For a lot of medium to large scale companies, management of EHS or Environment, Health and Safety is an integral part of their processes. EHS management is where practice and codification of standards focus at upholding safety of workers and the work environment.
In this digital age, a more convenient and efficient solution to help better manage EHS has been introduced. EHS software are now widely sold in the market and they often vary in terms of features and price. What they basically do are:
- Automate the loggings of all EHS-relevant data in the company which on the upside preserves data integrity and speeds up the data storage and retrieval process
- Incorporate the updates of the stately EHS regulations to make compliance easier and manageable on the part of the businesses
- Automate report generation. Here, reports are way much accessible and on time. Such reports can significantly help facilitate a more tailored EHS company policy to adhere better to the EHS laws in the country.
- Depending on the software’s advancement, it can carry out forecasting and risk analysis that can essentially assist in the decision-making process of the management in light of EHS grounds.
Understanding EHS management better…
EHS management revolves around the three areas mentioned in the acronym. In general, this discipline aims to protect and make every employee and the rest in the work environment safe.
Specifically, E which stands for “environment” pertains to the environment or geographical surroundings around a company and the prevention of environmental hazards like air pollution or chemical spills. H which stands for “health”, meanwhile, pertains to the things that can jeopardize the health of employees in a workplace. These include radiation, pathogens, and exposure to foul odors or noise. Last is the S which stands for “safety”. This area essentially focuses on preventing work-related accidents, injuries, and even near misses.
When done manually, EHS management can be an extremely challenging task. Although it needs much attention, more often than not, EHS professionals who were deprived of a digital solution would end up being stuck with clerical works as they would have to manage the data and processes using paper and pen. Maintaining piles of documents can already consume a big chunk of time, more so when updates need to be reflected on the records.
This is why EHS software exist. Their perks have essentially helped in preventing a significant number of injuries, illnesses, near misses, and environmental hazards. With their help, OSHA and other global organizations were able to promote and instill the importance of EHS to prevent tragedies while making corporations safer for workers.
EHS management that was done efficiently in the past was able to save lives and the planet from potential environmental threats. It has also helped in immensely improving the rights and safety of every worker. Companies, meanwhile, are encouraged to practice and implement EHS standards by heart as it is a responsibility owed to the planet and the workers. EHS management should not just be a form of compliance with EHS regulation.
EHS Manager’s Role…
An EHS manager has a critical set of responsibilities. That is why a company’s EHS section is often comprised of a manager and a team of people. The EHS manager, overall, is there to identify, lessen, and regulate risks and hazards. Some of an EHS manager’s tasks include:
- Carrying out job hazard analysis and spearheading the health and safety management program
- Organizing and engaging in safety committees and carrying out incident investigations
- Monitoring environmental, health, and safety training
- Imposing EHS regulatory compliance
- EHS data gathering and analysis
- Enhancing human and operational performance
EHS Management’s future…
The world is becoming more aware and stricter on matters related to the environment and the ever evolving technology has given hope that new protection measures to better enforce EHS are viable. EHS professionals’ focus at the moment is to keep abreast with the changes and utilize technology as much as possible.
Multinational companies, meanwhile, tend to struggle on EHS management as they’d have to keep up with the EHS regulations of the countries they have branched in. And to date, this has remained a challenge although EHS software has helped each branch cope with the daily challenges.
EHS Software to the rescue…
Stately EHS regulations change from time to time and yet it’s vital that companies keep up with this constant change to ensure compliance. Fortunately, EHS software can help monitor these changes and aid in managerial decision making. Using a good EHS software, tracking EHS challenges and improving the company’s performance on its grounds becomes easier. On top of its basic benefits, it facilitates better compliance with EHS regulations. How it easily collects data makes the monitoring and conforming both reliable and convenient.
In choosing an EHS software for your company, as much as possible, go for a scalable option – a customizable software that can ease EHS management without compromising its effectiveness Also, the software has to be easy to use and deploy. Through this, you’ll be firm that ROI can be attained as it can genuinely help manage EHS for the betterment of safety and health of your employees and the work environment. Additionally, the software has to be adaptable should your business expand in the future. Lastly, as system downtimes are dreaded because EHS is dealing with the health and safety of employees, do not discount the importance of long term tech support if you opt for an off the shelf purchase.
Your EHS software should be able to perform the following:
- Identify and lay out plan of action for hazards in advance
- Monitor critical information in real time and allows multiple access from different locations
- Allow storage of scanned safety data sheets
- Compile incident investigations
- Monitor responses to spill
- Administer tracking of emissions
- Facilitate and spearhead EHS trainings
These are just a few of the perks an EHS software can provide. Using it, it is believed that a company can implement a more organized and effective EHS policy.
