The South African Department of Labour has initiated a personal digital assistant (PDA) training programme for its employees to improve its inspection and enforcement management system, in a bid to speed up delivery with mobile inspections.
The initiative is a combined project with Siemens Business Service (SBS), which was awarded the contract, and Learning Resources Custom Courseware, which developed the learning solutions.
Previously, the department explains, it would receive a complaint about a workplace, which it recorded and assigned to an inspector who would notify the employer that a health and safety inspection would be conducted. The inspection results would be recorded manually, and an evaluation conducted at the department. The process was slow and laborious, and inspectors were struggling to keep up with the workload.
By using a PDA, cases can be assigned and tracked with greater ease, while ensuring increased accountability and productivity. The inspection results are entered into the PDA, and transferred back to the central database via general packet radio service (GPRS), as soon as the inspector has a cellphone signal and can transmit the data.
"This was a new experience for everyone; there were no existing guidelines or standards anywhere in the world," says Adi Stephan, project manager of training for SBS.
"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, while Learning Resources developed the technology and created a learning simulation using Macromedia Flash.
"We essentially developed a PDA manual that was pre-installed on the mobile device, which included user-friendly 'show-me` tutorials," explains Irwin van Stavel, a divisional executive of Learning Resources.
The pilot study, conducted in Pretoria, Gauteng South, Ulundi and Garankuwa, showed the system could transmit data in both low- and high-density areas, and in regions where cellphone reception was good or poor.
The Department of Labour plans to roll-out the training to inspectors countrywide.
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