One of the most realistic examples of a safety disaster was the B.P. oil spill/leak in the Gulf of Mexico, which caused 11 deaths of on-field employees. This is an extreme example to begin with; however, it demonstrates the disastrous results of failed occupational safety and health standards. So, what can businesses do to achieve high safety standards while saving their time, money, and resources?
Well, the answer to this question came to me when I met 50 plant safety heads at the last national safety council event in June. Meeting them made me realize the core competencies of safety standards and helped me come up with 10 practical tools that will help you save millions in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties for reduced safety incidents.
In this blog, you’ll learn:
- How to solve any environment, health and safety (EHS) challenge that organizations face daily with the 10 best safety audit apps?
- What are the key differentiating factors between top safety audit apps?
- What key factors must be considered before investing in a safety audit app for your organization?
These apps have firmly established themselves as the number one choice for businesses when it comes to safeguarding their core operations.
So let’s get started!
Top 10 Safety Audit Apps To Consider
After all the successful evaluations, I entered some of the top names on the list. They are as follows:
1. iAuditor by SafetyCulture
iAuditor by SafetyCulture is the first safety audit app that comes to mind when I think about safety. The app is quite popular in high-hazard industries to perform inspections, capture safety-related information, manage tasks, train working teams, and improve communication on the shop floor. The app is suitable for organizations of all sizes to improve safety practices with regular assessments and frequent checks.
SafetyCulture Features:
- Build safety checklists and pre-made templates for various safety-related operations.
- Capture photos and videos of incidents or hazards using mobile apps or report them as issues to quickly notify response team.
- Assign corrective actions to the concerned person.
- Analyze recurring incidents and formulate improvement plans.
Best For: Workers in all industries and various working environments.
SafetyCulture’s Pricing
Pricing: $19 for premium features
Free Trial: Yes, 30-day free trial
2. Axonator Safety Audit App
The safety audit app by Axonator is one of the most trusted apps used by safety inspectors, supervisors, and shop-floor employees because of its ease of use and high customizability. Organizations use this app to perform safety audits, identify hazards, issue corrective actions, manage OSHA compliance, log and resolve safety violations, and send real-time automated reports. Another interesting fact about the app is that it’s built on a no-code platform, which means it can fulfill your unique needs and support real-world scenarios on the shop floor.
6 most advantageous features of the safety audit app are:
- A strong focus on mobile and tablet devices for both Android & iOS operating systems.
- No-code platform to build custom safety audit checklists & apps to perform risk assessments, OSHA reviews, safety audits, incident & near-miss reporting, and more.
- Robust safety forms to record risks & near misses, capture safety-violation data, and images, and add annotations & notes.
- Automated and shareable safety reports and timely reminders, notifications, and e-mail alerts on real-time safety violations.
- Quick assignment and tracking of corrective actions with due deadlines, potential consequences, priority level, and detailed descriptions.
- Reliable collection of safety-related data in one place (dashboard) to get insights on near-misses, incidents, safety violation resolutions, key performance indicators, and more.
Differentiation Factor
Axonator is a no-code field workflow automation platform. Organizations can use this no-code platform to develop widespread apps ranging from simple digital checklist apps to complex safety audit software in record time and cost. There is quite a fan following for Axonator’s similar apps like safety inspection, digital checklist, and quality management, which all are built on their no-code platform.
Best for: Companies with huge staff deployed on shop floors or fields across any industry.
Axonator also provides professional services in which the company’s team will build and deploy fully customizable solutions as per customers’ unique requirements.
3. Pulse
Pulse is another great option for organizations looking for a cloud-based safety audit app to maintain EHS compliance and regulations. The app empowers field workers to perform safety inspections and helps companies automate their business processes and generate real-time data inspection reports.
Some of the notable features of Pulse are :
- Digitized data collection and trend & pattern analysis for improved safety experience.
- Safety data integration between various platforms, ensuring an all-inclusive experience.
- Ability to work offline while conducting safety inspections.
- In-built checklist templates and user-friendly template builders.
Pulse’s Pricing:
Basic: US $12 per user per month
Professional: US $18 per user per month
Enterprise: Disclosure of pricing on request
Best for: Workers on the shop floor to conduct safety inspections
4. Chemical Hazards Pocket Guide for your iPhone
Believe me, this simple pocket guide is everything an organization needs for the most valuable industrial hygiene information on thousands of chemicals/classes for occupational health professionals, employees, and workers.
Features of the App
- The safety audit app provides industrial hygiene information for hundreds of chemicals/classes.
- The app provides critical information for chemical or substance groupings (such as manganese, cyanides, and fluoride compounds) in workplaces.
- The apps help users control and recognize workplace chemical hazards.
Best for: Chemical Manufacturing Industries
Pricing: $7.99
5. NIOSH Ladder Safety App
I highly recommend this safety audit app for organizations that have field employees working in high elevation areas. This safety app is developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (USA) to improve ladder safety. The app comes with an angle of inclination indicator, which makes it easy for workers to keep ladders at a proper angle of 75.5 degrees.
Some of the notable features of this safety audit app are:
- Check the appropriate ladder angle with visual cues.
