Page 42 - OHS, November/December 2022

SAFETY CULTURE
Mobile-First Technology that Makes Safety Second Nature
Utilize technology to place health and safety at the forefront of business.
BY KYLIE UVODICH
The last few years have brought on sweeping changes— and challenges—across workplaces and industries. Many found their roles transformed as health and safety came to the forefront of the decision-making process. Once only relevant to high-risk industries and those working on the frontline, occupational health and safety have become a major priority for all.
Despite this, organizations are still falling short. Recent research by SafetyCulture revealed that one in five (20 percent) workers said they have experienced workplace injury due to inadequate processes or communication, while one in four (25 percent) know a colleague who has. It’s a pressing issue—and it’s important to understand that prioritizing safety involves more than just ticking a box. Ultimately, it lays a foundation that brings out the best in your team, your protocols and your outputs.
The process of creating and implementing effective safety procedures can seem daunting. It’s often hard to know where to start. The good news is that technology can be used to make quick work of complexity, handling the heavy lifting of process rollout and ongoing practice. Here’s how organizations can utilize technology to transform processes and place health and safety at the forefront of business.
Remove the Danger of Assumption. To build a culture of safety, you first need to evaluate the procedures your organization already has in place. Do standard safety processes currently exist? If yes, do they encompass the entire organization or are they only relevant to specific teams or employees? Do these procedures include all hazards within your industry? Are they known or easily accessible by employees? The assumption that
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safety procedures exist and are known by all is a dangerous one. Only once you have a clear understanding of current processes can you expand your policy to encompass all potential health and safety hazards.
Be Proactive, Not Reactive. It is common for workplace hazards to only be addressed after someone is injured or becomes sick, an outside inspection finds an issue or a new regulation is put in place. Once again, the danger of assumption arises when broken tools or new hazards are assumed to be known by all, and therefore reported by none. Finding and fixing hazards using a proactive approach, before they cause injury or illness, is the most effective way to keep everyone healthy and safe.
Workplaces are ever-evolving with new technologies, processes and materials being introduced. Adopting a systematic approach for standard checks and emergency reporting can help businesses stay on top of emerging issues and be proactive, not reactive.
Simplify and Digitize. Making safety second nature within your business starts with the previously mentioned practices, but truly kicks into gear with the digitization of your processes. Time- consuming paper reports and clunky systems can hinder your entire organization. When the process to report a hazard requires large amounts of paperwork to be filled out and laboriously filed or hinges on the cooperation of a long-obsolete computer system, it becomes far too easy for employees to put reporting off or avoid it altogether. SafetyCulture research indicates that four in ten (40 percent) workers said they’d like to see greater investment by their employer in technology to improve processes, safety and efficiency.
Digitizing your processes not only helps to remove assumptions and create pathways to increased visibility, but it also makes safe practices and the reporting of hazards a simple, streamlined process. Enabling your teams to report emerging hazards, record incidents and request support through a mobile-first platform creates a digital trail that maps the journey to resolution. With the barriers to reporting removed, everyone can feel safe and confident that incidents are recorded immediately and rectified appropriately. Poor communication practices can further hinder safety by disconnecting teams and leaving employees out of the loop. Organizations can take advantage of platforms powering real-time alerts in the case of red flags like missed check-ins or standard reports and quick duress alarm activation. Ensuring critical communications can reach all team members, even if they are frontline workers or lone workers in the field, offers everyone greater peace of mind.
Get Everyone Involved. It should come as no surprise that those who do the work on a daily basis often know the most about the potential hazards associated with it. The most-effective health and safety programs are built upon the collective knowledge, experience and insight of those within your organization. Involving team members in your safety conversations and resulting procedures not only ensures all possible hazards are
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