Adopt Technology And Innovation That Supports Better Work
Making steps to improve the workplace doesn’t always have to be obvious change; often, it can just be a part of your usual operational activity, such as adopting new technology and embracing innovative ideas.
Orakei Korako Geothermal Attraction is a great example of a business that has done just that.
A review of their health and safety led to zoning the park into different areas and installing a PA system that would improve communications in the event of an emergency. Additionally, the introduction of a drone meant that the park could be checked for hazards from the safety of the office, eliminating the need for physical checks ahead of opening to the public each day.
Then, when Covid hit, the team had to find a way to continue to operate with less staff and a brand-new contactless check-in system was introduced. This simple endeavour benefitted staff, guests and management.
Orakei Korako Manager, Nick Gibson, explains how these operational changes support Better Work…
Nick, can you give us a bit of background to why you adopted technology and innovation into the business?
Being an active geothermal park there’s always a risk with everything we do, and we need to minimise that. But, honestly, a more likely hazard would be someone flicking a cigarette into dry bush that would create a fire that could block people in. Our health and safety review in 2018 showed that our emergency communications were too slow and not reliable enough so there was no question we needed to update that. With the PA system around the park, we don’t need to send people in; and by zoning the park we can be more effective when we’re locating and directing people.
The real innovative idea was our drone. We operate it from our office and within ten minutes we can check the pathways and identify any hazards.
The contactless system being introduced was a result of covid and everyone getting sick. We’re a small team and people were feeling guilty just for getting sick; so, as a manager, you need to find that balance between making sure that your team can take the time off they need and being able to operate. During those times we were short-staffed, we were able to close the café and rotate staff around, making use of the contactless system to ensure customers were able to get tickets, check in and watch the health and safety briefing before entering the park.
Can you talk about the benefits for staff from introducing this technology?
• Everyone is and feels safer
• Everyone feels more confident in what needs to be done in the event of an emergency
• They don’t feel like they’re letting the team down if they’re sick, they know we can operate without them
• The drone in particular has given us a lot of time back, as we don’t need to physically check for hazards anymore.
• As management, I also feel more confident in my team
Were there any challenges to overcome?
Our new PA system went flat really fast, so we had to buy bigger solar panels and batteries to mitigate this.
And, unfortunately, we didn’t have the budget to make our contactless system to exactly what I’d like it to do – but we still made it work. Personally, I would have rather the safety video plays automatically ahead of the customer buying tickets online, but what we had to settle on is relying on the customer to play it themself and then tick a box to say they watched it.
Do you have any advice for other businesses who may be hesititant to adopt new tech or innovative ideas?
Technology is always getting better, so you have to do your research to know what is out there. It will be more cost effective for you to do this also. I learned the hard way – if I had done more research into our new PA system at the beginning, I would have saved myself a bit of money, time and energy.