You know safety in the workplace is super important. Companies are having a difficult time setting up and monitoring their EHS efforts effectively. Implementing health and safety software for small businesses can significantly alleviate these challenges by providing tools and systems that ensure compliance and enhance overall workplace safety.
They are practically running blind when it comes to making data-driven decisions for their EHS programs. That’s where health and safety software for small businesses comes in – a total game-changer that helps level the playing field for even smaller teams.
Imagine if every inspection, audit, and incident report could be digitized and accessed by anyone at any time. With health and safety software for small businesses, this dream has become a reality.
Key Takeaways:
- Importance: Health and safety software helps small businesses overcome challenges in EHS management, ensuring compliance and improving workplace safety.
- Digitization: It allows digitization of inspections, audits, and incident reports, providing easy access and enhancing data-driven decision-making.
- Key Features: Essential features include incident management, inspections, training management, risk management, and mobile app functionality.
- Proactive Management: The software helps identify hazards, track incidents, increase employee participation, streamline compliance, and provide clear safety performance metrics.
- Selection Criteria: When choosing EHS software, assess specific needs, consider budget, ensure ease of use, and prioritize good customer support.
What is Health and Safety Management Software?
Think of Health and Safety software as the central hub for everything that involves safety within your organization. You’ve got everything neatly organized. It can be a lifesaver in an emergency when everyone needs to quickly access crucial procedures or incident reports.
We see in reports from Hiscox that, “A risk assessment policy is a way for employers to document workplace risks – and identify potential solutions to mitigate them. It can help a business to meet its legal duties to review health and safety risks.”
Utilizing software that automates this and stores it online is a way to more easily manage it. It gives your teams a reliable source of information that guides their everyday actions and decisions.
This helps businesses maintain an impeccable paper trail. But hey, health and safety management software goes above and beyond just storage. These platforms help teams:
- Proactively identify potential hazards
- Track incidents and assign follow-up actions
- Boost employee participation in safety programs
- Streamline regulatory compliance and reporting
- Gain clear visibility into overall safety performance with insightful metrics.
Why Small Businesses Need Health and Safety Software?
You’ve probably seen the crazy rise of environmental, health, and safety (EHS) software. It’s becoming a massive deal. Companies of all sizes see its importance, but for small businesses, this can truly transform their operations.
One of the big benefits highlighted in a study by the Harvard School of Public Health points to “engaged employees [promoting] a healthy and safe working culture.”
Integrating safety management software encourages and improves that very employee engagement. It eliminates that age-old issue of keeping things siloed or struggling with version control of documents.
Now, teams can access the latest and most relevant safety information. You might think all these safety protocols and regulatory updates would take a chunk out of productivity.
Streamlining all the reporting, analysis, and communication processes through EHS software keeps things on track and cuts down on needless downtime. Having everything documented properly in one platform also keeps agencies and customers happy.
Essential Features of Health and Safety Software for Small Businesses
You see so many different Health and safety softwares out there these days. Deciding on which features matter most can be tricky. Some of the biggest things small business owners are looking for include:
- Incident Management: Think about easy-to-use incident reporting features. Look for something that captures the finer details of accidents or near misses and enables detailed incident reports.
- Inspections and Audits: Many health and safety softwares give teams customized checklist templates for different types of audits or routine inspections. These often include workflows, task management, and report-generation capabilities.
- Training Management: It can be difficult to track which of your employees are due for required refresher courses. Using this feature for safety-related training is great. It keeps track of everyone’s certification status and helps ensure everyone’s always up to code.
- Risk Management: Some systems give advanced risk assessment tools for deeper analysis of hazards. These help with hazard mitigation plans and help lower costs and liabilities in the long run.
- Mobile App Functionality: People are constantly on the go and on their phones these days, it just makes sense. If your team is out in the field, it’s a must-have to be able to report stuff right there on their smartphone or tablet and it makes your workplace super accessible and helps everyone do their job well no matter where they’re located.
This combination of features creates a user-friendly solution. These types of softwares not only keep safety management structured but also create a safer workplace.
Why You Should Consider MyMomentum From EHS Momentum
As an environmental and safety manager, director, or VP, you know how challenging it can be to keep your employees accountable and manage injuries effectively. That’s where MyMomentum from EHS Momentum comes in.
This health and safety software for small businesses is designed to help you streamline your processes and keep your workplace safe.
One of the key features of MyMomentum is its ability to help you manage employee accountability. With this software, you can easily track training, certifications, and other important safety metrics for each employee. This lets you identify areas where additional training or support may be needed, so you can proactively address potential safety issues before they become a problem.
Another important aspect of MyMomentum is its injury management capabilities. If an injury does occur, the software helps you track the incident from start to finish, including reporting, investigation, and follow-up. This not only helps you comply with regulatory requirements but also gives you valuable data to analyze trends and identify areas for improvement.
Some of the other benefits of using MyMomentum for your small business include:
- Customizable dashboards and reports to help you track key safety metrics
- Mobile app for easy access and reporting on the go
- Integration with other systems, such as HR and workers’ compensation
- Expert support from the EHS Momentum team to help you get the most out of the software
By investing in health and safety software like MyMomentum, you can take a proactive approach to safety management and create a culture of accountability and continuous improvement in your workplace.
Choosing the Right EHS Software for Your Small Business
Deciding on software can be tough with so many options to choose from. Sometimes we end up overthinking things, too. When trying to determine which one you should choose, the following aspects will help guide you toward choosing the correct software for your organization:
Assess Your Business Needs
Sometimes business owners feel pressured into going for an expensive all-in-one platform that promises bells and whistles. This is often overkill and unnecessary. The simplest approach is identifying which EHS areas pose the biggest hurdles for your business. This should be easy.
