Make your connected worker smart PPE digital transformation project successful

Failing a project is easy and smart PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) roll-out into your organization is one of the most difficult connected worker project that you may face. There are some connected worker solution based on mobile apps. Those projects are the easiest to deal with but also the less rewarding. No risk, no gain. As always, hardware-based innovation are more complex as it involves some constraints related to the products and to its usability.

Based on several smart PPE projects, we have found that 4 different steps are required to complete a successful smart PPE project:

1. Phase I: Use Cases & Requirement Analysis + Field Technical Testing
2. Phase II: PoC (not mandatory if existing smart PPE matchs your needs)
3. Phase III: Field Trial (End-User, Organization & Process Testing)
4. Phase IV: Roll-Out (Mass scaling into your organization)

Jumping directly into phase IV would reduce the chance of your digital transformation process (aka industry 4.0). Smart PPE are not pens & eraser that you buy on any online merchants!

Phase I: Analysis & technical tests

The objective is to formalize the request, the needs and identify the state of the art, the legal constraints, the users’ demands and to check the technical feasibility of the project.

The deliverables of the phase include:

• Use cases identification,
• Existing solutions analysis,
• State of the art analysis,
• Technical testing results & recommendations,
• End-User and Manager focus group analysis report.

Phase II: PoC

A PoC (Proof of Concept) is mandatory if the project is either very technical or very complex. In this case, the complexity of the project makes this phase a must, and will aim to demonstrate the project feasibility by finding solutions to a set of use cases defined in phase I.

The deliverables include:

• A technical demonstrator implementing the solution of a set of use cases.

Phase III: Field Trial

This phase is mandatory in any cases, and will

• Test the solution in real conditions
• Correct, update and improve functionalities using users’ feedbacks
• Check the solution acceptance
• Involve workers counsels
• Integrate IT department to integrate INTELLINIUM API
• Measure the power consumption, radiation…

The deliverables include:

• Complete technical implementation of all the use cases
• Production and delivery of the products to be tested on the field
• Telecommunication and infrastructure to use the solution
• End-User Focus Group, End-User groups
• Unit tests, field tests
• Solution monitoring

Tutorials, How-TOs, hotline…

Phase IV: Roll-Out

This phase aims to scale the solution to a large number of users, even internationally, with production volume of thousands of units.