Blog

Is digitalisation key to addressing and resolving issues in EHS?

Jan 31, 2023

digitalisation in HSE
Blog

Is digitalisation key to addressing and resolving issues in EHS?

Jan 31, 2023

digitalisation in HSE

Building an organisational culture that places a high level of importance on safety, where most people at every level in the organisation share the same values is a key target for safety professionals. There are a few primary strategies like people engagement, recognition, motivation, appreciation, creditability, training, and taking into use digital tools that help in getting started with creating and maintaining a safety culture and addressing and resolving prevailing issues in EHS.

In this article, we explore how digitalisation may be key to addressing and resolving issues in EHS and creating an environment that is healthy and safe for employees and has wider benefits for the planet.

How can digitalisation address and resolve key issues in EHS?

Efficiently managing daily operations while prioritising safety, environmental sustainability, and productivity is a fundamental responsibility of all organisations. It is well-established that implementing safety and environmental measures often results in improved productivity and an improved bottom line. Safety professionals play a crucial role in this endeavor by utilising a systematic approach to identifying and mitigating various types of business, process, product, and occupational health & safety risks. This proactive approach to risk management is essential in ensuring the overall success of the organisation.

Digitalisation can help in building a safety culture by providing various tools and technologies that can aid in the implementation of EHS strategies. For example, digital tools like EHS software can help in tracking and managing safety incidents and near-misses, providing training and educational resources, and facilitating communication and collaboration among employees. Additionally, digital platforms can also be used to provide valuable resources and tools to support the development and maintenance of a strong safety culture within an organisation.

safety gear
safety workfloor maintenance
There is a wide range of digital technologies and tools organisations may adopt to help improve health, safety and efficiency within the workplace, including:

  • EHS software and mobile applications
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Industrial wearables
  • Video analytics
  • Digital sensors
  • Digital training schemes

Although upgrading an existing tool or process to a digital alternative may have an initial upfront cost, these technologies can deliver fast financial returns by reducing compliance costs, mitigating worker accidents, and improving worker productivity. EHS specialists or managers typically choose to implement digital solutions as they can quickly resolve common EHS challenges such as compliance, safety in the workplace and employee productivity, and they have long-term financial benefits.

Below we outline how digital software can help solve common EHS issues:
1. Safety

One of the key benefits of digitalisation in Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) is the ability to collect and analyse data in real-time, providing organisations with a comprehensive view of EHS risks. This allows companies to identify potential hazards and proactively implement measures to mitigate and prevent them. Digital systems can also provide real-time alerts and notifications, ensuring that incidents are quickly addressed and resolved.

Additionally, digital systems can automate routine tasks and provide clear instructions, reducing the risk of human error and ensuring that tasks are performed consistently and correctly. By embracing digitalisation in EHS, organisations can improve the accuracy and efficiency of their EHS processes, ultimately leading to a safer working environment for all.

2. Productivity

Ensuring a business is productive is often a key area of concern for managers and business owners. The more productive a business is, the higher the profit it is likely to generate. EHS digital software can help to mitigate risks and increase productivity by identifying and finding a solution to health and safety risks within a workplace. Digital systems also provide real-time data analysis, enabling organisations to make informed decisions about risk mitigation and prevention.

Digitalisation can also eliminate the need for manual paper-based record-keeping, reducing the risk of lost or damaged records and increasing efficiency. Additionally, digital systems can reduce the risk of human error by automating routine tasks and providing clear instructions, ensuring accurate and consistent data entry.

3. Sustainability

Sustainability plays a more and more important role in business. Partially due to increasing corporate social responsibility requirements or due to a desire to limit their environmental impact, organisations typically need to take care of their environmental, social and governance issues to meet the sustainability targets of their different stakeholders.

Some EHS managers may find it challenging to manage compliance within an organisation and identify where and how they are able to minimise negative environmental impacts. Digital software can help organisations to manage sustainability reporting by having set frameworks, standards and regulations, preconfigured workflows and predefined forms, target setting, risk mitigation, task management, ESG initiatives, prebuilt performance analysis reports, visual dashboards, forecasting properties and data basis for benchmarking.

For example, EHS software can use visual dashboards and prebuilt performance analysis reports to show employees what impact their actions may be having on the environment. For example, EHS can gather data based on energy consumption and waste management, so managers can set waste and energy use targets for employees and teams to follow.

environmental solar panels
4. Compliance

Complying with constantly changing safety, quality and environment-related regulations and legislation is important to businesses across multiple sectors, including manufacturing businesses. Compliance with regulations is not only a legal requirement, but it also helps companies to protect their business, employees and customers.

