Introduction

One of our customers, FieldCore (a GE company), is a global, industrial field services powerhouse with offices on five continents, and operates in more than 90 countries. With more than 9,000 employees, they provide world class execution and high skilled field services teams for gas and renewables industries. 

Protecting Workers

FieldCore’s wind technicians are trained in electrical safety and are compliant with NFPA70e, yet, like many companies that work in electrically hazardous environments, they still could experience near misses and other electrical incidents. Therefore, FieldCore approached Proxxi to help better protect their field technicians from electrical risks.

FieldCore’s primary goals were clear: they wanted to create a safer working environment for their field technicians, to help them better identify potential hazards and their associated risks, and to provide additional safety for newer technicians.

Finding the Solution

Each day millions of workers around the world are exposed to electrical risks. Legal regulations and internal processes help prevent incidents, yet injuries and deaths continue to occur. Each year, thousands of workers suffer electrical contact injuries, as well as hundreds of fatalities. To help protect workers from unexpectedly energised equipment, Proxxi Voltage, a wearable sensor, provides workers with real-time alerts when they are in the proximity of a dangerous electrical current.

Voltage is always on, always protecting the user, so workers can perform daily tasks with lowered risk of electrical contact injuries. And with using the mobile app, workers can move from low voltage settings to high voltage settings within seconds, allowing them to work more safely from 110V to 500kV. These adjustable settings help provide a safety solution that is appropriate for all types of users, including low voltage or unqualified workers.

Proxxi Voltage also provides more than just PPE for workers; it is also a tool that managers can use to validate and improve administrative and engineering controls. Using the Voltage app, usage and alert data is seamlessly synced to the Voltage Dashboard, providing visibility into safety data that’s unavailable anywhere else. Authorised users can review real-time and historical data for every alert received. Usage reports also show how frequently the wristbands are being used, allowing the dashboard users to identify training opportunities and compliance concerns. All reports can be filtered by worker, team, and date, enabling users to drill down into the data they truly need to see. With these insights, the organisation is able to take proactive steps to reduce injuries and fatalities, further improving the safety of the team members. 

Learn more about Proxxi Voltage

Trialing Voltage

To understand the fit of the Proxxi Voltage system in the workplace, FieldCore worked with Proxxi’s Success Team to run a trial of the Voltage System. They ordered five Proxxi Voltage wristbands and asked several of their champion field team members to participate in the pilot. These field technicians were asked to use the wristband and provide feedback on how well Voltage performed in their environment.

The field teams confirmed that the wristband provided alerts at the right time: before they got too close to energised equipment that could be dangerous. They confirmed that when outside of safe areas and when working in turbines the wristband provided the additional protection that they wanted.

They also felt it was going to be very beneficial when working in older equipment, as this was where they were most likely to encounter undocumented work and where they were at the highest risk for encountering unexpectedly energized sources. Additionally, they experience few false positives, meaning the wristband was not giving spurious alerts that would distract or annoy the worker.

However, for a successful deployment to the business unit employee engagement was key. So it was not just the fit for the work that mattered, but also the willingness of the workers to use the new equipment. By the end of the trial, it was clear to the team also that the Voltage Wristband would benefit the safety of both themselves and their teammates. 

Feedback from the FSRs who participated in the Proxxi Voltage Trial:

I like the device. Proxxi has been very enjoyable to wear while in the field and I look forward to continuing using it. 

I am more relaxed wearing the device. Everyone should wear one of these gauges for personal safety, I like it and will wear it all the time if assigned to me. It’s an improvement to safety when it comes to work around energized circuits. 

I had been wearing this device for a while and I do believe it is a great safety addition to the techs out on the field that comes across live circuits, specifically a new technician. 

With the team approving of the Voltage wristband and the clear applicability of the wristband for the work being performed, the company knew that deploying further into their teams was the right choice.

Conclusion

Choosing to proceed with Proxxi Voltage was an easy decision for the trial leader. The organisation saw that their goals of improving worker safety would be aided by the Voltage wristbands. This would be especially true for newer technicians, as they learned the safety processes and work environment of the business unit. The data available on the dashboard would also help identify potential hazards prior to them becoming risks to the team and allow them to take proactive action to mitigate any existing hazards.