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SAFETY, from page 5

communications and marketing at MBP (Fairfax, VA), a multi-disciplined construction consulting firm, reports that the firm’s field personnel have tablets to record jobsite data and report back to their senior safety consultant. “We publish our ‘near misses’ and learn from the prior ex- periences of our teammembers (names are omitted in order to ensure anonymity). The near miss report is information provided to us electronically by anyone (jobsite and in the office) who avoided a potential accident with details on how it was avoided,” she says. “The benefit is that we are proac- tive, placing safety as a number one priority. We realize that technology can’t replace eyes and ears on the jobsite and safety is the job of everyone involved.” At MBP, their intent is to place more priority on being pro- active, rather than reactive, and as a result, the firm’s expe- rience modification rating has improved. So, when you use technology to enhance safety, it pays off in more ways than one.

“All this ensures that safety staff is on the same page as our PMs and subcontractors,” Chris Campbell, safety director for O’Neal, says. “Technology has also helped provide bet- ter access to safety resources and materials. For example, our PMs now have easier access to safety training materi- als. We’ve also been using apps such as noise dosimeters, NOAA weather apps, the Red Cross First Aid app, and sev- eral others. One specific example is where we’ve used the NOAA weather app and radio to monitor lightening and high winds near jobs sites.” Campbell adds that they have also used BIM technology to help their engineers to identify and remove hazards in the model, long before there is a hazard on the job-site. And, while they’ve had some challenges, most pertain to In- ternet access at remote job sites, syncing updates and band- width limits. PROACTIVITY REAPS REWARDS. Danelle Prezioso, vice president

TEAMWORK, from page 7

leaves the company. You can also use it for project planning and idea generation. Huddle – Android & iOS. This is a business collaboration suite designed to help teams share files and plan projects. View, edit and annotate a document, and then save the edited version back to Huddle when you’re done so every team member can access it. When you’re editing Huddle will automatically retrieve related documents. Cisco WebEx – Android, iPhone & Windows Phone. Videoconferencing lets you collaborate with team members face- to-face. Users can also share documents, spreadsheets and PDFs for collaborative editing. And the service includes an interactive whiteboard feature, letting users share notes, draw charts and more. Skype Premium – Android, iOS & Windows Phone. For business users on a budget, Skype is a decent, affordable videoconferencing tool. Video chatting with one other person is free, but upgrading to Skype Premium adds a few important features, such as group video calling with up to 10 participants. Paying for a premium account also opens up group screen sharing, so you and your colleagues can share documents, spreadsheets and presentations and work together. Google Calendar – Android & iOS. Creating a shared calendar for your team can help everyone keep track of deadlines and important dates. There is no need to set special reminders for meetings or conference calls; Google Calendar alerts you automatically and even sends a reminder to your Gmail account. determines a switch to another software or technology is re- quired. Given the pace of technology, this is an ever-increasing event. In addition, the amount of overhead dedicated to tech- nology has increased significantly over the past 15 years. “Our ability to realize technology benefits is mixed. Certainly, we have become adept on a number of technological fronts, (we are scientists, after all), but the pace of change limits the ability to maximize competency on every platform for all employees. Therefore, some deviation frommaximum benefit has to be un- derstood and accepted,” he says.

EIGHT BUSINESS COLLABORATION APPS Business News Daily recommends the following eight apps to improve your collaboration: Google Drive – Android & iOS. This app lets you tap into the power of Google Docs to collaboratively create documents, spreadsheets and presentations from anywhere. It’s compatible with Microsoft Office, so employees can seamlessly transition between desktop computers and mobile devices. Using the app, team members can also edit files offline from anywhere. When they reconnect, changes and edits will be synced across all devices. iWork – iOS only. If your team prefers iOS devices, iWork is a good best bet. The apps are fully integrated with Apple’s iCloud online storage platform, so team members can access and edit documents from any Web-connected device and edit collaboratively in real time. Dropbox – Android & iOS. For teams that need to collaborate, this app allows all members to access the most up-to-date version of those files from anywhere. Just have each member of your team install the app on his or her desktop and mobile device. Once that’s done, their files will stay synced across all devices. Dropbox also functions as a reliable cloud backup service. Evernote – Android, iOS & Windows Phone. Among the app’s premium features is the ability to create “notebooks,” which can be shared with individuals or the entire organization. Unlike personal notebooks, which can only be viewed and edited by the creator, shared notebooks can still be accessed long after the creator

THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 4, 2016, ISSUE 1133

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