This report provides Transforma Insights’ view on the market for Worker Safety solutions involving the use of the Internet of Things. This segment comprises Emergency Services Personal Monitoring and Lone Worker Safety.
To provide a safe and worker-friendly environment, companies are ramping up their efforts to reduce workplace accidents and enhance transparency and accountability of workers. Worker Safety solutions can help reduce human and capital loss resulting from on-site worker injuries. To address this market, manufacturers have developed connected wearable devices in multiple shapes and models which can be worn as armbands, insoles (for tracking a worker’s movement and posture), or vests. Some devices are equipped with cameras and provide indoor and outdoor location tracking via GPS or beacons. Many devices offer SOS functionality in case of emergencies.
The report provides a detailed definition of the sector, analysis of market development and profiles of the key vendors in the space. It also provides a summary of the current status of adoption and Transforma Insights’ ten-year forecasts for the market. The forecasts include analysis of the number of IoT connections by geography, the technologies used and revenue. A full set of forecast data, including country-level forecasts, sector breakdowns and public/private network splits, is available through the IoT Forecast tool.
This section of the report first describes how improving workers’ safety is quickly emerging as one of the top priorities for businesses, which has led to the development of connected wearable devices and then explains the features of these devices. For instance, many of these devices offer SOS functionality in case of emergency or when immediate assistance is required. The report examines key factors that are influencing the development of the market, including:
This section of the report begins with a definition of lone workers and explains why they are often vulnerable to injuries, accidents (20% of lone workers meet with workplace accidents), and workplace violence (44% of them feel unsafe at their workplaces).
This subsection explains how various occupational hazards and poor management of workers’ well-being can damage companies’ reputations, result in financial losses, and reduce overall productivity. It also talks about workplace assault, which affects isolated retail workers, healthcare workers, taxi drivers, and those working in high-crime areas. It then claims that these factors have forced various governments to enhance lone workers’ safety and lists some of the initiatives taken by various governments (including that of the US, Canada, and Germany) towards this issue. For example, in Canada, Part 28 of the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Code 2009 requires employers to provide lone workers with a communication system comprising radio communication, landline or cellular, or any other form of electronic communication to connect them with supervisors or employers.
It also talks about various monitoring devices that come in different shapes and sizes, their features (like SOS functionality) and benefits (such as continuous monitoring of workers’ vital signs), and lists some of the use cases where these devices can be used, like contact with high voltage, exposure to hazardous gases, and more.
This section first explains that falling prices of worker safety devices has resulted in their increased uptake in sectors where workers may not be in acute danger but may still experience risks, especially retail stores and hospitals. For instance, Ann Summers’ eight-week bodycam trial across three UK stores cut staff safety incidents by 42% and resulted in zero police-attended incidents, prompting plans to deploy bodycams across 23 more stores.
It also discusses some examples of retailers’ initiatives to adopt bodycams, including Tesco, Walgreens, Boots, H&M, Albert Heijn, and Sobeys Inc. For instance, Boots has deployed bodycams across more than 390 stores, reducing violence and aggression towards staff by up to 68% in some locations.
This subsection expounds upon how drones, robots, and smartphone apps can reduce workplace hazards, thereby restricting the adoption of worker safety solutions. For instance, drones can act as an alternative to people working in hazardous environments, robots (such as Spot by Boston Dynamics) reduce the need for human engagement in risky activities (and are therefore, deployed by sectors like the military, oil and gas, and many more), and smartphone apps can restrict IoT solutions market as they can be quickly installed on a worker’s existing smartphone.
It further explains how multiple industries are reaping the benefits of using robots to perform risky and injury-prone activities. For example, in the oil and gas industry, Total Energies deployed Taurob’s autonomous robot at its Shetland Gas Plant to perform visual inspections, navigate around obstacles, and measure temperature and gas concentration.
This subsection claims that for lone workers working in remote areas, satellite connectivity is often used as a backup to a cellular connection, and then lists some of the advantages of doing so. It also lists some examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application, like Perenco deploying Blackline Safety’s connected devices for its workers.
