How integrating technology is making EPA more sustainable

Sustainability touches every part of how a business operates, from its impact on the environment to the work-life balance of employees. Whether the changes are big or small it’s the cumulative effect that helps to achieve the overall goal.

Embracing new approaches are crucial to making positive changes and technology can play a major role.

The IMI End Point Assessment team has changed its approach as the organisation works to make itself more sustainable, introducing RealWear headsets to help it streamline how it works.

The technology allows people to communicate in real-time even when they’re at opposite ends of the country.

Tony Lawson Head of Assessment Services at the IMI says: “[RealWear is] a headband worn piece of hardware with a camera on the side and viewing piece on an arm that sits on your cheekbone. When viewing the eyepiece, it is the equivalent of looking at 7” tablet.”

It also has an integrated microphone and speakers to allow live interaction between users. With the RealWear headset on you can receive live verbal and visual communications and also written messages on the screen

“Initially, over the last 12 months, we’ve been piloting the RealWear within the End Point Assessment team. We have scheduled live observations that the Lead End Point Assessors have conducted to maintain regulatory compliance. These activities take place throughout the UK, predominantly in England, but it does venture up to Scotland supporting our national training providers.

“The EPA team have been trialling the RealWear headsets to carry out end point assessment setup checks and risk-rating observations of assessors, allowing lead end-point assessors to conduct these activities from home, as an example, they could have an assessor in Glasgow and an assessor in Southend conducting end-point assessment activities, giving the lead end point assessors the ability to remotely access, see and hear exactly what the assessors observe, they can communicate with them directly to ask them questions on why they're conducting specific activities, and it's all digitally documented for audit purposes,” says Lawson.

The trial uses digital observation sheets that can capture images and videos that can be used in the assessment activity.

It means that people aren’t travelling the length and breadth of the country racking up motorway miles burning fuel. Better not only for the environment but also for the work-life balance of Lawson’s team.

“For quality of life it’s a huge improvement, people aren’t away from family for days on end. Off the back of that, your carbon footprint drops because you’re removing the travel requirement too,” says Lawson.

The IMI is looking at how it can expand the use of RealWear technology, embracing the system to help make End Point Assessment work more sustainable, and also making the work easier for its employees.