EHS software and mobile apps

Responding is Christine Adeline, senior vice president, EHS&S product management, SAI360, Perth, Australia.

EHS software and mobile apps can be powerful tools for improving workplace safety and compliance. However, for these tools to drive organizational transformation and identify workplace risks and hazards in real time, workers must enjoy and feel empowered using them.

To ensure your workers are using EHS software and mobile apps to their full potential, technology must be easy to use. Reporting with accuracy, monitoring with speed and assessing risks without delay mitigate worker risk.

Here are six ways to ensure workers embrace EHS software and mobile apps, as well as find them valuable and purposeful:

Implement change management

Any new software implementation or process change can be met with worker resistance. To increase the success of new technologies, have a comprehensive change management plan in place when implementing EHS software or mobile apps. Have a clear vision of why EHS software is necessary, explain its greatest benefits, and connect technology implementation to shaping a culture where safety and live risk insights are prioritized daily. Leverage communication, training and support for workers.

Make it simple and easy to use

EHS software and apps must be user-friendly and intuitive, without a steep learning curve needed. If possible, prioritize features – such as voice-to-text – that will reduce user friction and improve adoption.

Lead from above

Employees are more likely to use EHS software or mobile apps when they see leaders, including managers and supervisors, using them to their full potential. This will demonstrate to employees that EHS risk mitigation is a company value.

Make it accessible

From reporting hazards, near misses and incidents to conducting inspections, tools must enable fast communication. Workers must be able to capture and get access to information from anywhere at any time, not only at their desks. This means making sure software or apps are available on mobile devices and have offline data capture capabilities.

Close the loop and demonstrate action

When workers report hazards or incidents, it’s important to act quickly and share the outcomes. This demonstrates that worker reports are taken seriously and will encourage ongoing reporting of hazards and incidents. Additionally, it will provide employers with a holistic view of organizational risk, improving decision-making.

Continually engage employees

Engage workers when purchasing and implementing technologies to ensure the solution will solve their pain points. Regularly ask employees what works and doesn’t work well regarding their EHS software or mobile app user experiences. This will help identify areas to improve. Work swiftly to identify challenges that arise. Consider short, on-demand training on the software so it’s available when workers need it.

Timely data collection where information can successfully feed into real-time dashboards ensures swift real-time risk management. By taking these steps, you can increase EHS software and mobile app adoption to improve workplace safety and compliance. Doing so builds organizations that remain resilient, agile and – most importantly – safe.

Editor's note: This article represents the independent views of the author and should not be considered a National Safety Council endorsement.