Workplace safety is a responsibility that is
shared not only by the employer but by the employee as well. With workplace
safety being a big and hot topic nowadays, it’s becoming more and more
important for companies to impose Health and Safety programs to protect
everyone not only those working in the field but in the office as well. Using
an EHS Software
to improve safety, productivity and compliance is necessary if you work in
heavily-regulated companies that specialize in chemical, gas, oil and
manufacturing.
Workplace health and safety issues grow more
and more complicated as time goes by. It can seem like every day, there’s more
paperwork, more rules and more information to fill out and file. While having
an EHS software in place is necessary in every workplace setup because it helps
protect everyone in the workplace, it also provides an opportunity for the
staff involved to learn more about what it its.
EHS software programs make it easier for
employers to navigate and enforce safety rules in the workplace. A Software
Management approach to workplace safety means that regardless of who is doing the
safety checks, by following the program, the staff provides consistent results
with fewer mistakes every time. Health and Safety software will not only reduce
the risk for your company but helps guarantee that everyone complies with rules
and regulations in place.
12 major benefits companies can get
from having an EHS management software in place:
1- Consistency:
When it comes to collecting and filing data, there needs to be absolute consistency each and every time. A Health and Safety software helps with accuracy, and when the same tasks are consistently repeated, workers are able to follow the process without forgetting important pieces of information. With the help of an EHS software, you’ll be able to look back into data from previous experiences to aid and provide information for similar scenarios in the future.
2- Efficiency:
Reorganize your reports by tracking and keeping all important information in one accessible area. Doing this provides you with an adaptable solution to fight against the negative effects of rapid growth. For example, employees across the board can easily access related documents and information. Furthermore, new employees can work effectively on a single system, instead of having to go through numerous filing cabinets, use antiquated software, paper forms and clipboards. By using a systemized EHS software, you are less likely to miss important details so your company can grow confidently.
3- You Can Use It Remotely:
EHS mobile applications are perfect for conveying information when you don’t have physical access to your office. For example, you’re out somewhere and you need to relay information to your office database. The app can do the job for you! Instead of having to personally check to each facility, EHS apps allow you to assign inspections and other tasks at the facility level remotely. Likewise, employees and supervisors can gather data remotely (and offline) and synchronize it to the main database.
The latest app developments allow employees to capture, in real-time,
observations in the workplace. This incudes videos and images from a tablet or
kiosk.
4- Simplify Your Data:
Both offline and online EHS software can help employees and management collect any important information depending on the incident that transpired. Forms can be adjusted based on your specific needs, without sacrificing any information necessary to comply with new standards and regulations.
One of the most time-consuming activities for EHS professionals is
reporting. Having an EHS software in place saves time by letting you create
complicated reports within minutes, using data collected in real-time at the
source. If you have a data warehouse tool, you can create completely formatted
customized reports for GHG, waste, water, air and other permits.
5- Compliance:
One of the biggest concerns in any workplace setting and Health and Safety program is whether it remains compliant; especially if employees are not updated with new procedures and regulations. An EHS software can help inform and update staff whenever there are updates or new regulations so your company operates within the limits of the law.
6- Improved Employee Performance and Confidence:
When employees know that their company takes care of them and puts Health and Safety as a top priority, morale inevitably goes up. Any business owner should know that their staff and contractors value safety and well-being as an important aspect as they perform their day-to-day operations.
You don’t usually see trends in safety or environmental performance until
year-end reports come in. But with an EHS software, you’ll be able to view data
in real-time. Maybe you notice there’s an increase in near miss accidents at a
particular area/location? Your Health and Safety software will be able to
pinpoint and show those red flags immediately so you can manage them before any
fatal or serious accidents happen.
7- Reduce Unnecessary Expenses:
By being consistently updated on regulations, being compliant with the law, and providing a consistent and reliable information database (in case of accidents), your business will be less likely to suffer from legal consequences or penalties.
Another way EHS software helps with lowering costs or reducing expenses
is by increasing employee productivity. Aside from this, a Health and Safety
software also helps prevent unwanted events from happening which in turn, helps
you avoid incurring huge legal costs, medical and worker’s compensation fees,
and other expenses.
8- Customers Trust You More:
When people hear how a business takes care of their employees, the general public feels positive about your ethical standards and company morals. This will result to customers trusting you and your business more. Win-win!
9- Increase Business Transparency:
Companies face new challenges in reporting in an age where shareholders and customers demand businesses to be transparent with regards to their health and safety, environmental and sustainability performance.
An EHS system gives companies the ability to report on key metrics in a
better and more integrated manner. Besides external reporting, health and
safety software promotes transparency within a company. With dynamic
dashboards, executives and health and safety managers will be able to see the
status of the workplace is at all times. Automatic alerts and notifications
also keeps the parties responsible informed about key metrics in real-time, any
time, anywhere.
10- Keeps Employees Connected:
It is impossible for any company owner, or manager, to keep track of every person employed in the company. When you’ve got hundreds, or thousands, of employees spread out across different locations and departments, the task of keeping everyone on the same page seems daunting. Fortunately a health and safety system can make things easier for you. By bringing all your data and activities together in one place, employees can cooperate and get things done as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
11- Control System Intelligence:
An EHS management software gives your data a layer of intelligence—one that you can’t get from spreadsheets. A health and safety software can help improve your company’s performance by automatically notifying you every time permit limits or thresholds are exceeded. It also assigns event-triggered corrective actions.
12- Risk Reduction:
It’s hard to get a good picture of your risk profile when you’ve got different spreadsheets and records for each of your data sources (incident reports, environmental data, risk assessments and the like). Fortunately for you, a health and safety software lets you score your risks and develop a risk register in dynamic dashboards. This allows you to boldly identify issues and come up with mitigation plans.
Standardizing
and Centralizing EHS system
Consider all the places where your EHS data
is spread out: spreadsheets, homegrown databases, paper files—all these force
people to waste their time looking for the information they need. In addition
it lends to data inconsistencies, making it virtually impossible to get an
accurate idea of your performance. But what if it’s possible to actually find
the information you want and need easily? What if everyone were able to record
data in a consistent and expected manner? What if it were actually possible to
keep track of all your deadlines and activities in one centralized calendar?
Well, guess what? You can do that and more with an EHS software!
To Sum it Up:
A lot of businesses and companies nowadays
are making the switch to EHS software—and there’s a pretty good reason for
this.
According to research, investment in EHS
management software have increased significantly over the years, with almost
half (42%) of EHS directors planning to up their spending on technology in
2019.
There are many advantages that companies and individual employees can get from a reliable EHS software. The benefits include increased productivity, lower costs and improved overall performance.
Technology has long been established to improve and touch our lives and society in many different ways. The digital disruption is introducing new and better ways of performing complex and time-consuming tasks. There are many companies out there that offer health and safety services, but just simply rush ahead and choose the first one you come across. Scrutinize the company, check the services they offer and see what previous clients have to say about them. Once you’ve found the one that meets your needs, you’ll be on the way to making your workplace safe and productive space for you and your employees.
