homepage Dashboard gives managers an overview of the most critical information, including live decibel readings, individual workers’ readings, and a floor map showing sound levels in various sectors of the workplace. Notifications alert managers to high level sound readings, employee messages, and individuals who are not wearing their HPD on the floor.
employee monitoring
On individual employee pages, managers can view a worker’s hourly sound level exposure and their Time Weighted Average (TWA), current training status, alerts when the worker is not wearing HPD in high sound level areas, and HPD maintenance status.
training
Proper, thorough training positively impacts employee attitudes and behaviors surrounding their hearing health. In many construction and manufacturing workplaces, large numbers of employees and high turnover rates make OSHA required training courses difficult to administer. The Manager Software Suite gives safety managers direct access to training modules and helps them track employee progress and certification.
testing + compliance reporting
Workplaces must obtain baseline hearing levels and annual testing updates for each individual employee, tracking workplace hearing health and reporting findings to OSHA and other regulatory bodies. The Safety Suite can automatically generate standardized reports and schedule audiograms, streamlining the complex compliance process for busy Safety Managers.
prototyping: employee portal
Providing a web-based portal and mobile app enables employees to access their individual and workplace sound level readings, training modules, HPD maintenance scheduling, messaging, and a music player to listen with their HPD while they work. Keeping employees aware of sound levels in their workplace and risks to their hearing health when they don’t utilize their HPD helps shape worker attitudes toward hearing protection protocol and decrease employee hearing damage sustained on the job.
Worker Portal App prototypes by team member Kris Kathmann.
proposal presentation
The design process culminated in a presentation of our OMNI-SENSE™ ecosystem to representatives from 3M’s Industrial Safety Division. Together with my team members Alan Jones, Eli Eijadi, Kris Kathmann and Willie Stephenson, we presented our process, from understanding the problem space and research synthesis to ecosystem development and final strategy.
reflection
Our solution leverages existing 3M technologies and proposes new proprietary products to create an ecosystem of physical and digital touch point to help safety managers feel informed and empowered in protecting employee hearing and maintaining company compliance.
Working with the 3M Industrial Safety Division gave me the opportunity to think about systems design not only as an interconnected web of features, but as an ecosystem for good. Each carefully considered touch point has its own job to do, but by performing that function as a part of a much bigger system, its value increases- a well-designed system is recognizes the importance of the details.
