3 Signs Safety Software Might Be The Solution For You
Safety software is a relatively new solution to an old problem. Have you ever thought to yourself, there has got to be a better way to stay complaint with safety regulations? Do you ever get frustrated that you have to fill out so many assessments and statements on paper. Do you find yourself missing things in your assessments because you are worried that it’s not in the right format?
These are just some of the frustrations that come with the process of staying compliant with safety regulations. It can have significant effects on your safety culture if you find the process of safety too difficult. If you have ever ran into any of the above, it might be time to consider finding a solution before it becomes too much of a headache that safety goes out the window and all your effort is spent just to be compliant.
In this article we will cover in depth 3 signs that it might be time to consider utilizing safety software before your safety is ignored for compliance.
You’re worried about compliance incase of an incident
Running a business is no easy task. It’s like juggling 10 things at once. When things are going well, it’s a great feeling. But it only takes one slip up or incident to cause everything to come crumbling down. The stress and anxiety of a WHS incident happening in your business is enough to keep anyone up at night. On top of that, if you know you might get slapped with a fine after the incident you’ll always be stressed or worse, you’ll delay reporting an incident. This can lead to huge fines and even jail time. No one wants that.
Safety compliance in the modern day is no simple task. There are a lot of regulations and legislation that you must adhere to in your day to day business. This can become quite a headache and adds to the stress of making sure you have ticked all the boxes. Or worse, leads you to ignoring your requirements and hoping that an incident doesn’t occur. As we have covered in a previous article, incidents happen to even the best of employers who are proactive with safety, its simply the reality of probability. If there is a chance, eventually it will happen.
Ask yourself this. If there was an incident at your workplace tomorrow and it lead to an inspection, would you be confident you would pass? Have you got a solid and refined risk assessment process in place to identify, assess and control risks in your workplace?
If the answer is not a confident yes then it might be time to look at solutions. Safety software like our platform SafeWorkPro allows you to focus on your process more while making the document compliance side of things a worry of the past. While SafeWorkPro won’t solve all of your safety worries, it will help you be more effective with your time so you can spend less time filling out forms and more time focusing on the actions that lead to a safer workplace. We have talked about how your process is more important than your documents in a previous article. In the eyes of the law, the concern is about what you actually do to keep people safe.
If you want to spend more time on safety and less time on the books, then safety software might be the solution for you.
Safety software makes documentation simple and easy
How long does it take you to complete a risk assessment from start to finish? What about a SWMS? Do you find it difficult to complete documents because of all the back and forth that is required between the site, office and in between your workers? If your documentation process is top notch and you have no issues with filling out lengthy paper documents then this might not apply to you. But for those that get frustrated with how much time away from work they have to take to complete documents, this one might be for you.
When the bottle neck for starting a job is the paperwork you need to complete for safety compliance it can become frustrating. It can sometimes feel like too much time is being wasted on paperwork when you could be working. This can lead to rushing through it which defeats its purpose. It also means that you are more likely to skip the processes that really matter to keep people safe.
If you are on a site that needs a SWMS and something changes that requires you to re-evaluate your SWMS, the process starts again and the tools are down until it is done. With safety software, the process of completing documentation is significantly easier. In principle, it is the same but in practice you’re saving time that would otherwise be spent filling a document and running around to get it signed. SafeWorkPro’s simple form based builder allows you to build custom documents which are super simple for your workers to complete on site when needed.
Save the hassle of the back and forth trying to get your documents read and signed by those on site. Have workers fill and sign documents from anywhere on site and have them submitted to the cloud for you to review from any location. SafeWorkPro even lets you get notifications when certain actions happen like a risk rating on a risk assessment matrix being too high or an incident is submitted. SafeWorkPro can help you save time on compliance and let’s you focus on what you do best.
Safety software helps you find old documents quick
Ask yourself this, can you find your risk assessment or SWMS from a job 2 years ago? If you were audited, could you produce it? This is something that isn’t obvious until it is an issue and by then it’s too late. How much of an impact on your day to day operations would a surprise audit have? Would you need to go digging through the back office folders to find the documents required? What a headache!
Even while you are on site, your documents like a SWMS need to be available for everyone to see. While they are there, they are likely to get damaged or degraded by weather. Sometimes, by the time they get stored for safe keeping they are almost falling apart.
With the safety of cloud document storage, SafeWorkPro can store all of your important documents online forever. With all of your documents in one place and neatly organized it’s super simple to find the documents you need, even if they are from years ago. Our software also makes audits quick and easy with next to no disruption in your operations. Export all of the data from your SafeWorkPro site for review without having to spend hours digging through folders, photocopying and physically delivering documents.
