Page 14 - OHS, April/May 2023

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE Stop the Spreadsheets: It’s Time to Mature Your IH Program Moving from traditional systems to newer software can lead to improvements in engagement and support. BY DAVE RISI Making industrial hygiene (IH) program information Lessons Learned in EHS Management visible and accessible to stakeholders throughout Environmental compliance is one of the best examples of how the organization is a key contributor to achieving software technology has helped raise the bar. Environmental the primary program goal of improving worker managers were some of the first EHS professionals to move away health. It is also essential to demonstrate the value that IH brings from obsolete paper or spreadsheet-based systems and toward to your organization. When stakeholders have clear insight into purpose-built environmental compliance software. They have IH program performance and worker health outcomes, those recognized the tremendous time and cost savings compared programs will ultimately be better staffed, supported and funded. to these older systems, as well as the enhanced visibility and communication of environmental compliance data. Recent advancements in software technologies are helping to drive IH program success in protecting worker health while also making Environmental compliance is a particularly challenging area of communication of IH program performance clearer and easier. In EHS management, relying on complex data collection, calculation and analysis and often incorporating emissions monitoring and other words, IH software gives IH professionals the ability to further engage stakeholders in their IH programs and achieve stronger levels control devices that generate a constant stream of data. Reliance of support and recognition for their contribution to the business. on paper or spreadsheets for managing environmental compliance quickly became unsustainable, especially in an increasingly What’s the Status of Your IH Program? complex regulatory landscape, and purpose-built environmental compliance software systems evolved out of sheer necessity. The However, many companies still use paper- or spreadsheet-based capabilities of these new software systems allowed environmental systems to manage their IH programs. The inherent inefficiencies of these obsolete methods ultimately limit their effectiveness— managers to automate data collection and analysis; regulatory reports were generated with less effort; important metrics were both in terms of controlling exposure risks and protecting workers’ communicated to key stakeholders; and the value they brought to health, but also in communicating IH program performance to help secure buy-in and support for those programs. the organization became clearer to management. These enhanced capabilities are beginning to pay even greater dividends as many For example, reliance on paper or spreadsheets to manage companies continue to roll out their ESG reporting programs complex IH program functions means IH professionals are forced to spend an extensive amount of time and effort simply since a majority of the data required is already being captured at the site level and can be easily rolled up to the corporate level to generating the basic reports and analyses needed to support meet ESG reporting and disclosure requirements. an IH program. Simultaneously, many IH programs are facing budget and headcount reductions as paper and spreadsheet-based Safety departments were the next to recognize the advantages of purpose-built software systems. They stopped trying to systems make it difficult to clearly communicate IH risks and reconcile spreadsheets and paper records from across their program outcomes, and key stakeholders, including the C-Suite, have limited visibility of the value IH brings to the organization. organization to generate their monthly incident statistics, inspection findings, near-miss reports and other essential safety It’s a terrible cycle of inefficiency and poor communication that performance metrics. As the technology continued to advance, can prevent your IH program from reaching its full potential. 14 Occupational Health & Safety | APRIL/MAY 2023 www.ohsonline.com TippaPatt/Shutterstock.com