Learn how the right EHS software can reduce the burden.

It’s no secret that managing a successful Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) Program takes work. With so many moving parts, stakeholders and different departments to coordinate, it can feel like more time is spent on admin instead of driving EHS adoption and engagement.  

If you are constantly finding yourself switching between different EHS software, consumed by manual data entry, and wrestling paper-based systems, chances are your EHS program could be suffering. Outdated methods lead to lost time, increase the risk of errors and ultimately can jeopardise compliance.  

But what if it didn’t have to be so hard? 

Imagine a scenario where EHS management becomes more streamlined, efficient, and cost-effective. Now picture this. With the right technology a better future is just around the corner. 

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of embracing advanced EHS technology, highlighting its potential to drastically improve administrative workflows, control operational expenses, and help you achieve better safety outcomes.

Traditional EHS Administration – what’s holding you back?

Conventional EHS management, with its labour-intensive processes, presents many challenges for safety professionals and operational leaders alike. Traditionally, this approach to EHS admin involves:

1. Manual Data Input: Manual entry of data from disparate sources – be it incident reports, safety observations, or compliance forms – into spreadsheets or databases creates wasted hours and incorrect input due to human error. When it comes to safety data accuracy is critical. Manual input works against this, and minor errors can have big impacts in your safety metrics and lead to non-compliance.
2. Paper-Based Documentation: By its very nature, paper-based record keeping is fraught with risk. Safety records, training documentation, and audit reports that are maintained on paper are often not updated in real-time, are not easily accessible to everyone across the organisation, make reporting difficult, and restrict your ability to gain insights. Add to this their physical storage requirements, paper-based systems are susceptible to environmental hazards like fire or water damage, which can literally wash away years of critical safety information. They are hard to backup and hard to recover.
3. Disjointed EHS Systems: Many solutions exist for specific EHS requirements, however multiple systems often result in fractured workflows and data silos which contribute to operational blindspot. Integrations can be complicated and break if not maintained. Multiple data sources fail to give you a single source view of safety data which in turn reduces the insights you can gain. This can limit your visibility in seeing trends and areas to focus on to improve your EHS program.

As you can see, while the traditional EHS administration practices may be the ‘status-quo’, they may not be the best way forward. Failure to review your current systems may hinder your ability to positively impact your EHS program.  

What does the data tell us about EHS admin?

The Global EHS Readiness Report of 2024 uncovered insights of the risks of adhering to traditional EHS management approaches.

• Administrative Overheads: Organisations that are reliant on manual EHS processes spend a significantly higher amount of time – 35% more, on average – on administration compared to those with integrated EHS solutions.
• Cost Implications: Due to inefficiencies and increased time required for achieving and maintaining compliance, companies that rely on manual EHS management suffer higher operational costs.
• Error Rates: Notably, those using a manual EHS administration approach see a higher rate of data-errors and lapses in compliance when compared to those who have adopted modern EHS platforms. 

The report highlights the challenges organisations face due to manual and paper-based EHS management – they consume resources and limit the effectiveness and responsiveness of EHS programs – and ultimately negatively affect compliance and overall safety performance.

→ Learn more from the GERI Report HERE.

How can modern EHS technology ease the EHS burden?

Modern EHS technology can fundamentally reshape how EHS admin is managed in the following ways:

1. Automated Data Collection: EHS Systems can automatically capture and store data from a range of sources from user input through to IoT devices
2. Automated Workflows: Through automation, critical tasks, including incident reporting, compliance checks, and safety audits can trigger necessary actions and notifications instantly. No manual intervention needed. 
3. Digital Document Management: Automatically organise, store, and retrieve documents as needed. Better record keeping and less time consuming, with audit-ready trails.
4. Centralised Data: Centralised data gives you a single source of truth for your EHS Program. By integrating disparate functions like incident management, training records, and audit findings, EHS technology can provide you a powerful and actionable view of your overall safety performance.
   

If you’re like the majority of EHS leaders, your main focus is the reduction of incidents and injuries, driving adoption of EHS processes, and reducing the time spent on admin (the GERI 2024 report confirmed that these are the leading priorities, see below):

By embracing EHS technology you can achieve all three.

The right EHS system unlocks substantial efficiency improvements and reduction in human error, as proven by the Global EHS Readiness Report:

• Time Savings: Organisations leveraging EHS technology reported a 40% reduction in time needed for compliance and safety management tasks.
• Resource Optimisation: These time savings freed up staff to be reallocated from low value admin tasks to high value strategic tasks

EHS technology goes beyond a simple fix. It transforms the very foundation of EHS administration and provides a comprehensive solution. 

Shifting your focus from admin to EHS program optimisation you will improve accuracy, save time, and optimise resources by automating data capture, streamlining workflows, and integrating document management. 

How can HSI Donesafe help?

Our simple-to-use software is built to make your EHSQ program successful. HSI Donesafe is the only software that provides complete Health, Safety, Injury, Environmental, Risk, and Quality Management in one integrated cloud-based platform. Simple for staff. Simple for contractors. Simple for you. 

HSI Donesafe is a strategic partner in your journey towards a more streamlined, efficient EHS management system. Designed with the modern organisation in mind, addressing the unique challenges faced by safety professionals and business managers, our software can give you an unparalleled view of your EHS program, end-to-end:

• Compliance – meet any regulatory requirements organisation-wide (including Health & Safety, Quality, Environmental and Training), with audit-ready trails
• Control – no-code architecture for everyday-user configurability, customisable dashboards by role, and intelligent workflow automation to keep activity on-track
• Risk – documented, catalogued, scored based on severity, and prioritised to keep you focussed on what’s critical
• Adaptability – unsurpassed modularity with over 50 modules to choose from – deploy only what you need, safe in the knowledge you cannot outgrow the HSI Donesafe platform
• Insight – connected data-sets that illuminate key operational dependencies and relationships, reveal trends and opportunities, and enable informed decision-making with meaningful, real-time reporting

By enhancing efficiency in compliance through automated tracking and reporting and streamlining data management with a centralised, user-friendly platform, these solutions transform cumbersome EHS tasks into streamlined processes.

HSI Donesafe’s solutions are meticulously engineered to help you confront and conquer the challenges of traditional EHS management. Our platform is comprehensive without being complex and our expert team can guide you through your EHS system journey however far along you may be.

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Other resources to explore:

• Access the full suite of insights at 2024 Global EHS Readiness Report 
• Identify your biggest EHS program gaps, in under 10 minutes at EHS Readiness Diagnostic