How to Select Best EHS Software For Your Company?
How to Select Best EHS Software For Your Company?
While EHS software have been generally marketed as a digital tool that can effectively help companies keep their compliance to their state or nation’s Environmental Health and Safety laws, a lot of emerging
nowadays have designed EHS software not for compliance-purposes alone but also for the following aspects:
Financial –
Besides the savings that the company gets to gain for staying compliant to the rules, proper EHS management aided by a good EHS software can help save on potential employee compensation claims and incidents and accidents that could have happened if there were no safety and health measures at hand.
Reputation –
Bad EHS management can negatively project a company’s reputation in the eyes of the customers and the entire community. This is what EHS software can also address. It helps monitor and maintain EHS in every workplace such that EHS related issues can be prevented and a healthy environment can be sustained. Lies in this is the opportunity for every company to market their EHS efforts and to protect their reputation by alleviating risks that could be hazardous both to the people and the environment.
Also Read – Improve Customer Service Using Queue Management Software
Employee Retention –
With properly practiced EHS measures, employees in a workplace tend to be more open and conscious about the environmental health and safety areas. They are consequently motivated to be on board too. Proper EHS can make employees feel safer and be more confident in their line of work knowing their company cares for their safety and well being. This equates to positive feedback which can attract more potential employees to apply for a position.
In choosing an EHS software, it can be difficult to choose between a wide range of providers. They will initially look similar; hence it needs a guided dissecting to find out which one is truly best for your company. An essential preliminary step in this phase would be to request a software demo just so you can get a glimpse of how the software designs and implements the ABCs of EHS.
While on it, assess your experience based on the following reference points:
1. How can it address the EHS issues of your company?
More often than not, the extra features are only useful once in a blue moon. It is the basic features that count most as they are designed to eliminate the problems that can be done away with from the manual EHS management approach. Instead of getting carried away by the extra promising offers, try to dig deeper into the problems that your company is facing and see if the EHS software can solve it effectively and with ease of use.
2. How is it in terms of usability?
If the EHS software is easy to use, then it is a big plus as a support for the EHS team. As much as possible, stay away with EHS software that may be rich in features but are likewise hard to use or adapt. Such a hindrance can discourage employees and will only affect their productivity.
An EHS software’s “user-friendliness” is always worth marketing.
3. Does it produce reports? If yes, what kinds of report does it generate?
A good EHS software should help the management come up with a guided EHS decision that can boost the company’s EHS slowly but significantly by generating relevant reports. And such reports must be displayed in a matter of seconds using the most updated data under essential filters.
4. Can it be configured without the EHS software provider’s touch?
Try to choose an EHS software that only requires minimal customization to avoid the time-consuming implementation. As much as possible, though, choose one that you can configure without the presence of your software provider regardless if the latter offers it for free or not. This is to avoid the hassle and system downtime that can be equated to loss.
5. Is the software pro-scalability?
When investing in a digital solution such as EHS software, you will want to make sure that the software can still be useful even as your requirements change over time. An anti-scalable system will drain your resources and discourage your employees as you will have to purchase a brand new system that fits the requirements. Try to find an EHS software that produces features in modules so you can begin small and grow when the need arises.
6. Does it come with a mobile app?
A mobile app with features that can be used even without an internet connection will essentially help your EHS staff capture data in the field in real time. It should be compatible with the two giant operating systems of today: Android and iOS.
7. Does the EHS software provider offer complimentary user orientations, trainings, and support?
Timely technical supports are vital to prevent downtimes from taking place. This necessitates 24/7 available tech support that can be reached through phone or email. Also, your EHS software provider must be open at providing trainings for different types of users – from the general ones to the managers with stricter access rights. Lastly, try to see until what extent can the EHS software provider offers in terms of user orientation and training.
8. Is the software the best value you could get at its price?
First and foremost, do not evaluate an EHS software that is too pricey for your budget. Before even dissecting into the details, ask the provider upfront about the real cost of the software including its upgrades, maintenance, configurations, etc. As mentioned, the more feature it comes with, the pricier it must surely get.
Now, if the software is right within your budget range, do not jump into the deal right away. Give some time to assess if it is indeed the best software you can get at its price. If the need is not urgent, choose wisely and smartly as much as possible.
One of the common errors companies make in choosing an EHS software is overestimating the functionality and features they need. Do not follow their path especially if you are just starting out. Instead, stick to the basics.
Also Read – Five Unexpected Ways Telemedicine Software Can Make Your Life Better