If you need to track your safety equipment to improve inventory management and compliance, this software and RFID tags can help

by Brianna Crandall — May 30, 2018 — Fortune 100 software-industrial company Honeywell recently announced a simple, cost-effective way for companies to improve productivity and regulatory compliance by connecting their existing inventory of personal protective equipment (PPE) using Honeywell’s cloud-based Safety Suite software and specialized electronic tags.

This new Connected Worker solution uses Honeywell’s ultra-high-frequency radio identification (RFID) tags that can be attached to any safety equipment and are designed to withstand the tough conditions characteristic of many commercial work sites. The tags can be scanned directly into Honeywell Safety Suite software, which means equipment can be tracked for usage, maintenance and training, resulting in better, money-saving inventory management decisions and compliance reporting.

John Romano, vice president and general manager of High Risk Safety for Honeywell, stated:

Our newest Connected Worker offering allows customers to connect virtually any piece of personal protective equipment — hard hats, fall protection gear, gloves, ladders, fire extinguishers — and track the equipment with Honeywell’s cloud-based software. This cost-effective tracking solution leverages Honeywell’s Safety Suite software to extend connectivity to a company’s entire ecosystem of safety equipment to drive more productivity for safety managers.

Three types of tags are available to cover the broadest range of worker tools, safety devices and personal protective equipment: a tag that adheres to various flat, non-metallic surfaces; one that can be mounted to metallic surfaces; and a sealed, rigid RFID tag that can be attached even to devices with irregular or odd-sized surfaces.

When equipment is scanned into Honeywell Safety Suite, safety managers can track and manage their inventory of PPE, making sure it is tested on schedule or repaired or replaced as needed, reducing the frequency of equipment failure or non-compliance. The data pulled from the tag can be compiled automatically into reports, thus eliminating time-consuming manual audits and data logs, says the company. The ultra-high-frequency RFID tags also enable longer-range scans, helping speed up and simplify scanning of multiple devices and workers.

For more information about the Safety Suite and Connected Worker solutions, and all of Honeywell’s Industrial Safety products and services, including hearing protection; safety harnesses; respiratory and electrical safety equipment; turnout gear for first responders; and protective eye-, hand- and footwear, visit the company’s website. Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions (SPS) provides products, software and connected solutions that improve productivity, workplace safety and asset performance for customers across the globe.