The same is true with safety paperwork.  While spending one or two minutes to handle a single piece of paper may seem trivial at the time, the amount of wasted time handling paper becomes significantly more alarming when you evaluate it over a year.

Let’s start with a conservative estimate and say that on average you waste one minute of time for every piece of paper you handle.

• 1 Box of Paper (5000 sheets) – 83 hours
• 5 Boxes of Paper (5000 sheets) – 416 hours

The reality is, most companies spend more than one minute handling one piece of paper.  For example, take a company doing a Daily Hazard Assessment on a job site.  When you factor in printing, photocopying, dropping forms off on site, collecting forms, and filing them, a company can easily waste over 40 hours filling out one Daily Hazard Assessment form on one job site.

 

How To Waste 40+ Hours – on ONE Paper Form

1. Create Form in Word Editor
   • 30 minutes per year
2. Print/Photocopy enough copies for 1 year
   • 10 – 15 minutes per year
3. Drop off printed forms at job site
   • 60 minutes per year
4. Carry form back to site trailer after completing inspection and temporarily store/file it
   • 5 minutes per form
   • 20 hours per year (250 days)
5. Bring form back to Head Office
   • 1 60-minute trip per month
   • 12 hours per year
6. File forms at Head Office
   • 1 minute per form
   • 3 hours per year (250 days)
7. Find form after it’s been filed
   • average 30 minutes per month
   • 6 hours per year