EHS software can help guarantee that all the legal and regulatory requirements are known to managers and employees and followed. For example, EHS digital software can be used to ensure EU REACH compliance by combining supplier pre-registrations, an overview of all chemicals in your inventory and information about the whole product life cycle process in one conveniently-accessed platform.

health and safety workfloor
5. Visibility

One of the biggest challenges EHS managers and business owners face is clear visibility over their operations. Businesses in the manufacturing industry, and in many other sectors, need to follow a wide range of health and safety regulations and rules, best practices, and it can be difficult for managers and employees to manage multiple manual processes at once.

EHS software platforms enable organisations to build standardised processes and give better data visibility to manage risks and reduce human errors. EHS platforms combine core environmental and health and safety modules into one integrated platform, providing a clear view of the operational reality of a business. This ensures reporting is easier and more effective and all EHS related issues can be monitored in real-time. In addition, an integrated platform eliminates the need for paperwork, as data can be logged online, saving time and further increasing productivity.

6. Engagement

Another way digitalisation can improve safety is by engaging employees in EHS programs. Digital tools make it easier for employees to report incidents and suggest improvements, empowering them to play a key role in maintaining a safe workplace. By embracing digitalisation in EHS, companies can achieve better employee engagement, and streamline processes, ultimately leading to improved safety and productivity.

Introduce digital EHS software into your organisation today

For EHS specialists, digitalisation is key to increasing productivity and improving employee safety within a workplace. EHS software also allows businesses to monitor their environmental impact more efficiently, and manage sustainability practices more effectively. Recent studies suggest that companies generally experience financial returns from consolidating their EHS solutions in a single platform, leveraging data to inform business strategy and empowering front-line workers with tools to streamline their tasks.

EHS software platforms enable organisations to build standardised processes and provide better data visibility to manage risks and reduce human errors. EHS software makes it easier to be legally compliant and it helps to engage employees and make reporting easier and more effective. It also helps to eliminate paperwork, save time, increase productivity, and reduce costs.

Additional cost savings fall into a few core areas: employee time saving and enhanced productivity, illness and injury reduction resulting in lower compensation costs and insurance premiums, IT savings from the elimination of outdated systems, mitigation of the risks of non-compliance leading to lower fines and litigation fees, and fewer operational shutdowns caused by EHS incidents.

According to recent studies, companies generally experience financial returns from consolidating their EHS solutions in a single platform, leveraging data to inform business strategy and empowering front-line workers with tools to streamline their tasks.

Want to receive the latest HSE blogs directly in your email? Subscribe.

If you would like to learn more about HSE software and what benefits it may offer, subscribe to our blog series to discover how digitalisation and our innovative technologies can help in building a safety culture in your organisation.

Blog

Is digitalisation key to addressing and resolving issues in EHS?

Jan 31, 2023

Building an organisational culture that places a high level of importance on safety, where most people at every level in the organisation share the same values is a key target for safety professionals. There are a few primary strategies like people engagement, recognition, motivation, appreciation, creditability, training, and taking into use digital tools that help in getting started with creating and maintaining a safety culture and addressing and resolving prevailing issues in EHS.

In this article, we explore how digitalisation may be key to addressing and resolving issues in EHS and creating an environment that is healthy and safe for employees and has wider benefits for the planet.

How can digitalisation address and resolve key issues in EHS?

Efficiently managing daily operations while prioritising safety, environmental sustainability, and productivity is a fundamental responsibility of all organisations. It is well-established that implementing safety and environmental measures often results in improved productivity and an improved bottom line. Safety professionals play a crucial role in this endeavor by utilising a systematic approach to identifying and mitigating various types of business, process, product, and occupational health & safety risks. This proactive approach to risk management is essential in ensuring the overall success of the organisation.

safety gear

Digitalisation can help in building a safety culture by providing various tools and technologies that can aid in the implementation of EHS strategies. For example, digital tools like EHS software can help in tracking and managing safety incidents and near-misses, providing training and educational resources, and facilitating communication and collaboration among employees. Additionally, digital platforms can also be used to provide valuable resources and tools to support the development and maintenance of a strong safety culture within an organisation.

safety maintenance
There is a wide range of digital technologies and tools organisations may adopt to help improve health, safety and efficiency within the workplace, including:

  • EHS software and mobile applications
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Industrial wearables
  • Video analytics
  • Digital sensors
  • Digital training schemes

Although upgrading an existing tool or process to a digital alternative may have an initial upfront cost, these technologies can deliver fast financial returns by reducing compliance costs, mitigating worker accidents, and improving worker productivity. EHS specialists or managers typically choose to implement digital solutions as they can quickly resolve common EHS challenges such as compliance, safety in the workplace and employee productivity, and they have long-term financial benefits.

Below we outline how digital software can help solve common EHS issues:
1. Safety

One of the key benefits of digitalisation in Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) is the ability to collect and analyse data in real-time, providing organisations with a comprehensive view of EHS risks. This allows companies to identify potential hazards and proactively implement measures to mitigate and prevent them. Digital systems can also provide real-time alerts and notifications, ensuring that incidents are quickly addressed and resolved.

