Did you know that there are an estimated 8 million lone workers in the UK alone? And a total of 53 million across the US, Canada, and Europe?
In the UK, a survey reported that only 36% of lone workers would speak to their employer if they had safety concerns. However, over 90% of the employers surveyed believed that lone workers were regularly speaking to them about incidents and concerns.
Is this disparity being caused because the tools lone workers are using to report incidents and concerns aren’t giving employers the full picture? We think so. Reporting tools aren’t doing enough to allow employees to report problems instantly whilst it’s top of mind (without distracting them from ongoing tasks). Tools also aren’t automating enough to eliminate the need for employee input altogether.
In this article we’re going to look at how tools can be used to improve safety reporting, through making it easier to report and removing the burden on employees where possible through automation.
How are organisations reporting now?
In the UK, the law is to keep an accident book, which must record (for each accident) the name, address, and job title of the injured person; the time and date of the accident; the location of the accident; and a description of the injury and its causes.
It’s okay to have a paper-based system, but such systems have their limitations, and they can be considered wasteful if you’re trying to reduce your carbon footprint. Larger organisations will benefit from keeping a digital accident book. Most organisations have dedicated health and safety trained employees who will receive and process accident reports, such as an HR representative, or specific managers. It varies from place to place as to whether organisations keep hard copies, or digital copies of their accident books.
Formal regulations on reporting primarily focus on when incidents have occurred as opposed to prevention of incidents. Some organisations don’t have a formal process to report concerns, they use ad-hoc communications from employees which work their way up the chain of command.
What could improvements in reporting do for organisations?
Improving safety reporting can help organisations work toward several benefits, all of which can have an impact on the bottom line. Benefits like improved worker safety, increased employee retention, lower employee absences all work to ultimately reduce costs.
- Improved safety for all
Keeping colleagues and the public safe is the focus of a lot of work within governments, and organisations alike. Leading the way with safety improvements won’t just be ethically righteous, it can be a huge business benefit too.
- Better retention of staff
Staff are more likely to stay working for an employer if they feel their safety is valued and that their employer takes their concerns seriously. Having a reporting process that works for employees is the first step in creating that trust between employee and employer regarding safety.
- Less expense due to incidents
Incidents can cause employees to need time off. In turn this means overtime for colleagues, agency replacements or staff shortages. Sick pay and the costs of covering a missed shift aren’t the only expense related to absences. There are also costs of getting people back up to speed if it’s a lengthy absence, or adjustments which may need to be made upon their return.
On top of these considerations, organisations also run the risk of legal action against them.
- Less risk of legal action against the organisation
We’re all familiar with the phrase “Have you had an accident at work that wasn’t your fault?”. The phrase used by legal firms in adverts should tell you all you need to know about how work-place accidents are viewed by the legal system. Organisations can work toward avoiding becoming the subject of legal inquiries by proactively managing and improving safety in all possible aspects.
- Improve RIDDOR scores
Through accurate reporting, organisations can increase awareness of risks and eliminate hazards where possible. This can help to prevent repeat occurrences of incidents and lower RIDDOR scores over time.
Why a tool like Sense can help
Sense helps to record health and safety reporting digitally via wearable devices (Sense Badges), worn by frontline workers. Those who don’t want the advanced functionality of the Sense Badge can also connect to the system with the Sense mobile app.
The data collected is fed into a central dashboard where management teams can analyse and demonstrate data trends to auditors. This can help organisations working toward ISO45001 or looking to improve their RIDDOR scores.
Sense badges can also automate reports in some instances, such as a recorded fall, or when an SOS alert is sent. Adding further information to these reports can automatically be set up as a mandatory task specific to the employee carrying the badge.
Safety concerns can be identified without the need for employee reports where hazards are identified by environmental sensors, and further investigations can be carried out before an incident occurs.
If you’d like to learn more about using Sense as the tool to improve your organisations safety reporting, speak to an expert today.
