Four hidden benefits to a centralized and paperless EHS management system.
Top companies are beginning to crack down on expenditure that arises from unpredictable events. Staying ahead of accidents in the workplace is a daunting task if you aren’t prepared to handle it. While accidents happen unexpectedly, future accidents can be avoided by simply paying attention to and recording the root causes of previous accidents. Because each time an accident happens, it ends up not only causing emotional distress and disruptions to everyone involved, but also incurs an unexpected expense: both of which are detrimental to the company’s long term success.
Sandy Smith from EHS today reports that injured workers account for a reported expenditure of $62 Billion in companies. Most of these incidents and accidents get reported in standard forms issued by regulatory boards like the WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board). With these forms taking up space in many physical sites, there is no real way for you as a business to keep an eye on unexpected accidents. A system which allows you to manage EHS incidents from one central place that is accessible to all the necessary members of the organization would give your company the kind of control that can help you expect the unexpected.
Here are four hidden benefits that a centralized EHS management system brings to your company.
Faster incident responses
Responding to an accident in the workplace requires a stable mind and an organized approach. Additionally, experience in handling these situations can add greatly to your ability to consistently respond to these situations better. But what happens when you have an inexperienced person responding to an incident?
Having a central record of all previous incidents tied together with critical workflows that are able to reach key decision makers for necessary expenditure helps you get organized quickly in responding to an accident in the workplace.
Time and money savings
It is no secret that when responding to an accident, the emotional trauma can be significant, but also adding to the stress of the situation is the need for urgent decision making in regards to expenditures. Kyle Morrison writes in Safety and health magazine about how Alcoa was able to increase its profits to record highs by becoming a safety focused company and reducing accidents by learning from previous experiences. The increase in profit can also be attributed to the reduction in expenditure that usually accompanies the workplace accident. With paper-based records scattered across multiple departments or offices, responding to an incident quickly becomes just that much harder.
With a central incident management system, you reduce the amount of time it takes for you to get started on your response to the accident. Effectively you also reduce the amount of money wasted in trying to locate the correct resources and make the most efficient use of available resources.
Global reach over multiple devices
With a paper-based filing cabinet system, the efficacy of your reporting process for incidents and accidents relies entirely on being able to find the right forms in the quickest time. This can often also include finding the right department and finding the right people in charge of that filing cabinet.
Central web-based EHS management systems allow you to not only reach the correct forms quicker, but due to its nature, they can be accessed from any browser on your computer or phone. With this access across multiple devices, you can speed up the amount of time it takes to file the incident and capture any details that you may not be able to if you’re filling out a form hours past the incident.
Protection of private data
Safety and security of EHS data is becoming a prime concern with the advent of digital tools in Healthcare and Insurance. Incident and accident management forms collect a lot of personal information about those affected including the company. This information, if placed haphazardly or in a disorganized way can not only present holes in your company’s systems, but also present a threat to your data.
Currently filing cabinets that store paper-based forms for incident reporting have their highest level of security in a lock-and-key usually with one person consistently holding the key. Central systems have safety mechanisms and programs that can help protect your data. With efforts in cyber security taking high priority today, central web-based databases and incident management systems get the best level of security to keep hackers and malicious intruders out, and keep your data safe.
Key Takeaway
An accident in the workplace is tragic especially when people’s lives are at risk. In order for you to consistently respond in record time in an organized way, you must have a single point of contact that is readily available and easy to use. Paper-based forms are not effective for that very reason. Using central, web-based incident an EHS management systems can help mitigate response times and expenses when responding to accidents. Further, central systems offer higher layers and levels of security than a simple lock-and-key to keep your data safe. Are you losing employee morale and support along with money due to ineffective response times to accidents in your workplace? Is the cumbersome paper-based filing system not allowing you to stay as organized as you can be? Central and web-based EHS management systems might be the solution you’re looking for.
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