EHS is an integral part of every business whether business owners realize this or not. Using software like https://www.fldata.com/ can prove beneficial for all parties involved.
In this day and age, businesses that don’t adjust to the times end up either bankrupt or sold. This doesn’t only apply to products and services offered to their customers, this also applies to a company’s internal operations.
We really have come a long way, technologically. Sure, we haven’t made flying cars a commercial reality yet like we envisioned in old movies, but all our technological advancements so far have propelled us to an age of continuous breakthroughs, discoveries, and improvements.
Businesses are forced to continually search for the most effective yet efficient ways to operate. The most common way businesses do this is by automating manual, repetitive tasks. We’ve seen how the development of machinery for factories started the industrial revolution. Today, it’s software that’s pushing another revolution, one of automation.
One important business process that can be made easier with the use of software like https://www.fldata.com/ is EHS management.
What is EHS Management?
EHS is an acronym that stands for Environment, Health, and Safety. This can be written as SHE or HSE – they’re the same thing. It’s basically a system of industry standards and local and national government rules and regulations that cover the safety and security of a business, its employees, its customers, and the community in general.
The manager in charge of overseeing a business’ EHS is responsible for the planning, implementing, monitoring, and optimizing of a business’ operational processes to ensure that they are compliant with EHS standards.
Manual EHS Management and the Risks That Come with It
Given the responsibilities stated above, EHS management is a serious job. Not only is a business’ reputation at stake with bad EHS management, the lives of its workers are at risk, too.
An EHS manager’s tasks include, but are not limited to, ensuring regulatory compliance, creating a risk management system, developing and even facilitating safety training, and conducting incident investigations.
Traditionally, these are all done manually by the manager – with logbooks, printouts, and maybe even Excel sheets. Of course, doing things manually exposes a business to the risks of human error.
As industry standards and government regulations have the tendency to change overtime, an EHS manager is expected to keep track of all these changes and apply the necessary adjustments to a business’ EHS operations. This puts a lot of pressure on the EHS manager. If they happen to miss any regulatory updates, it can put the business at risk of being non-compliant.
Overtime refers to the extra hours a worker does on top of those scheduled in their employment contract.
Physical logbooks can be destroyed along with important records that an EHS manager needs. Even Excel files are at risk of being corrupted!
What is an EHS Software?
The best solution to all the risks of manual EHS management is the installation and use of an EHS software. It’s basically an application that allows managers to efficiently do their tasks with simple automations. Each software is different but they usually cover environmental and waste management, occupational health and safety, and health protection.
This type of software allows EHS managers to save time. Instead of spending hours on spreadsheets and logbooks, managers can get work done in a matter of minutes!
If there are any changes to industry standards and government regulations, managers are automatically notified and informed. This allows the business to continue to stay compliant with less effort!
Some software also offer the option of backing up your files in the cloud so you don’t have to worry about files being corrupted or logbooks being destroyed.
Aside from minimizing human error risks, EHS software helps minimize workplace risks by creating workflows that analyze and optimize a business’ performance.
Overall, they can improve a manager’s workflow immensely. Instead of having to focus on repetitive tasks, managers can put all their energy into meaningful work.
Choosing the Best EHS Software for Your Business
Because EHS software changed the game for EHS managers and businesses, you can expect to see more and more EHS software being released on the market. While they are all able to serve a purpose, it’s important that to choose a software that best suits the business and the EHS manager’s workstyle.
If you’re looking for EHS software, here are a few things to look out for:
Safety and Security
You want to choose software that encrypts your data and stores it in a secure data center. You don’t want your data to be made available to the entire world!
Aside from that, you should choose a software that offers continuous data backup.
24/7 Technical Support
Even when dealing with a user-friendly software, you should still ensure that you’re able to get technical support anytime. 24/7 technical support via phone, chat, or email can save you and even your business from any potential problems that may come up as you use the software.
Easy Installation and Implementation
Migrating all your data from a previously manual system to a new, automated system sounds intimidating. The process can be quite tedious, as well. So, when choosing an EHS software, you want to choose one that offers a quick migration plan. This way, you don’t have to stress that much about backlogged work.
The Ability to Customize Processes
Different businesses need to comply with different regulations. For example, industry standards of a textile business don’t necessarily apply to a restaurant. In the same way, not all forms and workflows will work for your business – there is no one-size-fits-all application, here.
Look for a software that allows you to customize forms, workflows, reports, and processes to better suit your business operations.
Automation
The whole point of getting an EHS software is to provide managers with the ease of automation. So, when choosing a software, look for one that can provide you with the most efficient workflows possible. Maybe get software that automatically crafts and sends out reports on certain dates, or ones that automatically assigns tasks to employees based on their attendance and performance.
You may be interested in: “What is automation?”