A safety program is a solution to identifying and controlling hazards, defining safety responsibilities and preparing employees for emergencies that result in the prevention of injuries and other incidents. Safety programs provide guidelines that direct procedures. Employees are required to know safety procedures that need to be followed for their specific scope of work. Safety programs are traditionally paper based but it’s now possible to completely digitize your safety system. A digital system saves time, money and effort!
The disadvantages of a paper-based safety system:
Safety programs are essential and they cost money! Handling the mounting demands of due diligence is logistically impossible on paper. Consider the time and cost of a paper-based safety system:
- Distributing revised forms/manuals/materials to, and from, office and field
- Wear and tear on vehicles and fuel costs
- Wages of employees to accomplish a process
- Scanning, photocopying, uploading, filing, and printing
- Locating documents for spot audits
- Stationery, maintenance of printers and copiers and other office expenses
- Time spent preparing paperwork for internal or external audits
The advantages of a digital safety system:
Digital safety systems significantly ease the burden of both time and cost. A digital system provides speed of task completion, visibility of data, ability to track activity, the accuracy of record keeping and ease of data analysis. Consider the advantages of a digital safety system:
- Access to an entire safety program at your fingertips through a mobile app or on a computer
- Reports can be monitored and consulted in real-time by the safety coordinator regardless of the location of the work
- Consolidation of all documents and records in one location
- Forms are automatically sorted by location, form name and worker’s signature
- Allows for site safety audits, incident reports, HR paperwork, and secure digital documents to be quickly routed to the right people
- Daily safety form reminders help hold workers accountable for required forms
- Enables the adding of photos and comments for the purposes of clarity/accuracy
- Time-stamped and location-stamped photos provide incontrovertible evidence that a hazard was corrected
- Quickly collect documents for an audit
- Easy to track expiring and expired certifications with digital copies of training certificates
- Reduces the probability of illegible handwriting
- Enables live updates to policies and procedures
- Allows the creation of custom forms (FLHA’s, Toolbox Talks, Inspections, Incident Investigations, JSA’s, Near Miss/HID Forms, etc.)
- Easily captures digital signatures with Date/Time/GPS stamps
- Increases the speed and ease of distributing safety documents (company policies, safety manuals, SDS, SWP, SJP, etc.)
- Easy to learn
Moving from a paper-based safety system to a digitized system may seem daunting! The benefits make it worth the effort. A digital safety system is a vital tool for dealing with today’s safety challenges. Digitizing your system will help you maintain the highest level of safety possible, making your safety program more efficient, effective and enhanced. Save your company time and money. Digitize your system today. You won’t miss the clipboards and filing cabinets!
Interested in a digital safety management system? Looking for professional safety consultants that are passionate and knowledgeable? Want a safety consultant that responds in a timely manner and provides mentorship at every opportunity? Seeking customer service that exceeds your expectations? Get in touch with 1st Quality Safety Consulting. We provide safety programs, monthly consulting packages, digital safety management software and online and in-person courses.
