Labour department gets mobile
In a world first, the SA Department of Labour has initiated training on Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to dramatically improve its inspection and enforcement management system.
This initiation is a tri-partite effort between the Department of Labour, Siemens Business Service (SBS), who won the contract, and Learning Resources Custom Courseware, who developed the learning solutions.
Adi Stephan, Project Manager: Training for SBS, says: "The Dept of Labour wanted to speed up its delivery with mobile inspections and ensure more transparent results. Previously the Department would receive a complaint about a workplace, it would be recorded and assigned to an inspector who would notify the employer that a Safety & Health inspection would be conducted.
"The inspection results would be recorded manually and an evaluation conducted back at the Department. The process was slow and laborious and inspectors have been struggling to keep up with the workload."
By using a PDA, cases can be assigned and tracked with greater ease whilst ensuring increased accountability and productivity. The inspection results are entered into the PDA and transferred back to the central database via GPRS, as soon as the Inspector has a cell-phone signal and can transmit the data.
Vodacom's General Packet Radio Service APN was used to connect the PDA with the Dept of Labour.
This new technology has allowed Department of Labour Inspectors to explore new training frontiers.
"This was a new experience for everyone; there were no existing guidelines or standards anywhere in the world. We had eight weeks to develop an application and begin the training, which had to include theory, practice and application in one training intervention."
Siemens developed the application that would enable training to be conducted on a PDA. Learning Resources developed the technology and created a learning simulation using Macromedia Flash, which was user-friendly and offered a self-guided learning experience on the PDA.
The pilot study conducted in Pretoria, Gauteng South, Ulundi, and Garankuwa showed that the system could transmit data in both low- and high-density areas and in regions where cell-phone reception was poor. The pilot programme has been successful and the department plans to roll out the training to inspectors countrywide.
