Environment, health, and safety (EH&S) software is needed across a wide array of industries and professions to safeguard the health and safety of workers and the environment. To accomplish these objectives, as well as stay compliant with the laws and regulations mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), businesses need to manage EH&S processes using EH&S software.

Manual EH&S vs. EH&S software: Which is better?

While EH&S processes can be handled manually, this method has numerous drawbacks. First, there is scale and complexity to consider. When managing a complex job site with numerous workers, using manual data entry with binders and spreadsheets leads to inefficiencies and errors. Second, companies that rely solely on manual EH&S processes tend to report more injuries and illnesses among their workers. Since these organizations are less successful in complying with workplace safety standards, the resultant exposure to legal and financial risks is greater. Federal law entitles all workers to a safe workplace and employers need to do everything in their power to keep job sites free of known safety and health hazards. To better accomplish these objectives, businesses should use EH&S software to manage health and safety programs.

3 Reasons Why Businesses Need EH&S Software

1. Streamlining inspections and audits.

The most important function of any EH&S software is keeping workers and management continually informed about the status of work at a job site. It is essential to be fully aware of any issues and deficiencies in a safety and compliance program. EH&S software makes it easier to conduct regular site inspections and audits, as well as capture and analyze the resulting data. SafetyStratus’ Inspections & Observations Module, which is part of its cloud-based EH&S platform, makes it easier for EH&S managers and supervisors to conduct workplace safety inspections and audits. This module is highly configurable and uses a checklist-driven process to facilitate behavioral observations, audits, and pre-use inspections of key assets (such as forklifts).

2. Simplified incident management.

Even if a facility has been given a passing grade by OSHA inspectors, it is never going to be completely free from workplace-related illnesses, injuries, and accidents. EH&S software enables user communities to respond to and manage these incidents as quickly as possible. It is important for EH&S programs to emphasize recording as much information about incidents as possible, to ensure both timely action and proper reporting. SafetyStratus’ Incident Management Module allows users to submit, monitor, and analyze various incidents (including worker injuries, environmental issues, and vehicle incidents) with an easy-to-understand interface and mobile capabilities. These features make data capture a simpler process so that greater context can be given to incidents. In this way, the module facilitates accident investigations and allows EH&S managers to analyze incident data to ensure future hazard prevention and decrease the possibility of repeat incidents.

3. Facilitate employee training.

For an EH&S program to be truly successful, every employee needs to be given appropriate safety training. Unfortunately, many EH&S solutions do not include comprehensive EH&S training within their modules. This forces many organizations to use a separate EH&S management solution and learning management system (LMS). Aside from creating a disjointed experience for learners, misalignments often result from data being found in two distinct systems. This issue is avoided when companies use SafetyStratus’ cloud-based EH&S platform. The Training Tracking & Management Module contains all the tools that administrators need to manage all training-related activities within their organization.

With comprehensive EH&S software, all the safety modules are fully integrated into a unified, cloud-based EH&S platform, allowing user communities to manage all their EH&S programs and data analytics in one place. When data and reporting are available on one platform, more holistic insights can be derived that are specific to the individual business’ safety needs. This improves overall compliance with OSHA workplace safety standards.

Author Bio

The SafetyStratus Research Advisory Group (RAG) brings together thought leaders from the global environmental, health, and safety community to promote best practices and provide key insights in the profession and the industries they serve. The Research Advisory Group also advocates, where practical, the intersection of and advances with the use of technology, such as the SafetyStratus enterprise EHS software platform. Group membership consists of representatives from across varied disciplines and market sectors as well as select members of the SafetyStratus team.
The primary objectives of the SafetyStratus RAG partnership are to:

• Build a strategic partnership between EHS practitioners and the SafetyStratus team.
• Provide engaging and practical content to the global EHS community.
• Provide discipline and market feedback specific to SafetyStratus products and services.

While the objectives of the RAG are varied, the primary public-facing outcome will be available through engaging and practical content found on the SafetyStratus resource pages. Various articles, papers, and other valuable resources will be produced and shared as part of an ongoing effort to cultivate a robust community. Ultimately, the SafetyStratus RAG will expand to have a broader reach and provide opportunities for more inclusion by all interested EHS professionals in a collaborative community environment.