ServiceNow adds health and safety app to Safe Workplace Suite, mobile improvements

ServiceNow said that it will add a health and safety testing application to its Safe Workplace Suite as well as a new mobile experience.

The addition comes as ServiceNow is steadily building out its Safe Workplace Suite amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Enterprise software vendors have flocked to workplace safety as offices reopen. ServiceNow, IBM, Salesforce and Zebra Technologies are just a few firms targeting the space.  

ServiceNow has launched 11 releases for its workplace apps since the Safe Workspace Suite launched in May. Blake McConnell, senior vice president of employee workflow products at ServiceNow, said the company has moved to a twice a month release cadence since COVID-19 hit.

"We're on a tight release cadence and we'll continue it," said McConnell. "We've worked it out with agile delivery and agile go-to-market."

Part of the cadence is the reality of dealing with the pandemic, but ServiceNow's approach has become muscle memory at this point, said McConnell. "It allows us to be super responsive," he said referring to the twice a month cadence.

ServiceNow said that almost 800 customers have downloaded ServiceNow's Safe Workplace apps. One reference customer for ServiceNow was the NBA and WNBA, which used the company's software for workflows and health screening as they restarted seasons in bubbles.

As for the latest updates, ServiceNow Health and Safety Testing application aims to streamline processes for requesting and receiving test results from employees. Employees will be able to submit testing preferences, test type and location and schedule. Employees can submit a test result and clear health and safety protocols.

Deepak Bharadwaj, vice president & general manager of ServiceNow's legal and workplace business units, said the health and safety testing apps were built on the theory that COVID-19 testing will become faster and cheaper. Before this launch, the system relied on employee self reporting.

"This is in anticipation that testing will play a much bigger role," he said. Bharadwaj said employees will control what they report to the company.

In addition to the health and safety app, ServiceNow launched a Safe Workplace experience for Now Mobile. The mobile-first design is designed to make it easier to complete health screenings with surveys, set up visits, reserve space and request protective equipment.

ServiceNow also said that it is integrating with Zebra MotionWorks Proximity, which offers contact tracing for customers using Zebra devices. As previously reported, Zebra MotionWorks Proximity delivers audible warnings when social distance requirements are breached. The proximity tracking enable enterprises to enforce restrictions.

Bharadwaj said ServiceNow is able to track some contact tracing via proximity but relies on integrations for more data.