Health & Safety Software
In his latest Tech Trends Report, Donal Kavanagh looks at iSafe, new software that not only makes the workplace safer but lessens the load on your company’s Health & Safety Officer
Health and Safety in the workplace is a very potent issue nowadays; as recently as 2005, deaths in the workplace reached a ten-year high with 73 fatalities and, in its most recent report, the Health & Safety Authority (HSA) revealed that 41 per cent of employers do not consult with their employees about health and safety.
In the face of mounting injuries and fatalities, the government has assembled new legislation, the Safety, Health and Welfare Act, 2005, and undertaken new initiatives such as the Safe Pass system in the construction industry. In this atmosphere - where proper health and safety management is not only expected, but demanded of employers - Olive Safety’s new software solution, iSafe, should prove a welcome addition to any HR Manager’s arsenal.
According to the Marketing Manager of Olive Safety, David MacHale, iSafe is uniquely Irish in that it is the only health and safety management software system designed specifically for this country. Their technical team will install the software, provide all the necessary training - usually completed in half a day according to MacHale - and provide ongoing technical support to the user.
Designed to help Irish businesses meet their health and safety obligations, through the audit and management of health and safety practises, iSafe has already been awarded the prize ‘Best New Product of the Show’ at the recent Irish Building Exhibition in the RDS in Dublin. The software is designed with ease of use and accessibility in mind, and operates in such a way that all employees are held accountable for their health and safety responsibilities.
iSafe allows all a company’s health and safety data to be easily inputted, stored, retrieved and updated. It automatically sends reminders of tasks and obligations, by email or other electronic format, to relevant staff members and managers. The software also tracks corrective actions associated with issues such as incident analysis, planned inspection and audits. It is well known that most workplace accidents take place not in extraordinary circumstances, but during the performance of everyday routines. They can very often be prevented by the upkeep of mundane health and safety checks, and properly used, iSafe will ensure these are carried out.
For example, emails and text messages are sent to remind staff that their Safe Pass is out of date and needs renewal, or that a corrective action wasn’t taken and needs to be resolved. The escalation process means that, if the corrective action is not taken, the relevant line manager is copied on the next reminder email. If action is still not forthcoming, iSafe will copy the line manager’s supervisor in the next email, and so on.
In line with recent government initiatives on Health & Safety, inspections by the HSA have been increasing year on year; inspections in 2006 were up 13 per cent on 2005. iSafe makes the upkeep of legally required safety statements a less time consuming task, and all health & safety information is to hand and readily available to an inspector. The reduction in administrative work and costs is a major advantage of the iSafe system. Furthermore, it is automatically updated to incorporate any new health & safety regulations. For instance, Olive Safety’s software engineers installed new regulations in October covering areas such as lifting equipment that came into force on November 1st, into the iSafe system.
‘Irish employees have always associated health and safety compliance with reams of paperwork and unnecessary bureaucracy,’ says Managing Director of Olive Safety, Julian Rafter. ‘There was a clear need for a product that would ensure all safety information is uploaded and stored in one place so that training records, certificates and safety statements can be saved and viewed easily. It changes the approach to health and safety management in the organisation so that all managers and employees are involved.’
Particularly recommended for any organisations with over 50 employees, the modularised format of iSafe allows it to provide industry-specific health and safety programmes to users in specific sectors: retail, construction, manufacturing and services. It is estimated that accidents and ill health costs the Irish economy €3.6 billion annually. iSafe allows businesses to reduce their own financial burden by reducing compensation claims, insurance premiums and administrative costs. Of course, it is not simply a matter of monetary gains; iSafe enables organisations to fulfil their corporate social responsibility, of which the health and wellbeing of employees is the most central tenet.
