Despite the fact that there has been some fairly sophisticated workplace safety software on the market for a number of years, there are a great number of companies who still rely on paper-based systems for a number of critical workplace safety systems. Incident reporting, hazard management, contractor/employee inductions and contractor management to name a few.

The problem is that, in most cases, these paper-based systems appear to be doing the job to at least to a passable level. However, if you start looking at workplace safety software as a business decision, and hold each system accountable for its impact on your company's bottom line, you may find them somewhat lacking.

Time Consumption: Paper-based systems generally require a lot of time to maintain in any effective way. If you want to record data (and you do!), it needs to be entered manually. Furthermore, if you need to create reports, you need to sift through the recorded data to find the relevant information. For larger companies, this can take weeks of man-hours. When it comes to inductions, the time spent conducting face-to-face training across multiple sites or divisions can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars!

Inconsistencies: The more difficult a task becomes, the less likely it is to be done properly. For example, if your incident reporting system is complicated and hard to manage, chances are many incidents will go unreported. This is especially true of larger organisations. Good workplace safety software is almost always designed to bring simplicity to process.

Information: Without well recorded data, OHS managers will find it difficult to know how their workplace safety systems need to be improved. They may even find it difficult to know where the weaknesses are - unless they are staring them in the face. With relevant, up-to-date information through instant reports and graphs, OHS managers can see immediately where an issue may lie. Do incidents focus around a particular piece of machinery or site? Is there a particular part of your induction training module that is proving too difficult? Are contractors entering your site without insurances? The better your information and the quicker you have it - the safer you can make your site! Paper based systems simply do not provide this kind of information unless you spend a lot of time looking for it. Workplace safety software, in most cases, does.

The simple fact is that workplace safety software not only enables you to implement a smoother process, it gives you the tools to enable you to create a safer workplace. So no matter what aspect of your safety management you are looking to improve, the workplace safety software solution you need is already out there improving safety for someone else.