How to choose the right connected PPE for your team
- Marc Duvollet
- Aug 24
- 2 min read
Identification of your specific needs
Before choosing connected PPE, assess the risks and hazards your team is exposed to in their work environment. The level of risk faced by a data center technician cannot be compared to that of a high-performance operator performing welding operations in a buried confined space. Identify the features and sensors essential to your employees' safety, such as fall detection, monitoring of environmental conditions (temperature, oxygen level, presence of harmful gases), or real-time location (PTI/DATI system with GPS).
Compatibility and integration
Check the compatibility of the connected PPE with other technologies and systems you already use. You don't want the information transmissions from one to interfere with those of the other. Make sure the PPE can be easily integrated into your existing infrastructure, such as field service management software or field team tracking platforms. Too much software (typically one software per PPE) would end up having the opposite effect to the one intended by unnecessarily complicating data collection, risking making it incomprehensible or impossible. The alliance work between the HSE manager and the data scientist is therefore essential to be able to extract the best from this type of tool.
Data reliability and accuracy
The accuracy of the data collected by connected PPE is essential to ensuring your safety. Ensure that the PPE offers reliable sensors and technologies capable of providing accurate information in real time. This means, on the one hand, that preventive maintenance (VGP/CVPO) is included in your contract and, on the other hand, that in the event of a breakdown, the repair or replacement of sensors or the entire device is carried out as quickly as possible. Also check the quality of connectivity for efficient data transmission.
Ease of use and adoption
Choose connected PPE that's easy to use. It's important that you and your colleagues can adopt it quickly and easily. A clear interface and easy-to-understand features will help maximize the effectiveness and acceptance of the PPE by your team. Remember that employee acceptance, even if the initial approach is virtuous, can only be achieved through quality change management by involving employees themselves, Purchasing, IT departments, and employee representative bodies in the process.
Battery life and durability
Make sure the connected PPE has sufficient battery life to meet your daily needs in the field. Here again, we cannot compare the work of a Data Center technician who can recharge his connected PPE during his lunch break with the work of a technician who will work in an underground gallery for 6 to 7 consecutive hours and whose survival depends largely on his connected PPE.
The durability of PPE is also important, as it must withstand demanding working conditions and possible impacts or falls. It is better to acquire more expensive but better-made PPE than PPE that will have to be replaced every year because it is not adapted to the constraints of the work environment.
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