The state employee didn’t hear the voicemail until one day after the deadly accident.
Engineer’s Voicemail Warned State Of Bridge Cracks 2 Days Before Collapse
I was sickened last week when I saw on the news, the video footage of the bridge collapse in Florida. Believe it or not, voicemail workflow may have been a contributing factor in the tragedy. An engineer on the project noted there were cracks in the bridge and left a voicemail. The voicemail was not listened to until a day after the bridge collapse by the intended recipient. It is a disturbing revelation. You can read the entire story by clicking here.
Voicemail is easy to leave, but difficult to retrieve. It is a known fact that voicemail can sit for up to three days unheard. Yet, when something is important we turn to the phone. Could this tragedy have been avoided if the message recipient had received a text message notification with the voicemail transcription while out of the office? We will never know. But we do know that 90% of text message are read within 90 seconds of receipt. A text message just might have made the difference.
It is time to retire the 1980’s voicemail workflow and replace it with a modern digital one. The technology to convert voicemail to email and SMS messages is available today for about $2 per user per month. There is really no excuse for any modern enterprise to rely on a message waiting light and dialing in to retrieve what could be critical messages. For most organizations, this technology is used to increase sales and decrease costs. But for some applications, the ability to convert a voice message to text may contribute public safety and save lives.
#publicsafety #voicemail #bridgecollapse #communication
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