The “knee jerk reaction” of an antiquated paper system is to throw more resources at it in the way of increasing manpower – adding trips to jobsites to conduct regular safety inspections and performing frequent audits in the attempt to increase safety awareness. At a management level, this effort simply adds more costs to an already broken and expensive system.

The solution must include the ability to save time and money, all while improving understanding, success and commitment in safety. This comes from sustainable diligence and accountability from all levels and includes the ability to track, manage and share “real time” information. This kind of advanced Internal Responsibility System (IRS) allows companies to focus time and effort far beyond their previous restrictive processes. Forward-thinking companies are looking for ways to empower their employees with safety education and the tools necessary to enable the learning process. Such tools alleviate the time-consuming task of managing paperwork and allocate this time to valuable improvements elsewhere in the company. In a world where almost everyone has a smartphone and many people and companies have tablets, the time to go paperless in the field could not be better.

Have you ever forgotten your phone at home? Have you ever turned around in a panic to go back and get it? Why? Without our phones, we feel disconnected to those around us and lack the ability to communicate in a manner we have grown accustomed to. This is the same reality with a paper-based safety system – workers and employers feel disconnected and lack effective communication.

The need to be connected is within all of us, so why wouldn’t we empower employees with a tool that allows them to be connected to the office, and at the same time provide visibility into everything going on in the field? By engaging the resources already within a digital system, confirmation of accountability is achieved and confidence that all required documents are being completed properly and on time becomes the new norm.

Objections Handled

Some companies have initial hesitations when going digital: “My workers will never use it – they are set in their ways.”
“I don’t want to buy all my workers smartphones or tablets.”

If you haven’t already, the time is coming soon when you will likely turn to using digital applications for many other functions and tasks: time card collection, inspections and maintenance for fleet and equipment, tool crib management, inventory tracking, work orders and much more. Why not start with what is most important – the safety of your employees? The cost of wasted time and money by having multiple touch points to handle paperwork from field to office far outweighs the cost of digital safety or the initial learning-curve in taking on a new system.

And this, of course, is only the beginning of the savings you will realize. Consider the time and monetary value of:

• Distributing revised forms/manuals/materials to, and from, office and field
• Wear and tear on vehicles and fuel costs
• Wages of employees to accomplish process
• Scanning, photocopying, uploading, filing, and storing paper
• Re-completion of lost or illegible documents (is this even legal?)
• Fines or improvement/stop work orders
• Locating documents for Spot audits
• Stationery, printing and office/field expenses
• Time spent preparing for internal or external audits
• 3rd party consultants
• Lawsuits
• Perceived value of your current safety management system compared to relevant costs

Digital safety means more effective and efficient processes, which results in safer workplaces and increased value across your company and beyond.