When we do demonstrations of our safety Forms and Recordkeeping component, we often get asked about what data gets stored with each record, and what reports (or queries) can be run later.  This post is meant to explain the functionality that is within our software, what we have in the works, and what functionality is NOT available in the system that you will need to look elsewhere to compliment the Safety Management System.



The SafetySync recordkeeping module allows you to store the following information (and thus later query):

1. Record Type (from list of Forms)
2. Date
3. Filled In By (from list of Employees)
4. Job # (a simple text field)
5. Location (from a list of Locations in the system or "Other"-which allows text to be entered)
6. Deficiencies (problem discovered, corrective action required, priority level, assignment, due date)

We are currently working on functionality that will also allow you to track (and later query):

7. Equipment # (from a list of Assets/Equipment)

The sorts of reports you can therefore run in the system would include:

• A list of Emergency Drills that were performed in the Edmonton last month (with links to the source record)
• A list of Hazard IDs that had one or more deficiencies discovered by Joe Blow (with links)
• A list of all Safety Meetings performed on job # 12345
• A list of all Inspections that were done on Tank A
• A list of all records that had deficiencies with the string "trip hazard" in them
• A list of all records that had priority levels that were "Critical"
• Etc...

What our forms and recordkeeping system cannot do, is delve into the data that is contained within each record:

• A list of Inspections that identified a pressure reading of 120psi on Pump B
• A list of Safety Meetings which Bob, Joanne and Dave attended
• A list of Emergency Drills that were completed in 2 minutes or less
• And so on...

In order to accomplish the latter, we highly recommend a field data capturing system, along the lines of what Spira Data Corp. offers with their Spira Mobile product.  I have worked with this product in the past and it is extremely flexible and robust, allowing companies to manage accounting, inventory, payroll (and yes even safety data).  Each form in Spira is no longer a piece of paper or an Excel spreadsheet, but an actual data capture tool that later synchronizes all the fields on the form to a database back end.  You can then query and report on any or all the fields on the form.  The form will take longer to build than a simple spreadsheet, but it will populate back-end systems like those used for invoicing and payroll.

The other advantage of Spira Mobile, is that it allows you to easily take the forms "offline" when there is no Internet connection available.  With our software you may occasionally have to print paper copies of certain forms or save them on the hard drive of a laptop or handheld, to be completed and later emailed, faxed or uploaded back to SafetySync.  Spira Mobile takes care of the synchronization automatically.

Spira comes at a cost, but if an organization spends enough time compiling and reporting on data captured in the field, it can be a huge time saver.  Many implementations can pay for themselves in less than a year.  Field data capture for work orders (or field tickets as they are sometimes called) is their specialization.  The return on investment for the forms that initiate the invoicing process are largest because they can significantly shorten your billing cycle (thereby improving your cash flow), and because lost forms or re-keying mistakes can cost the company revenue.  Unfortunately, capturing data on safety forms does not have these same benefits, so the business case is somewhat harder to justify.

If you like the data-capturing functionality offered by the Spira Mobile product, and would like to integrate it with the rest of your safety management system in SafetySync, contact our customer support, or the folks at Spira.

  Check out my most recent editorial in Worksite News.

I am often frustrated by the secondary priority that safety takes in some organizations, despite government regulations and internal policies that state otherwise.

The article explains what I feel is behind the seemingly illogical procrastination of safety initiatives.  Dr. Stephen Covey explains in his book "First Things First" that most people, including safety professionals, have an "urgency addition" that prevents us from doing the things that are truly important.  I also briefly discuss W. Edwards Demings belief that "the majority of problems in organizations are with systems, not people."

If you're looking to increase the importance of safety in your organization, you may want to read the article.  If my perspective on the issue intruiges you, you may want to pick up Covey's book!

Swine flu has pretty much come and gone from the front pages of our newspapers and the breaking news headlines of our daily news broadcasts.  Thank goodness it wasn't as serious as most major news outlets were making it out to be.  But if there's one thing I took from following the news coverage it was how rapidly influenza can spread to become a global pandemic. 

