Talk at Ubicomp 2007. Industrial health and safety is an important yet largely unexplored application area of ubiquitous computing. In this paper we investigate the relationship between technology and organization in the context of a concrete industrial health and safety system. The system is designed to reduce the number of incidents of “vibration white finger” (VWF) at construction sites and uses wireless sensor nodes for monitoring workers’ exposure to vibrations and testing of compliance with legal health and safety regulations. In particular we investigate the impact of this ubiquitous technology on the relationship between management and operatives, the formulation of health and safety rules and the risk perception and risk behavior of operatives. In addition, we contrast sensor- network inspired and smart artifact inspired compliance systems, and make the case that these technology models have a strong influence on the linkage between technology and organization.

1. Sensor Networks or Smart Artifacts?
An Exploration of Organizational Issues of an
Industrial Health and Safety Monitoring System
Gerd Kortuem
David Alford
Linden Ball
Jerry Busby Computing Department
Nigel Davies Psychology Department
Christos Efstratiou Management School
Joe Finney
Marian Iszatt White
Katharina Kinder Lancaster University

2. What role can Ubiquitous Computing play?
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

3. Designing for People and Organizations The NEMO Project
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

4. Shareholders /
Legal & Government Agencies Society
Clients
Health & Safety Health & Safety Business Social
Regulations Compliance pressure pressure
Organization
Health and Safety System
Actors
Policies & Assessment
Rules Procedures
Management
Training Surveilance
Data
Equipment
Records Operative Supervisor
Designing for People and Organizations The NEMO Project
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

5. Shareholders /
Legal & Government Agencies Society
Clients
Health & Safety Health & Safety Business Social
Regulations Compliance pressure pressure
Organization
Health and Safety System
Actors
Policies & Assessment
Rules Procedures
Management
Training Surveilance
Data
Equipment
Records Operative Supervisor
Designing for People and Organizations The NEMO Project
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

6. Technology
Design process
Challenges & lessons
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

7. NEMO Drill NEMO Dosimeter
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

8. all daily trigger tim
short-term exposu
Duration of use
exposure action).
(measured)
average daily expo
Vibration characteristics
(known for each equipment,
measured by manufacturer)
• Daily exposu
Soil condition
(assumed)
•Exposure exposu
Actual
Daily
?
A(8) is defined as
Maximum Legal Exposure
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk ahv = actual

9. Drill-Dosimeter pairing determined by proximity
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

10. Network node
Sensor component
Actuator component
( including displays)
Enterprise
System
In-Vehicle Intermittent
System communication
Figure 2: HAV monitoring system Figur
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - the NEMO system is to
A key issue for kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk ensure that vibra- on user input makes

11. Technology
‣ Design process
Challenges & lessons
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

12. Design process
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

13. Design process
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

14. Design process
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

15. Design process
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

16. Technology
Design process
‣ Challenges & lessons
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

17. Invisible Risks
Risk perception is poor
Lesson 1: Shift from H&S compliance to increasing awareness
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

18. Self-Image and Social Pressure
Safety equipment often not used
Lesson 2: Personal and social “invisibility” becomes key design goal
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

19. Past Experiences & Narratives
GPS had been experienced as surveillance technology
Lesson 3: Technology narrative should be part of the design
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

20. Developers’ Blind-spot
(a) Wider organizational aspects are perceived to be of low importance
(organizational culture, re-distribution of power, organizational disruption,
societal issues, privacy and security concerns)
(b) Even organizational issues that are considered to be of importance
often do not actually influence the design process
Günter, H., Grote, G. & Boos, D. (2006): Organizational issues in ubiquitous computing, Paper presented at 22nd EGOS
Colloquium, Bergen, July 06-08.
Boos, D., Günter., H., & Grote, G. (2007): Organizational issues, technological frames and the development of a new
ubiquitous computing prototype, Paper presented at 23nd EGOS Colloquium, Vienna, Austria, July 05-07.
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

21. Technology Archetypes
Developers view problem in light of well-known system models
Sensor network Smart artifacts
(sensing + data) (interaction)
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

22. Technology Archetypes
Different system models imply different H&S solutions
Enterprise
Management
System
Personal
Exception Health &
reports Safety
Record
Health &
Safety Rules
Data logs Feedback
Operative's Context-sensitive
Automatic behavior notices
data capture Operatives'
behavior
Operatives
Sensor-network Smart-artifact
inspired H&S system inspired H&S system
(top-down) (bottom-up)
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

23. Sensor Network Smart Artifact
Risk perception unchanged increased
Trust in rules unchanged increased
Intelligibility
low high
(information awareness)
Surveillance increased unchanged
Provable compliance supported not supported
Well intentioned rule
more difficult unchanged
violations
Rule formulation more rigid more rigid
Behavior-based safety not supported supported
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

24. Display Matters
Unit w/o display was perceived as surveillance technology
Sensor-network Smart-artifact
inspired H&S system inspired H&S system
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

25. Behavior-based Safety
Operatives as source of expertise and behavioral change
Personal
Personal
Health &
Health &
Safety
Safety
Record
Record
Operative's Context-sensitive
Operative's Context-sensitive
behavior notices
behavior notices
Collaborative safety
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

26. Points to Take Home
• Industrial workplace is opportunity for ubicomp
• Design process must investigate organizational context
• Architecture is not neutral
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

27. Thank You
Gerd Kortuem
kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk
http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/nemo
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk

28. • James Brown, Joe Finney, Christos Efstratiou, Ben Green, Nigel Davies,
Mark Lowton and Gerd Kortuem. Network Interrupts: Supporting Delay
Sensitive Applications in Low Power Wireless Control Networks. CHANTS
2007.
• Efstratiou, C., Davies, N., Kortuem, G. Finney, J., Hooper, R., and Lowton,
M. Experiences of Designing and Deploying Intellignent Sensor Nodes to
Monitor Hand-Arm Vibrations in the Field. Proceedings of MobiSys 2007,
San Juan, Puerto Rico, June, 2007
• Iszatt White, M. Catching Them At It? An Ethnography of Rule Violation.
Symposium on Current Developments in Ethnographic Research in the
Social and Management Sciences. 13th-14th September 2006. Liverpool,
UK.
• Busby, J. and Iszatt-White, M. Pushing the Boundaries of HRO. Thinking:
Non-complex and Uncoupled but still Deadly. SRA Annual Meeting - Risk
Analysis in a Dynamic World: Making a Difference, 3rd-4th December
2006. Baltimore, Maryland
• Davies, N., Efstratiou, C., Finney, J., Hooper, R., Kortuem G., Lowton, M.
Sensing Danger – Challenges in Supporting Compliance in the Field. 8th
IEEE Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications
(HotMobile 2007), Tucson, Arizona, February, 2007
• Lowton M. and Finney, J. Finding NEMO: On the Accuracy of Inferring
Location in IEEE 802.15.4 Networks. Proceedings Workshop on Real-World
Wireless Sensor Networks (RealWSN 2006), Uppsala, Sweden June 2006.
Gerd Kortuem - Lancaster University - 2007 - kortuem@comp.lancs.ac.uk