SYRACUSE — A new iPad app from Syracuse–based engineering firm O’Brien & Gere aims to spread safety information from the company around the world. O’Brien & Gere has been presenting safety information on topics ranging from safe driving to safe chainsaw use for its own employees and clients for years, says Jamie Newtown, senior managing […]
SYRACUSE — A new iPad app from Syracuse–based engineering firm O’Brien & Gere aims to spread safety information from the company around the world.
O’Brien & Gere has been presenting safety information on topics ranging from safe driving to safe chainsaw use for its own employees and clients for years, says Jamie Newtown, senior managing scientist at the firm. Some of the material developed around specific projects while some was the result of internal efforts to spread safety messages to the firm’s workforce.
The company eventually found itself with a database of information that clients were often tapping into and using for their employees, Newtown says. Developing an app to spread the information further made sense and fit in with the firm’s desire to innovate, he adds.
“One of our priorities here is to put safety at the forefront of everything we do,” he says. “It seemed like a great fit to take some of our existing documentation and turn it into something useful.”
The free app an early foray into mobile technology for O’Brien & Gere, Newtown says. The hope is for more to follow.
The app also helps O’Brien & Gere stand out as a leader in the realm of workplace and home safety. The app has been downloaded more than 780 times in more than 50 countries since launching in November.
“It really is for the industry,” says Katie Hollenbeck, a graphic designer at O’Brien & Gere who helped develop the app.
Hollenbeck and others who worked on the project transformed a series of PowerPoint slides the firm built around its safety information into a graphic-heavy app for the iPad. The idea was to fashion a finished product that wouldn’t just contain blocks of text or bullet points, Hollenbeck says.
The firm initially included more than 50 of its “safety moments” in the app. They are organized by category and could include everything from how to recognize poison ivy at a dig site to slip and fall prevention in the workplace.
The company has another 50 safety moments to add to the app, Hollenbeck says. And developers are also working on a version for the iPhone.
An Android app is on the drawing board as well.
“Our plan is to continue to develop additional content and update the app as we move along,” Hollenbeck says.
Employee-owned O’Brien & Gere has more than 960 employees. The firm provides services in areas including energy, the environment, facilities, and water and has 25 offices across the U.S.
Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com