What started with the World Health Organization monitoring several strange cases of influenza in Mexico as early as March 18, quickly became 854 cases of pneumonia in Mexico by April 23 with 7 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 in the United States by April 24.  By May 1, 11 countries were reporting 331 cases and as of today's date, 46 countries have reported 12, 515 cases.

Most companies I was in touch with throughout the recent scare didn't start implementing some of the basic steps of their pandemic plans until more than 7-10 days after the story of swine flu first hit north american headlines (WHO's first update was dated April 24).  Had this particular type of influenza been any more serious, this reaction would have been far too little too late.  Some companies I was in touch with didn't even have a pandemic plan.  Yikes!  Hopefully this close call made them realize that they need one.

Would all or most of your essential employees be able to carry on work from home should there be a global pandemic?

Alberta Workplace Health and Safety recently released a guideline with respect to Pandemic Planning.

All the more reason to manage your organization's systems - such as the OHS management system - electronically.    

On April 17, 2009, Workplace Health and Safety released the 2009 revisions to Alberta's OHS Code.  Employers have until July 1, 2009 to comply with the new requirements before they become enforceable.

Part 9 of the OHS Code, which deals with Fall Protection, was the subject of some of the most significant revisions.  There are several new requirements in Part 9 dealing with work positioning, leading edge fall protection systems, equipment compatibility, fixed ladders, fall protection on vehicles and loads and procedures in place of fall protection equipment.  Further, some of the revisions expand employer responsibility with respect to fall protection plans and fall protection training.  In particular, subsection 141(2) now provides a prescriptive list of 10 topics that must be covered in fall protection training sessions.  According to Jason Laurie, the primary architect of these revisions, most fall protection training in Alberta falls short of complying with these new requirements.  

Enforcement of Alberta's OHS laws has increased almost ten-fold since 2005 when there were only 12 prosecutions resulting in $554,050 in fines.  In 2008 there were 22 prosecutions resulting in $5,083,000.  It has never been more important to ensure that your organization is complying with the minimum requirements of Alberta's OHS laws in order to avoid the costs associated with work-related incidents.  To further amplify how strictly Alberta's OHS laws are being enforced, on April 21, 2009 Workplace Health and Safety laid a total of 53 charges against three companies stemming from the deaths of two foreign workers at an oilsands project in northern Alberta.

It all boils down to implementing and maintaining an effective OHS management system that demonstrates due diligence and complies with the minimum requirements of Alberta's OHS laws.

Does your organization have one?

The Oil & Gas Inquirer recently had an excellent arcticle (Service Firms Plead for a Coordinated Safety Registry System) that highlights the controversy surrounding contractor registries, with a particular focus on ISNetworld.

Some of the more unflattering comments were:

    "...we're not really sure if there is a positive impact on the industry's safety performance."
    "It's an ongoing irritant to the contracting community."
          -  Wally Baer, President and CEO of Enform

    "You just don't need it here."
    "There is no value-added.  I don't think it assists the operator a whit in determining what is a safe rig."
          -  Don Herring, President of CAODC

    "ISNetworld is driving a proprietary standard that does not seem to support openness or data sharing..."
          -  Cal Fairbanks, President and CEO of Canadian HSE Registry

Personally, I feel that ISNetworld is being judged on its ability to deliver improved safety performance, which isn't entirely justified.  Contractor registries really only do one thing well: manage risk for prime contractors.  I mean really... how can a registry improve safety when the workers play absolutely no part in getting a company green-lighted in ISNetworld?  All the work is being done by each company's safety department (or increasingly by consultants) to write new policies that satisfy RAVS protocols.

By forcing contracting companies to write and submit more comprehensive safety policies, the prime contractors have satisfied their due diligence requirement.  What service companies may not realize is that the process exposes their companies to increased risk.  The sub-contracting firms must now adhere to the standard levels they've set for themselves in the policies.  This means service companies must properly communicate policies to employees, provide comprehensive awareness training, and so on.  If (and only if) the service companies do their part, and implement better safety management systems, will safety performance actually improve.

This is where Enform and their Certificate of Recognition can come in.  They actually send auditors to the service companies to review records and interview employees.  The COR process could either point out that the policy binders are simply collecting dust, or they could collect reports from a Safety Management System that demonstrates compliance.  This transformation is likely coming soon, so its probably best to invest in a Safety Management System like SAFETYSYNC and be prepared.

