Boost teamwork for field workers in ports and logistics

Enrique Bolivar

February 05, 2025

Communications and collaboration help improve the safety and efficiency of field workers in high-risk environments.

According to a 2021 Port Skills and Safety report, the most common port accidents in the UK from 2014-2020 were slips, trips and falls (37.8%) and collisions with moving objects (24.4%).

Field workers regularly face challenges that put them at risk. Long shifts and pressure to maintain service quality and operational efficiency may undermine the safety of operational tasks. Also, their work is solitary, often in remote or demanding conditions without real-time communications and collaboration tools.

Workers at risk

In the port and logistics industry, off-site workers are exposed to many kinds of tasks that put them at risk of slips, trips, falls, fatigue, dangers from heavy machine operation, and exposure to chemical toxic agents. These tasks include:

• Load and unload ships, move heavy objects at warehouses, and work in extreme weather conditions, through night and day shifts, at great heights, and under suspended loads
• Work in confined spaces dealing with toxic, flammable and explosive gases, and criminal acts such as trafficking

Isolated, remote work can make field workers feel demotivated or disconnected. It may also affect their ability to deal with deadline pressures, which may lead them to take unnecessary risks.

Safeguarding isolated workers

Real-time communications solutions based on Isolated Worker Protection (IWP) capabilities and cloud-based mobile applications are crucial to helping field service management minimize risks.
IWP capabilities on DECT handsets are intended for both indoor and outdoor campus sites. The DECT handset enables constant monitoring of the field worker, triggers alarms when help is needed, and provides security features such as man-down, red button, pull cord and explosion-proof capabilities for hazardous environments.

Compliant with DGUV 112-139 lone worker certification, the DECT handset has device switch-off prevention and alarm prioritization over other communications. For example, if a port worker falls unconscious after being hit by a heavy object, the DECT handset will detect lack of movement in either a horizontal or vertical position and trigger a man-down alarm that alerts control center staff to react.

Facilitating teamwork and remote support

In the case of hazardous conditions or complex tasks - for example tasks in confined spaces with flammable or toxic gases or low oxygen conditions - the field technician may require real time assistance from a control center expert. With the cloud-based Remote Visual Assistance (RVA) and Rainbow Alert solutions, the expert can “see what the field technician sees” through a multimedia video session and provide instructions to safely complete the task.

Staff can also share files, take pictures and record video offline to upload for tracking and training purposes. To prevent accidents in the case of a chemical leak, Rainbow™ Alert and interaction with IoT devices can promptly inform field workers. The OCC staff can trigger an urgent alert message when the sensors or IoT devices detect the risk and execute an evacuation or isolation plan.

Enhancing learning and knowledge sharing

Preventing accidents and ensuring worker safety are central to achieving high levels of operational efficiency. Training ensures the knowledge transfer needed to improve the expertise and efficiency of port workers.

Rainbow™ ClassRoom is a digital training and knowledge sharing tool that equips experts to deliver training through virtual and multimedia sessions. Rainbow ClassRoom keeps the field worker team up to date with new technologies, safety standards and recommendations, and provides access to concrete, everyday scenarios.

Shaping the future of port workers

Digitalization and process automation are the primary drivers of smart ports. New technologies such as big data, cloud-based applications, Augmented Reality (AR), Extended Reality (XR), IoT and AI can be integrated into the current ecosystem to enrich working conditions. The openness provided by APIs is fundamental to interworking between systems and adding value to the current environment.

Imagine a scenario where a field worker can be trained on new security standards and rules about, for example, new equipment to lift containers or deal with chemical agents. With XR capabilities, the worker can review a 3D model of the equipment or process in advance and be prepared for the task upon arrival.

These technology building blocks help the field worker to be more efficient, productive and safe, which in turn leads to operational efficiency and corporate success, and they mitigate the perception that the ports and logistics industry is a high-risk environment.