What keeps you up at night? Do you struggle with making sure everyone’s certification is up to date? Are inspections and audits piling up on your desk?
Sit down with your team and brainstorm where improvements could help streamline operations, and what is mandatory for your business based on regulatory compliance requirements. Once you know which features and functionality are going to be a good fit, it’s easier to move to the next step.
Consider Your Budget
Remember to find solutions that fit your company budget and keep your business financially healthy. Take the time to explore what pricing options the vendor has to offer. Many softwares offer free versions or limited feature trials. You may need more or less.
Look closely for anything hidden within those user licenses or if there are hefty fees for exceeding certain usage limits. Remember that as your business grows and those needs change, it might be a good idea to go for a more adaptable pricing plan.
Evaluating Ease of Use
Choosing something easy to use is a must. The ideal system is accessible and intuitive, helping increase employee adoption and improve everyday workflows for improved productivity.
Request a free trial to see if it makes sense for your team. Sometimes even watching demos of the software can provide insight. This makes the decision-making process easier, but getting your team involved also makes it easier to pick the right system.
Focus on Customer Support
Support after your purchase is crucial. It’s frustrating when issues pop up with the software and no one responds in a timely fashion. Remember when assessing EHS vendors; prompt response time and access to quality resources or training are good signs.
Remember when searching for software to use for your company; vendor customer support and transparency will help prevent costly downtime. Good communication makes onboarding teams much easier. A collaborative partnership is what will set you up for success.
Unlocking the Power of EHS Metrics for Your Small Business
Utilizing “safety protocols” and “safety inspections”, you’ll see a reduction in incidents in the workplace.
Now, remember “what gets measured gets managed”, and Peter Drucker always believed “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” That’s how you unlock powerful insights into the efficiency of your EHS program.
Some examples of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) are:
Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR)
You hear people discussing how to track, monitor, and calculate TRIR. Basically, it measures the frequency of work-related injuries or illnesses. You can use the below calculation from OSHA:
TRIR = (Number of recordable incidents \* 200,000) / Total number of employee hours worked
This calculation shows how many recordable incidents took place per 100 employees during a certain period.
OSHA notes that “[T]he 200,000 figure represents the number of hours 100 employees would work in 50 weeks assuming a 40-hour workweek.” It gives companies a standardized way of monitoring their safety performance.
Lost Time Injury Rate (LTIR)
Similar to the TRIR, the Lost Time Injury Rate looks closely at how often serious injuries happen that force workers to miss days. Companies say this is important because the lost time for an injury increases company costs. To calculate LTIR you use:
LTIR = (Number of lost time injuries \* 200,000) / Total number of employee hours worked
Near-Miss Frequency Rate (NMFR)
We all know those, “almost accidents”, are big warning signs. Monitoring these “near misses” with Near-Miss Frequency Rate calculation helps pinpoint patterns of potential dangers. Here’s the equation:
NMFR = (Number of near misses reported \* 1,000,000) / Total number of employee hours worked
Many people feel a “near miss” or a, “hazard” is crucial to track and monitor. If the reporting for these goes up then safety management becomes more urgent.
But you can see how it would be tough to collect and analyze all this data manually. Having a streamlined system for reports, and then automated calculations for those incident rates, takes the pressure off you. Plus it allows the opportunity to dig deeper and analyze where those recurring hazards come from.
| EHS Metric | Description | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) | Frequency of work-related injuries or illnesses | = (Number of Recordable Incidents * 200,000) / Total Employee Hours Worked |
| Lost Time Injury Rate (LTIR) | Frequency of injuries causing lost work time | = (Number of Lost Time Injuries * 200,000) / Total Employee Hours Worked |
| Near-Miss Frequency Rate (NMFR) | Frequency of events that could have resulted in an injury but didn’t | = (Number of Near Misses * 1,000,000) / Total Employee Hours Worked |
| Safety Training Completion Rate | Measures how effectively you’re conducting safety training programs | = (Number of Employees Who Completed Training / Total Number of Employees Required to Take Training) * 100 |
| Average Time to Close Corrective Actions | How long it takes to fix safety issues | = Total Time to Close Corrective Actions / Number of Corrective Actions |
Safety Training Completion Rate
Maintaining “compliance” often includes employee “training”. Training that is current for workers increases safety. Utilizing safety management software helps track the required “annual training” and improves a business owner’s ability to meet their legal duty. The Safety Training Completion Rate, which calculates:
Safety Training Completion Rate = (Number of Employees Who Completed Training / Total Number of Employees Required to Take Training) \* 100
will let you quickly identify if anyone has fallen behind.
Average Time to Close Corrective Actions
It’s tempting to kick those follow-up action items down the road, and businesses often do this with smaller things. Monitoring this is key to knowing where potential dangers are, and to making corrections to prevent these incidents. This metric calculation:
Average Time to Close Corrective Actions = Total Time to Close Corrective Actions / Number of Corrective Actions
shines a light on your company’s ability to manage any deficiencies.
Remember, software should improve those already existing processes and programs. If your existing EHS metrics or data collection is poor then that’s what we focus on first. Improving things little by little makes the overall goal achievable.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, prioritizing safety and establishing effective EHS processes within your organization doesn’t have to feel complicated or impossible. This helps improve business and reduce financial loss and injury.
Businesses say their experience has been a positive one with softwares that made “paper-based systems” easier. Implementing efficient health and safety software for small businesses streamlines safety practices and transforms your operations, making a good safety culture a natural part of how your business runs.
For more information, contact EHS Momentum today to learn more.