This section begins with a list of who all are included under emergency service providers (such as emergency medical service paramedics) and their functions, like protecting lives and properties.
This subsection focuses on the issues, including public complaints against the police, that have led various countries to adopt body-worn cameras for their police forces. It then talks about how these bodycams function (which also include connected holsters) and their benefits, like bringing transparency and better accountability to police officers by monitoring their on-duty conduct.
It then talks about the varying opinions on the relationship between bodycams and police conduct with citizens. For instance, while a US study of 2,000 police departments found that bodycams reduced police use of force by around 10% and complaints by 17%, another study of eight US and UK police departments found no significant change in officers’ use of force after bodycam adoption. It then talks about the usage of connected holsters by police agencies and its advantages, like helping police departments to monitor, track, and gather the sequence of events when a police officer uses a weapon.
It also lists some of the initiatives undertaken by countries (including the USA, Canada, Germany, France, India, South Korea, and Bulgaria) towards the promotion of bodycams’ usage in law enforcement departments. Case in point, in May 2021, the French Ministry of the Interior awarded Motorola a USD17.5 million contract to equip the country’s police and military officers with bodycams.
This subsection describes how safety devices can save firefighters’ lives by sharing their real-time location, fatigue level, health data, and local environmental conditions, and the benefits of doing so. It also provides examples of firefighter monitoring systems (like Prometeo) which help in determining real-time and long-term health risks by analysing firefighters’ health data.
It also adds that firefighters also use bodycams to record and gather evidence during rescue operations and the benefits of doing so, like providing training and deterring public aggression and abuse.
It then explains how emergency medical service agencies (like the Cypress Creek EMS in the US and London Ambulance Service in the UK) are steadily adopting connected wearable solutions and their benefits, like recording and reviewing the interaction between patients and EMS officers to enhance the quality of patient care.
This subsection focuses on the issue of privacy concerns associated with the use of bodycams, which have resulted in the formulation of varied regulations. For instance, New Mexico in the US permits the release of recordings only if the footage does not disclose confidential information about the accused.
It then discusses another issue with bodycams: significant monetary resources spent on managing bodycams in the form of maintenance, storage, administrative, replacement, and warranty costs, which have resulted in some bodycam programs being scrapped. For instance, in Arlington County, Virginia, the police department cancelled its bodycam plan due to an estimated USD300,000 annual expense.
This section discusses how agencies often deal with issues of officers not turning on their bodycams during important incidents, leading to technology companies introducing solutions that automatically activate bodycams, based on sounds and unholstering of firearms.
This subsection focuses on the communication technologies used in bodycams, including cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. It further talks about the advantages of cellular technology-based bodycams, like allowing live-streaming of videos which do not have to be downloaded later as well as their disadvantages, like their cost.
The discussion here also includes some examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application, like the Beaumont City Council awarding Axon a five-year contract to supply bodycams.
The key vendors section lists some of the main providers of products and services related to the worker safety market, such as Aware360, Axon, Blackline Safety, Globalstar, Honeywell, and Motorola. The report provides profiles of the various vendors including aspects most relevant to this Application Group, such as product offerings, pricing, financial results, and technology.
In the market forecasts section, we provide a summary of the forecasts from the Transforma Insights IoT Forecast Database:
The report charts the growth in the number of connected worker safety devices, which will grow from 13.3 million in 2025 to 27.7 million in 2035.
Transforma Insights forecasts are compiled on a country-by-country basis. This report includes a regional summary, showing splits between Australasia, Greater China, North America, Europe, Japan, Latin America, MENA, Russia & Central Asia, South East Asia, South Korea, India & South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Transforma Insights’ IoT forecasts include splits between the various connectivity technologies as follows: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G mMTC, 5G non-mMTC, LPWA (non-mMTC), Satellite, Short Range, and Other.
This section discusses which technologies will be used in the worker safety application group.
This part of the report discusses the market growth in terms of revenue (module revenue, service wrap revenue, and VAC revenue). Transforma Insights estimates that the revenue in the Worker Safety Application Group will grow at a CAGR of 7%.
