5 Ways to Improve Safety Compliance Using a Forms App
If you’re like most employers across the globe, protecting the wellbeing of your employees is always a top priority. That said, you probably landed here because you’re looking for ways to enhance your organization’s safety culture.
You came to the right place. In this article, we’re going to address five ways a digital forms app can help improve safety compliance across your organization, including:
- Fast, accurate & customized reporting
- Job safety analysis (JSA) reports
- Near miss reports
- Daily checklists
- Automated workflows
1. Fast, Accurate & Customized Reporting
Why it matters
Safety compliance protocols come in all shapes and sizes. Reporting requirements vary widely across industries, corporate structures, legislation, etc. Just look at OSHA’s record keeping policies alone – workplace injury and illness records from the past five years must be properly maintained and readily available. And this just scratches the surface. Chances are, your team has to manage and produce a myriad of safety compliance-related reports throughout the year. And reporting errors or delays can quickly result in substantial penalties.
How a forms app can help
Let’s break this one down by the adjective:
Fast. Whether it’s OSHA or your boss, the powers-at-be could ask for a safety report at a moment’s notice. That request becomes a bit difficult if you’re relying on data supplied on paper forms. You still have to process the information and compile it into a final report that meets the request requirements. That’s not an issue with a data collection solution that offers mobile and web forms apps. Your team can submit the data you need, when you need it. All they need is access to a smartphone, laptop or basically any digital device.
Accurate. The numbers speak for themselves on this one. Switching from paper to mobile forms can help reduce data entry errors by 50%. You can literally cut safety reporting errors in half by using a forms app.
Customized. Going back to our earlier statement, safety compliance protocols come in all shapes and sizes, and so do the reporting requirements. Whether you need to add company branding or organize data in a particular format, you can generate custom reports with a forms app. Pro tip: Select a digital forms application that offers a variety of submission formats. Device Magic allows you to create custom Microsoft Word, PDF and Excel reports.
2. JSA Reports
Why it matters
OSHA lists hazard identification and assessment as a core element of its recommended practices for safety and health programs. Conducting a comprehensive JSA, also referred to as a job hazard analysis, is one of most effective ways to identify potential safety risks associated with a job and workplace environment. Employers can use the findings of a JSA report to eliminate the identified hazards. This can result in fewer injuries, reduced workers compensation costs, and increased productivity in the workplace.
How a forms app can help
Regardless of your industry, job roles and work environments are dynamic. As these factors change, your JSA forms need to be adjusted accordingly. That becomes a laborious task if you’re using a paper-based data collection process.
Fulfilling JSA reports using a forms app can help you standardize and streamline the process across your organization. Integration features, such as live resources, allow you to make form updates in just minutes so you can rest assured your team is using the most up-to-date versions of your safety documents.
3. Near Miss Reports
Why it matters
Did you know nearly all worksite fatalities, injuries, and illnesses are preventable? Near miss reporting is a way to document ‘close calls’ in the workplace and can be a highly effective method of preventing some of the most common causes of work-related injuries, including falls, slips and trips, and contact with objects or equipment. Implementing near miss reporting procedures will not only help ensure the wellbeing of your employees, it can also save your organization substantial time and costs.
How a forms app can help
A challenge we often hear from employers is the struggle to get employees to actually report near misses on the worksite. They fear repercussions or disciplinary action as a result of the ‘close call’ incident. By using a digital forms application, like Device Magic, that authenticates form submissions to the mobile device (not the individual user), your team members can submit forms with a level of anonymity. You could even designate a shared mobile device on which your field teams submit near miss and other incident-related forms. No more fear of disciplinary action, and you get the data you need. Not to mention the benefit of being able to gather real-time near miss data from the field and take faster, corrective action.
4. Daily Checklists
Why it matters
Forget to reach out to a vendor with some pricing questions? No harm, no foul – you’ll get to it tomorrow. Forget to inspect the undercarriage on your track loader at the start of the day? That could result in operator injury. Daily checklists are critical when it comes to safety. They’ll help you cover everything from pre-trip inspections to preventive maintenance to fire procedures.
How a forms app can help
Would you rather carry around a clipboard loaded with paper forms or pull out your smartphone to access the checklists you need throughout the day? That’s a no-brainer.
Aside from the obvious benefits, you can use a mobile form builder to easily customize the checklist forms to your company’s needs, as well as select which devices (or users) have access to the different forms. This way, you can avoid confusion and make sure each of your team members is submitting the correct checklists each day. You can also configure the submission destinations for each checklist. Daily equipment inspections need to be simultaneously submitted to the site supervisor and head of safety? Not a problem.
5. Automated Workflows
Why it matters
Safety compliance can be complex. In many cases, the protocols involve several steps and team members. This means you have to develop procedures that reach all touch points to ensure appropriate data capture, reporting, analysis and corresponding action. Phew! Creating automated data workflows can increase efficiency, save time and help you streamline the more complex safety procedures within your organization.
How a forms app can help
Automation just isn’t possible with a paper-based data collection process. With a forms app, you can set-up dispatch workflows. Dispatch allows you to send a form with pre-populated data, such as a job location or maintenance order details, to a team member’s device. You can create a workflow that will transfer already captured data to be used in a new submission and delivered to several destinations.
Let’s look at driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs) as an example. By creating a dispatch workflow with a digital forms application, drivers can easily automate next steps for any necessary maintenance if a vehicle fails inspection criteria. Parts and repair quotes can be triggered by the submission of a single report to notify the right people at the right time. You’re able to get the vehicle back on the road faster, while maintaining compliance with operational safety standards. It’s a win-win.
And just like magic…
Five definitive ways a digital forms app can help you improve safety compliance across your organization. All you have to do is find the right solution for your safety needs. Device Magic can facilitate all the items listed above.