I have started to see a theme develop that is interesting when working with online safety management systems; they make safety managers a little uncomfortable… at first.

Originally I thought companies were hesitant to put their safety programs online because of the overall anxiety of pure change, working with new technology, and data security issues (which are not really issues, since online service providers like SafetySync have similar data security systems as major banks).

I now realize that some companies fear having an online safety management system because it could potentially expose holes in their safety. Huge piles of paperwork and forms make it difficult to monitor a company’s compliance levels, providing managers with a “safety net” in case certain elements are incomplete or poorly implemented.

Systems like SafetySync make it difficult (if not impossible) for companies to take short cuts when implementing their safety programs. For example, management can no longer sign off on a fifteen minute orientation that covers 3 days of content, and an employee can no longer acknowledge a 130 page safety manual after 30 seconds of reading.

The obvious downside to a comprehensive system is that things take time to do right the first time. The upside is that it is done right the first time, which saves lives and law suits.

Our clients that have completed this experience have found that discovering and filling holes in their safety program is a big job. In the end, they are rewarded with the comfort of knowing that their safety management system works, and that they have the documentation to back it up.

On Monday I read an article in OHS Canada Magazine about a 22 year-old worker being killed while replacing an industrial tire, while his co-worker was seriously injured.  This article especially hit home for me as my 19 year-old nephew did the same task last summer while working at a tire shop.
 

The article states, “The subsequent investigation found that the two workers received very little training on the proper procedures for replacing a truck tire, and received no written instructions at any point.”

Although it is obvious from the above statement that safe job procedures training would have helped prevent this accident, it begs the question, how you do you present this information to a young worker so that they want to review it?

Most (well, actually all) of the safe work procedures that I have reviewed are written in a binder in black and white… no pictures and no color… boring.  Not something that would encourage a young worker to stay focused; particularly when compared with the multimedia content young people are accustomed to seeing on the Internet.

There are a few things that we are doing at SafetySync to make safe work procedures a little more interesting for all workers (especially young workers) to review:

1. Pictures – We have added the capability to of add a picture to each step of the procedure.  A picture can show at a glance what might otherwise take paragraphs of long-winded text.  Visual memory is also better for long-term recollection of tasks, objects and situations.  
2. Color – In each step we use colors to give visual clues to ensure the worker understands the material (i.e. hazards are red and the controls are green).   A risk matrix also pops up for each step which presents a risk level in a visual format, ranking the hazard’s probability and severity.
3. Mobile Access – Our software runs on an internet browser, so workers can reference a company’s entire inventory of safe operating procedures right from their smart phones (like the Blackberry Storm or Apple iPhone). Inexperienced employees can spend a few minutes reviewing the task on the way to the job site, or immediately before they perform the work.  

We see technology as a great way to effectively involve workers in safety program requirements, such as reviewing safe work procedures. Not only does it track due diligence, but also is a more interesting and effective way to present the information.

  Please allow me to introduce myself:
  My name is Adam Neave and I am an OHS professional currently residing in Calgary. 

In 2003 I obtained a degree in OHS from Ryerson University.  Since then I practiced in both Toronto and Calgary as an OHS Consultant at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP - a full service national law firm specializing in OHS and workers' compensation matters.  While at Gowlings, I worked under the direction of Norm Keith - a leading Canadian OHS lawyer and author of Canadian Health and Safety Law (among many other books).  I had the opportunity to co-author A Practical Guide to OHS and Workers' Compensation Compliance in Alberta with Norm, along with several articles that were published in OHS Canada and Worksite News.  I also had the chance to assist in the successful defence of hundreds of OHS charges across Canada; investigate work-related incidents in accordance with CSA Z-796; facilitate training sessions for thousands of managers, supervisors, OHS and HR professionals; speak at conferences put on by Lorman Education Services and The Canadian Institute; and represent clients at all levels of workers' compensation appeal in Ontario and Alberta.