Additionally, digital systems can automate routine tasks and provide clear instructions, reducing the risk of human error and ensuring that tasks are performed consistently and correctly. By embracing digitalisation in EHS, organisations can improve the accuracy and efficiency of their EHS processes, ultimately leading to a safer working environment for all.

2. Productivity

Ensuring a business is productive is often a key area of concern for managers and business owners. The more productive a business is, the higher the profit it is likely to generate. EHS digital software can help to mitigate risks and increase productivity by identifying and finding a solution to health and safety risks within a workplace. Digital systems also provide real-time data analysis, enabling organisations to make informed decisions about risk mitigation and prevention.

Digitalisation can also eliminate the need for manual paper-based record-keeping, reducing the risk of lost or damaged records and increasing efficiency. Additionally, digital systems can reduce the risk of human error by automating routine tasks and providing clear instructions, ensuring accurate and consistent data entry.

3. Sustainability

Sustainability plays a more and more important role in business. Partially due to increasing corporate social responsibility requirements or due to a desire to limit their environmental impact, organisations typically need to take care of their environmental, social and governance issues to meet the sustainability targets of their different stakeholders.

Some EHS managers may find it challenging to manage compliance within an organisation and identify where and how they are able to minimise negative environmental impacts. Digital software can help organisations to manage sustainability reporting by having set frameworks, standards and regulations, preconfigured workflows and predefined forms, target setting, risk mitigation, task management, ESG initiatives, prebuilt performance analysis reports, visual dashboards, forecasting properties and data basis for benchmarking.

For example, EHS software can use visual dashboards and prebuilt performance analysis reports to show employees what impact their actions may be having on the environment. For example, EHS can gather data based on energy consumption and waste management, so managers can set waste and energy use targets for employees and teams to follow.

solar panels
4. Compliance

Complying with constantly changing safety, quality and environment-related regulations and legislation is important to businesses across multiple sectors, including manufacturing businesses. Compliance with regulations is not only a legal requirement, but it also helps companies to protect their business, employees and customers.

EHS software can help guarantee that all the legal and regulatory requirements are known to managers and employees and followed. For example, EHS digital software can be used to ensure EU REACH compliance by combining supplier pre-registrations, an overview of all chemicals in your inventory and information about the whole product life cycle process in one conveniently-accessed platform.

health and safety workfloor
5. Visibility

One of the biggest challenges EHS managers and business owners face is clear visibility over their operations. Businesses in the manufacturing industry, and in many other sectors, need to follow a wide range of health and safety regulations and rules, best practices, and it can be difficult for managers and employees to manage multiple manual processes at once.

EHS software platforms enable organisations to build standardised processes and give better data visibility to manage risks and reduce human errors. EHS platforms combine core environmental and health and safety modules into one integrated platform, providing a clear view of the operational reality of a business. This ensures reporting is easier and more effective and all EHS related issues can be monitored in real-time. In addition, an integrated platform eliminates the need for paperwork, as data can be logged online, saving time and further increasing productivity.

6. Engagement

Another way digitalisation can improve safety is by engaging employees in EHS programs. Digital tools make it easier for employees to report incidents and suggest improvements, empowering them to play a key role in maintaining a safe workplace. By embracing digitalisation in EHS, companies can achieve better employee engagement, and streamline processes, ultimately leading to improved safety and productivity.

Introduce digital EHS software into your organisation today

For EHS specialists, digitalisation is key to increasing productivity and improving employee safety within a workplace. EHS software also allows businesses to monitor their environmental impact more efficiently, and manage sustainability practices more effectively. Recent studies suggest that companies generally experience financial returns from consolidating their EHS solutions in a single platform, leveraging data to inform business strategy and empowering front-line workers with tools to streamline their tasks.

EHS software platforms enable organisations to build standardised processes and provide better data visibility to manage risks and reduce human errors. EHS software makes it easier to be legally compliant and it helps to engage employees and make reporting easier and more effective. It also helps to eliminate paperwork, save time, increase productivity, and reduce costs.

Additional cost savings fall into a few core areas: employee time saving and enhanced productivity, illness and injury reduction resulting in lower compensation costs and insurance premiums, IT savings from the elimination of outdated systems, mitigation of the risks of non-compliance leading to lower fines and litigation fees, and fewer operational shutdowns caused by EHS incidents.

According to recent studies, companies generally experience financial returns from consolidating their EHS solutions in a single platform, leveraging data to inform business strategy and empowering front-line workers with tools to streamline their tasks.

Want to receive our newest EHS blogs directly in your email? Subscribe below.

If you would like to learn more about EHS software and what benefits it may offer, subscribe to our blog series below to discover how digitalisation and our innovative technologies can help in building a safety culture in your organisation.
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