Conclusion
If any part of this article resonates with you, it might be time to consider trying out a better solution to using a manual safety process. Beyond just the convenience, SafeWorkPro can help you focus your time on the actions that truly make people safe, not just the actions that make you compliant. At the end of the day, that is what you will be judged on if you have an audit or investigation. Documentation is required of course, but that is simple the surface level when it comes to safety.
If you want to learn more about how SafeWorkPro could help you in simplifying your WHS, reach out to our friendly expert staff for a free, no obligation live demo.
Improving Workplace Safety Without Safety Consultants
Unfortunately not every business can afford safety consultants. This is only a problem in so far as it means productive solutions to workplace safety issues are not being regularly sought after. However just because your business is too small or under resourced to hire safety consultants, doesn’t mean you can’t get the most out of a consultation process. The goal is improving health and safety in Australia without hurting productivity.
Safety tips in the workplace are all well and good but they will do little to improve your OHS policy in the long term. Having consultative arrangements permanently in place can assure that changes to routine safe systems of work or safety equipment do not come at the cost of workplace health and safety. Let’s run through a hypothetical example to show how a consultative arrangement works.
The Scenario:
A small electrical contractor business employs 12 workers, 8 of whom are fully qualified electricians. Traditionally, the workers have informally told the office of any defaults or issues they come across with their equipment. Due to several small but significant issues not being reported through this method, the manager has decided to implement a safety audit checklist to be completed by workers as they return equipment.
In the lead up to the weekly business meeting, the manager supplies all 8 of the employees with a draft version of the proposed safety audit checklist. When the meeting takes place, the manager opens to floor for discussion regarding the checklist and takes employee suggestions into consideration. Due to some concerns that the checklist may add another layer of red tape and become inefficient, the manager agrees to trial the new system for one month. This is a vital stage of the consultation process as it allows for certain safeguards to be put in place and ensures business productivity does not take a hit.
A top down approach to implementing changes to safe work practices is likely to result in inefficient strategies that cost business productivity. Consulting directly with workers will remedy this situation and provide the best OHS solutions that work on paper and in practice. There are obvious benefits to having professional safety consultants on hand but consultative arrangements provide a cost effective alternative that can still improve workplace health and safety.
Safety Templates Free
Everybody knows how difficult it can be to use safe work method statements (SWMS’s). Seriously, they are a nightmare for many reasons. Firstly, if you don’t have a method statement for a specific construction work procedure, trying to develop one from scratch is time and resource intensive. Most manages from construction businesses will search online for safety templates free to download. The good news is that we have work method statement template free for you over here.
Wait! Before you take off we want to run something past you. We are trying to create a free SWMS document repository for all to share. So far we have had several businesses give us their method statements free. We then transfer them over to the new template format from Safe Work Australia, rewrite them to remove all traces of your company, and make then available for everyone to use. Imagine a world where everyone made their SWMS’s available! Instead of a huge number of construction companies throwing safety into the too hard basket, we could lower the barriers of adoption and make a safer environment for all. So, if you are inspired and would like to share your SWMS’s we would really appreciate it.
Software Risk Assessment: what is it?
What is risk assessment software?
Simply put, risk assessment software, such as the one offered by SafeWorkPro, is a more time efficient and cost effective way to comply with workplace health and safety laws. Think of it as a form of safety management software that aims to streamline the risk assessment process by replacing the traditional paper-based method with a digital alternative. Instead of writing your risk assessment on paper, you do it on your smartphone or tablet device. This saves time and money but also maintains the highest standard of workplace safety.
Knowing how to write a risk assessment quickly is half the battle when it comes to improving productivity, but to achieve this in a way that will not undermine your safe operating procedures is difficult. This is where construction safety software becomes useful in that it takes the risk assessment methods you are already familiar with and converts them into an efficient risk assessment program.
But not all risk assessment software is created equal. Some just provide a digital copy of safe work method statements that are neither easy to use nor more compliant. Implementing new risk assessment tools into your workflow is disruptive enough without the added pain of insufficient safety management software. So it’s worthwhile taking the time to research your options – something we are completely familiar with at SafeWorkPro. Our risk assessment software was developed in conjunction with contractors to ensure the software meets the real needs of construction workers in a quick, safe and compliant way. It can be installed on any smart phone or tablet device making it transportable, practical and easy to use.
You can read more out our software solutions right here.
