Safety management is no joke. Statistics show a startling curve over the last decade relating to deaths from falling. The rate rose from 8.4 per 100,000 in 2010 to 12.6 in 2020¹. Those numbers aren’t going to change unless we adopt safer work practices and safer environments for workers and pedestrians alike. 

One of the best ways to adopt safer work practices is through accessibility. Providing the proper access to safety training and equipment for all personnel while adopting safer work practices will help your organization be a leader in the change to come. 

I’m talking about the change from trying to manage safety and related operations using the antiquated paper form to a more robust digital solution for safety management.

In this guide, I’ll discuss the limitations of traditional safety management and offer some next-level solutions that will help your company leap ahead of everyone else quickly. I’ll discuss features like GPS document integration, automation, and intelligent KPI reporting. In essence, I’ll show you how you can transform your safety management into an efficient, effective, and robust digital solution. Let’s dive in.

The Limitations of Traditional Safety Management

Using some of the more traditional methods of safety management has some rather glaring liabilities. This fact is even more evident when talking about teams that work in multiple locations, like construction, utilities, or service teams.

Time

The most significant and limiting factor in using traditional safety management is time. We can use it up, but we can never get it back. So, wasting it when there are more efficient ways to do business is not a good strategy.

Human Error

As long as we aren’t using armies of robots, we’ll need people on the ground doing the required work. However, one of the biggest problems with paper-based antiquated safety management practices is the ease with which humans can create errors.

Human error even happens in the strictest of environments: Nuclear power generation. According to a study of Chinese workers at nuclear power facilities, of the 940 WANO operating events reported from 1993 to 2002, 541 were found to be related to human error. 

Human error won’t disappear anytime soon, but there are ways to mitigate specific mistakes and prevent them from happening in the first place (I’ll get to that).

Illegibility

My personal pet peeve is poor penmanship. When I ran a service department, one of the worst issues I faced was attempting to translate poor writing so the accounting department could send an invoice. 

Dissemination

Did you know that paper accounts for 26%³ of total waste at landfills? It’s true, and it’s also one of the most significant sources of trash generated by businesses.

If you’re familiar with updating a paper form and trying to get it out to all your teams, you’ll know this can cost time and money. On the best of days, getting crews routed back through home base to pick up the latest paperwork is a time-consuming and money-consuming endeavor.

The Call for Digital Transformation

Organizations around the world widely adopt digital technologies. In fact, in a 2022 study of 240⁴ related papers, it was found that the latest research on construction health and safety technologies is primarily focused on six key areas:

1. Design and planning for better health and safety measures in projects.
2. Using visual aids and image processing to enhance construction projects.
3. Implementing digital tools to monitor ongoing work.
4. Leveraging information management systems and the Internet of Things for more innovative operations.
5. Exploring automation and robotics for safer work environments.
6. Focusing on accident prevention and evaluating the structural integrity of projects.

It isn’t just the construction industry that’s moving in the digital direction. Everything from Security Agencies to Municipal Services to Property Management is moving towards a wholly digital future. Let’s look at one of the applications leading the charge: 1st Reporting

Overview of 1st Reporting: Elevating Safety Management to New Digital Heights

1st Reporting is a cutting-edge B2B software application specifically designed to enhance and streamline safety management within organizations. Here are the standout features that make it indispensable for companies committed to a safer, more efficient workplace:

1. Mobile-Friendly Design for Field Use

Empower your team to document incidents, conduct inspections, and complete other essential safety forms right from their smartphones, tablets, or laptops. There is no need to wait—capture crucial data on the spot.

2. Cloud-Based Storage for Secure Anytime Access

Say goodbye to physical paperwork and local storage limitations. All submitted forms are securely stored in the cloud, enabling managers to review data whenever and wherever they need to. Trust that your information is secure, knowing that 1st Reporting is ISO certified.

3. Customizable Forms Tailored to Your Needs

Don’t settle for one-size-fits-all forms. Utilize the powerful form customizer to create bespoke documents that capture the exact data your organization requires for optimal safety management.

4. Real-time GPS Tracking for Location-Specific Insights

Know precisely where each report originates. The built-in GPS feature provides real-time location data displayed on a management dashboard, offering an extra layer of contextual information for better decision-making.

5. Smart Notifications for Rapid Response

Cut down your emergency response time dramatically. Program custom notifications to be sent out the moment a report is submitted, ensuring immediate action when it’s needed most.

The Managerial Benefits: Dashboard and Data Analytics

1st Reporting also boasts a formidable management dashboard. Choose from a variety of map layouts with filtering so you can visually take control of report submission position data. The extra data provides a visual means of making informed decisions about trends in reporting.

Speaking of trends, utilizing a platform like 1st Reporting for trend analysis is second to none. The platform has built-in KPI reporting features, so you can use analytics to drive your decision-making process even faster than before. Can you imagine sorting through hundreds of submitted papers to find a trend? Now, do it in seconds, not days or hours.

Summary

Tackling workplace safety is no small feat, especially when traditional methods come with their own limitations, such as time inefficiency, human error, and cumbersome paperwork. 

Today, we’ve looked at how the time for a digital transformation is now, and 1st Reporting is leading this charge. With its mobile-friendly design, secure cloud-based storage, customizable forms, and intelligent analytics, the app is the go-to solution for companies aiming to overhaul their safety practices.

Make Your Next Move Digital

Ready to lead your organization into the future of safety management? Don’t get left behind in an analog past. Transform your safety operations today by downloading the 1st Reporting app—available now on Google Play and the Apple App Store. 

Elevate your safety standards, streamline your workflows, and empower your teams to act swiftly and decisively. Your next step in achieving unparalleled safety management is just a click away.

Sources

1. “Preventable Death around the World – Injury Facts.” 2023. Injury Facts. March 2023. https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/international/preventable-death-around-the-world/.
2. ‌Li, Zhang, and Zhao Ming. 2022. “Statistics and Analysis of WANO Human Factor Events.” Nuclear Power Engineering 26 (3): 291–96. https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:37055207.
3. ‌“The World Counts.” 2023. Theworldcounts.com. 2023. https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/paper-waste-facts.
4. ‌“A Bibliometric Review of the Status and Emerging Research Trends in Construction Safety Management Technologies.” 2022. International Journal of Construction Management. 2022. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15623599.2020.1819584.