Do you know 2.6 million non-fatal workplace injuries were reported in 2021? It is a staggering number! And it’s not just large organizations at risk, small businesses can be just as susceptible to safety hazards. When I attended the Utah Safety Conference & Expo in Salt Lake City, I learned that many companies don’t prioritize safety and compliance, often because they are either complacent or don’t have time, resources, or tools to conduct regular safety audits. But what if I told you there was a way forward? In this blog, I’m introducing safety audit software, the less-talked-about breakthrough technology that can revolutionize how your organization approaches workplace safety.
In this blog, you will learn:
- Definition of safety audit software, different types, incident management, and more
- How organizations can use safety audit software to assess and evaluate their safety performance and identify any potential hazards
What is Safety Audit Software?
Safety audit software is like a personal assistant for keeping your workplace safe. Organizations can keep track of all the safety information in one place, so they can easily do accident analysis & prevention.
It can help you stay organized by tracking and managing corrective and preventive actions and staying on top of the latest Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) regulations and industry standards. Think of it as a tool that gives you peace of mind, knowing that your employees are safe and your workplace complies with the latest safety regulations.
What is Incident Management?
An incident can be defined as an event or occurrence that has the potential to disrupt normal operations, cause lead to employee injuries or property loss and damage, or result in a financial loss. Incident management is identifying, responding to, and resolving incidents within an organization.
It helps identify and report the incidents to the management employees. Then, the concerned team takes measures to prevent the incident from escalating. After the resolution, the organization informs all the stakeholders, like employees, customers, and regulators, about the incident and the actions taken from their end to curb or mitigate the risk.
How Does Safety Audit Software Reduce Employee Injuries?
Organizations can reduce employee injuries at the workplace by equipping themselves with several tools like safety audit apps or software, hazard risk assessment software, etc. that provide the following capabilities:
Collect Data with Efficiency and Accuracy
Safety audit app streamline the monitoring process and reporting safety practices in the workplace. Gone are the days of manual inspections and paper-based reporting.
Safety inspectors or officers can now use their mobile devices, tablets, or laptops to capture essential data entry efficiently. The safety audit solution empowers employees to document any observations or concerns promptly.
Moreover, employees can leverage advanced data input and verification techniques to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings. They can also incorporate supportive media such as photographs, audio recordings, videos, electronic signatures, GPS location, and more to enhance understanding and communication.
Easily Meet Compliance with Regulatory Standards
Safety audit software is an excellent way for organizations to stay on top of all their compliance needs. By using a comprehensive and automated approach to conducting safety audits, they can quickly meet all complicated regulatory standards like OSHA, ISO, etc.
And suppose any issues come up during the safety audits. In that case, the software makes it easy for organizations to track and document these issues and take corrective actions or follow-up activities.
Effectively Report Near-Misses and Safety Violations
In real-time, employees or inspectors can easily report near-misses, accidents, or safety violations to the department heads or management. It cuts down the communication time between the field officers and the head office as they get accurate and up-to-date information within a few clicks. Supervisors or managers can quickly analyze this information and take proactive measures to address and prevent future incidents or accidents.
Assign Corrective Actions or Schedule Safety Audits or Inspections On The Fly
Safety audit software enables organizations to significantly reduce the time it takes to manually assign work orders or schedule inspections. A study by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that more than 3.5 million workers suffer serious injuries yearly. And these occupational injuries and illnesses can cost American employers more than $97.4 billion a year in workers’ compensation costs alone.
However, with EHS audit software, supervisors can easily assign corrective actions to the concerned team or schedule safety audits or inspections without the pesky paperwork typical for safety audits.
Instantly Generate Professional Looking, and Insightful Reports
Safety audit software can give you detailed and professional reports in no time, giving you the information you need to ensure your workplace is as safe as possible. With real-time data and analysis, you can manage incidents by spotting incident patterns and trends and take action before accidents happen.
And if you need to prove that you’re meeting safety standards, the software can give you customizable reports that will impress even the most stringent regulator.
