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2017 Innovation Awards: Salus Systems ZERO

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2017 Innovation Awards: Salus Systems ZERO

Salus Systems L.L.C.
ZERO

It’s like Facebook for workplace safety: instant notices on workplace dangers and incidents, photos of unsafe conditions — all pinpointed on a map with the ability to tag a supervisor and other workers who might come across it.

ZERO does all that with a user-friendly mobile application downloadable to any smartphone.

A 2017 Business Insurance Innovation Awards winner, the app was created by workplace safety and technology firm Salus Systems L.L.C. of Easton, Pennsylvania.

Co-founder and longtime insurance broker Glen Welch provided Business Insurance a virtual tour of the application, which gives users a profile alongside their photograph, as other social media sites do.

“This application allows employees in leadership to share information both ways to get that data out immediately to make adjustments and to keep people aware,” said Mr. Welch. “That’s the value, getting it in their hands immediately so no one else gets hurt doing the same thing.”

At its core, the app allows workers to post notices and photographs under the categories “FYI,” “Safe,” “Unsafe,” “Incident” and “Urgent,” with color coding that gives co-workers and supervisors a swift way to triage situations on the job and alert others to hazards. The app also allows for anytime access to seminars, meetings and brochures.

Like social media, specific users — or employees — can “tag” others in their posts, providing a second layer of notification for workers. In some ways, it puts risk management in the pockets of workers and rather than in a separate department, Mr. Welch said.

“Employee engagement is the holy grail of risk management,” added Mr. Welch, who worked alongside his brother, broker Todd Welch, to bring the app to market. “We realized you can’t hire enough safety engineers and inspectors to watch everything.”

One benefit is the availability of instant reports for company leaders and stakeholders with a vested interest in safety, he said: “How is the information getting to the leadership? Typically, information shows up five months later after an exhaustive report.”

Salus’ target market is “heavier industries where safety is already a priority for the company,” Mr. Welch said.

The service, a joint venture between Charter Partners Community L.L.C. and Everest Reinsurance Holdings Inc., launched in the second quarter of 2017.

Mr. Welch said the app is undergoing a modification that will better help with insurance claims reporting.

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