Episode Nine: The Future is Now (EHO Knows)
Tools of the Trade
Made as a companion to Episode Nine of the EHO Knows podcast. Listen today:
Environmental Health Officers are no strangers to budget constraints. The profession has long been expected to do more with less, to stretch each dollar across vast geographies, rising responsibilities, and a growing list of risks. But as the latest episode of EHO Knows featuring Andrew Mathieson makes clear, this is not just a resourcing issue it’s a missed opportunity.
Technology is no longer just a shiny add-on to environmental health work. It’s becoming the core of how modern inspection, data collection, risk management, and public trust are built. And if we’re serious about giving communities the best possible health outcomes, we need to stop treating tech as a luxury, and start treating it as essential.
Learning Tools
Not every innovation has to be revolutionary. Sometimes it’s a $1 ATP swab that proves a surface is dirty, even when it looks clean. Or a hand-sanitising gel with UV markers that shows a food handler missed the spaces between their fingers. These aren’t expensive, untested gadgets they’re proven tools that help translate hygiene from theory into visual, measurable action.
Used correctly, they don’t just support better inspections they teach, show, and reinforce. They turn conversations about compliance into opportunities for learning. But without the budget to use them at scale, their impact stays limited.
On the Brightside
During the pandemic, EHOs had to pivot fast. Traditional inspections weren’t always safe or feasible. Enter remote inspections, camera walk-throughs, video calls, and photo evidence guided by trained professionals from a distance.
But what started as a crisis workaround revealed long-term potential. Why drive four hours for a check-in if a five-minute video confirms everything is in order? Why not use remote tools to prioritise which premises need in-person follow-ups and which can safely wait?
As Andrew points out, this isn’t a compromise it’s a smart allocation of time, skill, and trust. Especially in remote or under-resourced areas, remote inspections could be the difference between getting checked or getting overlooked altogether.
Clever Collating
Whether it’s smart fridges with live temperature monitoring, pre-programmed inspection checklists on tablets, or cloud-based recordkeeping, EHOs are now operating in a world where data can talk back.
Modern systems don’t just store information, they flag trends, alert teams, and allow inspectors to make real-time, evidence-based decisions. More importantly, they support accountability: both for regulators and the businesses they oversee. But building this kind of system takes upfront investment. And without support, many councils are stuck using outdated, fragmented, or inflexible software that was barely fit for purpose ten years ago.
The Role of EHOs
From AI tools that draft reports or interpret photos, to integrated systems that make nationwide data collection seamless, the future of environmental health won’t remove the human element. But it will streamline the repetitive, simplify the complex, and amplify the impact of every hour worked. Instead of chasing paperwork or redoing inspections, EHOs could focus on strategic thinking, education, and enforcement. Tech doesn’t dilute the role it sharpens it.
We’re not talking about moonshot ideas here. We’re talking about tools that already exist, ones that could make a tangible difference today if only councils and governments were equipped to fund them properly. Investing in future-focused environmental health isn’t just about being “modern.” It’s about being effective. It’s about ensuring that every EHO, regardless of postcode, has access to the tools that help protect communities.
Episode 8: Departing Waters
In this forward-focused episode of EHO Knows, host Shane sits down with educator, advocate, and tech-savvy environmental health expert Andrew Mathieson for a deep dive into how technology is reshaping the world of Environmental Health Officers. From the big-picture potential of AI and real-time monitoring to the everyday wins of ATP swabs and remote inspections, Andrew shares insights into the tools that are already making a difference, and the ones EHOs should be preparing for.
But it’s not just about gadgets, it’s about strategy. Shane and Andrew unpack how smarter tech can free up EHOs to focus on higher-risk premises, offer better support to businesses doing the right thing, and push for system-wide transparency and accountability. They also explore the challenges of implementation, budget limitations, outdated systems, and the need for councils to invest in the future before they fall too far behind.
