IISc develops workplace readiness tool for organisations

An online self-assessment tool to enable organisations to understand their current level of preparedness and key risk areas has been developed by a team of IISc researchers, in collaboration with the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA).

Developers of the application, which has been dubbed “The Workplace Readiness Indicator,” said it is an advisory tool that can enable organisations to understand their current level of preparedness and key risk areas. It will also help them plan and establish pandemic-specific policies, procedures, and necessary management practices.

The tool is said to take into account broad epidemic factors and social objectives, and suggests a readiness threshold that organisations need to meet or exceed in order to operate effectively, while managing their pandemic response.

“The tool not only scores an organisation’s readiness, but also provides some targeted suggestions if specific weaknesses are identified,” says Nihesh Rathod, a Cisco-IISc PhD scholar at the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering, IISc, who helped develop the tool.

IISc said that the Government of Karnataka has recommended the advisory tool to various organisations in the state, as they begin operation in accordance with the Unlock-1 guidelines.

“The end of the lockdown does not automatically mean a return to the old ‘normal’ and the opening will take different shapes, with different regions and different business sectors opening up in different ways and at differing speeds. Organisations will need to take a holistic approach to restart,” said Manoj Rajan, Commissioner, KSDMA.

An organisation can enter relevant information about their workplace and their current level of operation into the tool. Readiness is calculated using ten specific indices, each with a maximum score of 100. These include infrastructure, precautions, outreach, employee interactions, transport, details of eateries, hygiene and sanitation. The overall readiness index is the sum of the ten individual readiness indices. The tool scores the organisation’s readiness across various categories and provides a consolidated report.

The tool also shows the organisation’s percentile with respect to other similar organisations. “Once enough organisations use the tool, each organisation can see where it stands among other organisations of the same kind. Such a comparison may induce organisations to be proactive and take more positive steps towards mitigating the pandemic,” says project lead Rajesh Sundaresan, Professor, Department of Electrical Communication Engineering, IISc.

The tool was developed as part of research efforts at the new Centre for Networked Intelligence (CNI) established at IISc with generous support under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from Cisco.