Drill Down Data on Interactive Dashboards
Safety audit software provides interactive dashboards that allow organizations to drill down into their safety data, providing a deep understanding of their safety performance. These dashboards are user-friendly and easy to navigate, allowing users to quickly and easily access the information they need.
The data is displayed in various formats, such as graphs, charts, and tables, providing a visual representation of the information. This helps supervisors or managers quickly identify patterns and trends in incidents and areas where improvements are needed and track progress over time.
Types of Safety Audit Software Available
There are a few types of safety audit software available, each with unique features and benefits. In the market, there are a number of different kinds of software:
Compliance Audit Software
The software keeps track of all critical safety regulations and industry standards in one place, so you can easily ensure that your workplace follows all the rules. These are often comes with safety related checklists like safety audit checklists, workplace audit checklists, plant safety audit checklists, and many more. It allows you to manage important documents, generate reports, and analyze data. With compliance audit software, you can stay on top of the latest changes in regulations and industry standards, so you don’t have to worry about falling behind.
Risk Assessment Software
It helps you identify potential hazards and assess their risk level. It allows you to prioritize occupational hazards based on the level of risk and create a plan to address them and reduce occupational injuries. It enables you to track your progress in reducing occupational injury risks and can even generate reports to show your progress over time.
Safety Management Software
Organizations can manage all workplace safety aspects with safety management software. This can include training employees on safety procedures, tracking incidents and near-misses, identifying and assessing potential occupational hazards and injuries, and ensuring compliance with regulations and industry standards. It offers document management, reporting, and analytics features that can be used to track progress and measure performance over time.
Incident Management Software
Incident management software helps you quickly and efficiently track and manage any unexpected events or incidents in the workplace. It can help you stay organized by allowing you to record all the crucial details, like what happened, who was involved, and what actions were taken. It can also help you stay on top of things by sending out alerts and notifications so that you can respond with lightning speed.
Near Miss Reporting Software
A near miss is an unexpected event that could have resulted in injury, damage, or loss but was avoided due to chance, prevention, or mitigation. A near-miss reporting software typically has features like incident reporting, analysis and investigation, and corrective action tracking. This enables organizations to identify and assess potential hazards and implement measures to prevent incidents from occurring in the future.
Corrective and Preventative Actions (CAPA) Software
Corrective & Preventative Actions (CAPA) software is used to manage and track the corrective actions taken to address issues identified through internal or external audits, customer complaints, or other means, as well as preventative measures taken to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future. It generally includes incident reporting, root cause analysis, document management, and workflow management, which can standardize and automate the CAPA process.
How to Choose the Right Safety Audit Software for your Business?
When it comes to keeping your employees safe on the job, no one magic solution works for everyone. That’s why choosing the right safety audit software for your business is essential – one that fits your specific needs and requirements. But where do you start?
Here are some steps to help you choose the right safety audit software for your business:
Assess your Business Needs
Take a close look at your business operations and identify the areas where you need to improve safety. This will help you determine the features and capabilities required for a safety audit software solution.
Research Different Options
There are many different safety audit software solutions available on the market. Research other options and compare their features, capabilities, and pricing to find the best fit for your business.
Consider Scalability
As your business grows, your safety audit software needs may change. Choose a solution that can scale with your company and adapt to your changing needs.
Evaluate User-Friendliness
Safety audit software should be easy to use, intuitive, and accessible to all employees. Consider the user-friendliness of a solution before making a decision.
Check for Compliance
Ensure the software solution complies with all relevant industry regulations and standards, such as OSHA or ISO.
Test the Solution
Before making a final decision, test the safety audit software solution by taking demos or trials to ensure that it meets your business needs and is easy to use.
Conclusion
Safety audit software is a must-have for any employer who wants to keep their employees safe and healthy while on the job. Imagine being able to keep an eye on hazardous conditions, making sure your workers know how to stay safe, and having critical information right at your fingertips. With safety audit software, you’ll be able to spot potential risks before they become a big problem and take steps to fix them. And the best part? You’ll be saving money on costly employee injury claims or compliance penalties. So, if you want to keep your business running smoothly, investing in safety audit software is the way to go.
