Understanding Safety Software Solutions
There is a wide spectrum of options. What do you need to know to protect your team?
- By Gen Handley
- Sep 06, 2023
In 1935, British mathematician and eventual computer pioneer Alan Turing developed the theory for software. While only an idea at the time, it would lead to the online platforms and applications that we use every day, integral components to modern life and work.
This includes occupational health and safety, a field that benefits from both tactile safety measures such as PPE and fall prevention, as well as digital, intangible protocols like health and safety software. The people and employees are the most valuable resource within an organization and must be protected. In 2020, nearly 5,000 Americans died on the job, with employees in transportation and material moving roles and construction and extraction occupations making up almost half of those deaths.
Employee safety impacts everyone and therefore should be a top priority for everyone within the organization, involving all departments and positions.
A Wide Range of Solutions
As you will see below, occupational health and safety software can provide a range of different features and benefits. Despite the many variations of this software, the primary objective always remains the same — to protect your people, property and organization according to your local OSHA legislation and regulations. Let’s review the various types of safety software:
Health and safety training software. A major component of a successful and effective work safety program is regular training and educational sessions or workshops for team members. Health and training software manages the education and training of important safety procedures, policies and protocols, including interactive modules and virtual simulations for training, tracking and monitoring of employee training progress, as well as integration with compliance and employee monitoring software.
Compliance management software. Compliance management software ensures that your workplace and its activities are aligned with local occupational health and safety legislation and other legal requirements. Ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements, this software can help you track regulatory and legislative changes as well as improve collaboration amongst staff through new, staff-wide safety practices and protocols. Failing to comply will put your people in danger and put your company at risk of heavy fines from the OSHA — in 2022, OSHA fined a roofing contractor $1.3 million for repeated failure to comply with safety regulations and having a long history of safety violations.
This article originally appeared in the September 2023 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.