I recently acheived my Canadian Registered Safety Professional and my Certified Health and Safety Consultant designations and became a Licensed Paralegal through The Law Society of Upper Canada.  Even more recently I accepted a position to develop and facilitate a post-secondary OHS curriculum at The College of the North Atlantic in Doha, Qatar.  I will be heading to the Middle East in August.

In the meantime I will be contributing to the SafetySync blog.  I first met Brian Nodwell and Brad Caldwell at the Alberta Health and Safety Conference and was immediately impressed with SafetySync - an online OHS management system tracking program, which was far better than any other I had seen (and still is).  After having been involved in defending OHS prosecutions I can say sincerely with all of my heart that I hope the days of OHS management systems on paper in a binder or on spreadsheets will soon be behind us.  In my experience most were poorly administered and did little to prevent fatalities or serious injuries and even fewer were able to demonstrate due diligence when push came to shove.  SafetySync is progressive and user friendly and will go a long way in preventing hair loss for OHS professionals that decide to start administering their OHS management system electronically.  

I am very excited to stay tuned to the continuous improvement of the SafetySync software and to contribute to one of the best OHS blogs that the internet has to offer.

Printed material has been the most efficient means of storing and sharing documents since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440.  Paper documents became even more pervasive when as computer companies like Hewlett Packard made printers affordable enough to be available in every office.

I saw an article recently about Kindle, Amazon.com's electronic book.  Newsweek calls it "the iPod of reading".  It can download any book from a catalog of 240,000 titles in just 60 seconds.  And it can store 1,500 books!  Amazon has already sold over 500,000 of the electronic books, and they can't keep up with demand.  This trend has enough momentum that I think kids growing up 30 years from now will have to go to a museum to see a printed book.

Paper is still ingrained in our business culture though, and safety departments are one of the heaviest users.  I've seen companies that have an administrator in the safety department dedicated to printing, binding and distributing paper full time.  Just think how much paper is generated for policy manuals, procedure binders, Material Safety Data Sheets and the dozens of types of safety forms.

It's hard to imagine now, but I see paper use steadily falling over the next few decades, as more and more companies realize that storing documents online is more reliable, secure and cost effective than paper.  This transition will happen sooner in organizations with dispersed workforces; nearly all workers now have (or will soon have) access in the field to a computer (or similar device) and the Internet.  With the right software (ie. an online Safety Management System like SAFETYSYNC), a company will have all it needs to make the move to electronic documents.  Solutions that offer the ability to print and sign a document will be the ones that are adopted first, since this practice is still important for due diligence purposes.

Our Form and Recordkeeping components are going to be released soon in Beta for testing.  If you're interested in moving some or all of your forms online, give us a call!

I get this question at nearly every meeting with a prospective client.  There is still a perception in the business world that data is more secure or reliable on a corporate network than on the Internet, presumably because the latter is connected to nearly every other computer in the world.  Corporate networks were probably more secure and reliable in the 1990's, but Internet data centers long ago passed corporate networks on these fronts.

I ran IT departments at a handful of companies over the years, and although I was proud of our systems, we were always constrained by budgets and staffing levels; meaning we had adequate systems, but never the best systems available.  Internet data centers do not have these constraints and spare no expenses; their networks and infrastructures are truly outstanding.  They can guarantee uptime (99.99%) that corporate networks can only dream of.

We outsource our data center to RackForce Networks, and they offer the following security and reliability features:
    -  A location outside natural disaster zones (earthquake, hurricane, tornado, flood)
    -  Redundant hydro-electric substations
    -  Standby diesel generators
    -  Fiber-optic gigabit Internet backbone connections with multiple Tier 1 providers
    -  Redundant UPS systems
    -  Electronic security systems
    -  In-floor HVAC and GeoThermal heat pumps
    -  A network operations centre with around-the-clock monitoring
    -  Corporate partnerships with IBM, Microsoft and Cisco
    -  etc. etc. etc.

What is particularly great about RackForce is that they are located in Canada (Kelowna, BC specifically).  Some of our clients have expressed concern about data privacy resulting from the Patriot Act, which provides the US government certain abilities to access information at data centers south of the border.  I doubt the US government would ever see a need to access safety management data, but at least the possibility has been eliminated by having our data stored in Canada.