10 Benefits of EHS Software
Companies are increasingly making the switch to EHS software — and for good reason.
In fact, investment in EHS software has skyrocked in recent years, with nearly half (42%) of EHS directors planning to increase spending on technology in 2018.
EHS software offers many advantages for both companies and individual employees, from increased productivity to lower costs and better overall performance.
If your organization is on the fence, it’s worth considering these 10 benefits of EHS software:
Benefits of EHS Software
- Save time
- Lower costs
- Streamline reporting
- Increase transparency
- Work on the go
- Improve performance
- Connect employees
- Leverage system intelligence
- Standardize & centralize
- Reduce risk
1. Save time
EHS teams and consultants spend too much time on administrative tasks. Software features like dashboards and notifications can eliminate many of these time-consuming tasks. It’s not uncommon for teams to see a 50% or more time savings on tasks like management reporting, data review and analysis, and following up on tasks. As we’ll see in a minute, mobile EHS software systems are especially productive because employees can capture data on-the-go from any tablet or cell phone.
2. Lower costs
Increasing employee productivity is one way EHS software helps lower costs. It can also help prevent unwanted events and their related costs legal fees, medical and workers compensation expenses, fines, lost administrative time, and related travel expenses. In our experience, most customers see a payback on their investment in under a year.
3. Streamline reporting
Reporting is one of the most time consuming activities for EHS professionals. Software saves time by allowing you to create complex reports in minutes, using data captured in real-time at the source. With a data warehouse tool, you can even create fully formatted custom reports for air, GHG, water, waste and other permits.
4. Increase transparency
As shareholders and customers demand more transparency around environmental, health and safety, and sustainability performance, companies face new reporting challenges. Software enables companies to report on key metrics in a more integrated (and efficient) way. In addition to external reporting, software en5.ables transparency within the company. Dynamic dashboards allow executives and EHS leaders to see where they stand at all times. And with the help of automatic alerts and notifications, need-to-know staff can stay informed about key metrics in real-time and from anywhere.
5. Work on the go
Mobile apps are one of the most exciting developments in EHS software. Instead of traveling to each facility, apps enable to you assign inspections and other tasks at the facility level. Supervisors and employees can capture data remotely — even offline — and sync it to the central database. The newest developments in apps enable employees to capture observations in real-time, including images and video, from a kiosk or tablet.
6. Improve performance
Usually, you can’t see trends in safety or environmental performance until reports are run at the end of a period. But with EHS software, you’re able to visualize your data in real-time on dynamic dashboards. Maybe you notice an uptick in near misses at a particular location? EHS software lets you see these red flags immediately so you can manage them before an accident happens.
7. Connect employees
When you’ve got hundreds of employees spread out across different departments and locations, it can seem all but impossible to keep everyone on the same page. EHS software brings all your data and activities together in one place so employees can collaborate and get more done.
8. Leverage system intelligence
EHS software adds a layer of intelligence to your data — one that’s not possible with spreadsheets. From automatically alerting you when permit limits or thresholds are exceeded to assigning event-triggered corrective actions, software can help you optimize your company’s performance.
9. Standardize & centralize
Think about all the places your EHS data is spread out: paper files, spreadsheets, homegrown databases… That forces people to waste time searching for the information they need, contributes to data inconsistencies, and makes it all but impossible to get a clear picture of your performance. But what if everyone could easily find the information they need? What if everyone recorded data in a consistent, predictable way? What if you could keep track of all your deadlines and activities in a centralized calendar? With EHS software, you can.
10. Reduce risk
When you’ve got different spreadsheets and databases for each of your data sources — risk assessments, incident reports, environmental data, and so on — it’s hard to get a clear picture of your risk profile. EHS software enables you to score your risks and build a risk register in dynamic dashboards, so you can proactively identify issues and set up mitigation plans.