Hux Safety Solutions, a Roanoke Rapids company that specializes in on-site confined space rescues, is launching a statewide safety and rescue platform that will allow workers to carry their credentials in a digital wallet.
A general contractor platform will allow companies to see a potential employee’s credentials for the vetting process to ensure they have the necessary certifications or identify where they need further training, said Brian Hux, chief visionary officer of HSS.
It is a build that took six months and represented a significant investment in the company’s future, Hux, who has patents pending on the system, said. “The team is now working through final bug fixes as it prepares to launch the worker and general contractor portals on June 1.”
Hux said the company is starting with the worker portal and is building the system up in preparation for the launch. “Those are the people that are doing the work. They're the ones that are in harm's way,” he said. “We're building our system centered on them and then everybody else above them, like the general contractors. Industrial sites will be able to rest assured that their workers are coming in trained properly because it'll be visible to them.”
The system will allow a general contractor to connect with a potential employee. “It gives them their training records and it also lets the general contractor assign training to them from our site.”
For the worker, it allows them to keep their training records in their wallet even if they go from job to job. “It'll remain in their wallet throughout the life of their career.”
If a worker lacks certain credentials for a specific job, they can get most of the training through the platform, Hux said.
The system will eliminate redundancies. “What typically happens is the general contractor takes a certificate for a worker and puts it in that worker's file. And that's where it stays. So when the worker leaves one company and goes to work for another, he has to do all the training again.” The digital wallet will make the worker more marketable “because he'll have his training everywhere he goes from the beginning to the end.”
For the contractor, the system means they don’t have to spend as much time training people who already have the specific credentials needed for the job.
Within the system is a workflow permit program, Hux said. “Every job in industry starts with a workflow permit program.”
They typically start with a Job Hazard Analysis. During the JHA, the company will identify other permits that are needed to perform the job, such as confined space entry permits, hot work permits, working at height permits, and other tasks that are considered hazardous. “The gate block exists in that permit system. It will identify other permits that the worker has to have to do the job, like if they have to work inside a confined space. It’s going to generate a confined space permit inside of our program. If they’re doing welding, it’s going to generate a hot work permit. When someone gets assigned to be an entrant into a confined space, we’ll check the worker’s name and check that worker’s credentials wallet to make sure they have the training assigned to that. If they don’t, it will block them and redirect them into our platform to take the class.”
Hux believes the system will be a game-changer that will eventually scale across the country. “We’re going to prove it in North Carolina first. Once it’s proven in North Carolina, every state in the country will want it. We’re going to change enforcement and safety in the industry all the way across the country. Every industry and every worker will want it.”
In a statement, Hux said that every step of the company’s progress since its founding in 2018 has been guided by faith. “God has opened every door. Every step of this has been Him. We’re just walking it out.”
The company recently showcased its platform at the Eastern Carolina Safety Conference, where it received strong feedback from general contractors, safety leaders, and an OSHA representative.
During the event, HSS Chief Technology and Training Officer Michael Butts was invited to join the Conference Board, which Hux said was a reflection of the company’s growing influence in the region.
With Phase 1 nearing public release, HSS will officially begin Phase 2 development on June 1. Phase 2 includes the enterprise buildout of the industrial platform, the emergency services platform, gate block, and the worker wallet systems that allow both sides to communicate in real time.
The emergency services platform is expected to launch in January, Hux said. “What it's going to do is allow every firefighter, every EMT, and every law enforcement officer to have a wallet with their credentials in it. Instead of being tied to a general contractor, they’ll be tied to a fire department, EMS station, or a law enforcement division. Each one of those will be visible at higher levels like municipalities and emergency management.”
Hux expects the emergency management platform to scale as well. “Emergency management can see every asset, every piece of equipment, every employer, and what level they’re trained at and what readiness level they’re at.”