- Select the minimum required ladder duty rating and use the correct ladder.
- Get tips on planning job safety while considering the required materials, time, and tools.
Best For: Construction workers
Pricing
Free of cost, as the app does not have a paid version.
6. AuditComply
AuditComply mainly caters to the automotive, food & beverages, oil and gas, and manufacturing industry. The company provides mobile and desktop solutions for actively managing and maintaining audit programs as per the highest GRC standards.
Some of the highlights of AuditComply are:
- Complete tools for audit planning, scheduling, management & reporting.
- Full non-conformance, root cause analysis, and CAPA modules.
- Separate mobile app for offline data capture & evidence collection.
- Library of various audit templates, risk & control matrices, and historical data.
Pricing: The company has custom pricing.
Best for: Companies operating in high–hazard industries.
7. OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety App
This safety app is a must-have app for every organization for maintaining employee health. The app is developed in collaboration between OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)-NIOSH. It automatically calculates the real-time heat index based on employees’ current location and displays humidity and temperature percentage.
Key features of the safety audit app are:
- Plan work activities based on the hourly heat index forecast and implement the precautions suggested by the app.
- Identify the symptoms of a heat-related illness and perform the appropriate first aid.
- Set start and end times, intervals, and days of the week for hydration and rest reminders.
Best For: Field workers and those working in indoor areas without heat or humidity control
Pricing: Free
Custom pricing details available upon request.
8. EHS Insight
EHS Insight is another one of the leading safety audit apps that will help organizations perform safety audits & inspections, and assessments with safety reporting and track findings.
Some of the popular solutions that the company offers to clients are
- Incident management
- Audit management
- Training management
- Near-misses and root cause analysis
- Compliance obligations & nonconformance management
Best for: Companies operating in high-hazard industries.
Pricing: The company has a custom pricing model for their customers.
9. iReportSource
This safety audit app comes second last in my list and is a perfect option if you are looking for mobile-first software that will help you assess, collaborate, and resolve the risks on the field as well as the shop floor.
Some of the key features that iReportSource offers are:
- Digitization of all paperwork-intensive day-to-day activities
- QR codes for safety audits and risk assessments
- Behavior observation
- Corrective actions and safety walks
Pricing: The company offers custom pricing for their safety audit app
10. First Aid: American Red Cross Workplace Safety App
I’m ending my list of top 10 picks with this safety audit app that allows organizations to access lifesaving information from experts instantly. The reason I included this app is that it gives crucial information on how organizations can handle common first-aid situations and be prepared for emergencies with interactive quizzes and videos. However, one of the app’s major drawbacks is that it’s unavailable in locations outside the United States.
Some of the key features of this app are:
- Emergency medical services from the safety audit app through the 911 integration
- Hospitals nearest to your location in the United States
- Spanish language toggle
Best For: First aid responders and workplace evacuation officers
Pricing: This is free as it doesn’t have a paid version
Comparison Between Top 10 Safety Audit Apps
Thinking about which one will act as the best safety audit software for your organization? I have included comparison tables to give you an answer to this question.
|
Safety Audit App
|
Android & iOS
|
Safety Forms & Checklists
|
Automated Safety Reports
|
Whitelabel
|
Pre Integrated Safety Guides
|
Custom Development
|
Safety Dashboard
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
iAuditor
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Info Not Available
|
|
Axonator
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Pulse
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Info Not Available
|
No
|
Yes
|
NA
|
|
NIOSH Ladder Safety App
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
Yes
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
AuditComply
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Info Not Available
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Chemical Hazards Pocket Guide for your iPhone
|
Yes
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
Yes
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety App
|
Yes
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
Yes
|
NA
|
NA
|
|
EHS Insight
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
Info Not Available
|
Info Not Available
|
|
iReportSource
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Info Not Available
|
Info Not Available
|
|
First Aid: American Red Cross Workplace Safety App
|
Yes
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
Yes
|
NA
|
NA
|
Key Things to Consider Before Purchasing Safety Audit App
Besides the top 10 apps, I’m also helping organizations to make the final decision when it comes to investing in the best safety audit app. Consider the below parameters before making a final purchase decision.
Ease-of-Use & Implementation
The safety audit app must be extremely easy-to-use for your entire staff, including a blue-collar workforce. These apps must be capable of fulfilling required customization capabilities, ensuring that organizations can quickly build & implement safety audit apps and see a fast return on investment.
Security and Compliance
Always look for a safety audit app that has robust security parameters and is designed to comply with international security standards like OSHA, GDPR, HIPAA, and other business-specific requirements to ensure data is stored properly.
Data Integrations and Insights
The safety audit app must integrate with legacy and third-party apps that your business already use. Data analysis and reporting capabilities must be robust to offer business insights in real time so that operations leaders can make better business decisions on improving their safety standards on the shop-floor or field.
Conclusion
The right safety audit app can greatly impact your safety operations on the shop floor and field. There are plenty of options to choose from. Some are more comprehensive than others. It’s up to you to decide which one to pick. Just make sure that it meets your needs and fits your budget.
