Safety Management Systems
What are the benefits of a cloud-based safety management system?
Responding is Kevin Richards, EHS director – North America, ProcessMAP, Sunrise, FL.
The traditional means of recordkeeping have become antiquated. Yet, organizations are slow to implement digital transformation tools such as cloud-based technologies, especially when it comes to safety. Many employers are resistant to cloud-based tools because of the possible learning curve for employees and concerns about the security of the data stored on the platform. However, they need to understand that “the standard way of doing things” often leaves their employees vulnerable, can severely hurt brand reputation and can result in noncompliance with OSHA standards.
Using the right safety management tools, safety managers can rest assured they will reduce safety issues and remain in compliance. Cloud-based safety management systems provide a streamlined platform to maintain real-time data in a secure location. When evaluating a safety management system, safety managers should ask three important questions before implementation begins:
Does it provide accurate record keeping?
A safety management system should provide a user-friendly dashboard to report and track employee injuries and incidents on the job. With a cloud-based platform, every employee is held accountable for workplace safety, and issues can be easily recorded in real time. These up-to-date metrics – such as near misses and lost-time accidents – then can be reported to relevant stakeholders at any given moment.
An effective safety management system also can calculate various incident rates so safety managers can gain a holistic view of organizational performance. With safety training being key to preventing injuries, organizations can manage training for new employees as well as ongoing refreshers to ensure compliance with ever-changing OSHA standards. With data analytics built into the system, safety managers also can ensure the organization is on track to meet safety goals and milestones.
Is it saving time?
A cloud-based safety management system should be user-friendly and configurable to meet unique business needs. Using detailed incident reporting, the platform should be able to determine the contributing factors in an incident – such as not wearing the right personal protective equipment. The safety manager then will conduct an investigation to pinpoint the root cause of the incident, and these details and results can be saved directly in the system for increased efficiency. Corrective and preventive actions can be sent to key individuals in an organization to prevent reoccurrences. Action items can be sent as email notifications with regular reminders until the task is completed and the effectiveness of the corrective action is verified.
With a robust system, safety managers have complete control to track employee health and well-being in real time. If an incident occurs, a cloud-based system allows for seamless integration with third-party administrators for claims management. Data exchange between the organization and TPA is easily managed to eliminate duplicate processes.
Is it secure?
Data security threats are always a concern for employers. When it comes to using a cloud-based safety management system, it’s important that safety managers understand where the data is stored, how data transfer occurs, who can access and modify data, what happens when the data is deleted, and how a backup is performed. A clear understanding of these security measures ensures data risks are mitigated and safeguarded from malicious attacks.
A safety management system should have an information classification scheme of four-level authentication to increase the confidentiality and reliability of the data. At this authentication level, data is private, sensitive, critical and confidential. Proper security controls such as authentication, encryption, monitoring, archiving, recovery, business continuity and physical security all should be considered to ensure compliance.
Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy work environment for all employees. With the right safety management system, safety managers can ensure workplace conditions are constantly being examined and issues are being addressed immediately. Using best-in-class cloud-based tools, organizations can ensure OSHA compliance and provide precise records in a streamlined way during an inspection or audit.
Editor’s note: This article represents the independent views of the author and should not be construed as a National Safety Council endorsement.
- Published in Uncategorized
Technical Safety BC releases Investigation Report into 2017 fatal incident at Fernie Memorial Arena
Vancouver, BC (July 25, 2018) – Technical Safety BC today released its Investigation Report into the ammonia release at Fernie Memorial Arena on October 17, 2017, which tragically resulted in three fatalities, as well as the evacuation of 95 residents from 55 nearby homes.
The report provides an overview of the incident, the scope of the investigation, and key findings regarding contributing factors. Technical Safety BC also made 18 recommendations to further improve safety in ice rink refrigeration systems, and discussed a number of regulatory actions taken in recent months to prevent similar incidents.
The Fernie incident is believed to be the first of its kind, in which a leak of ammonia into a secondary coolant – in this case brine – led to pressurization in a pipe that resulted in the pipe coupling separation and a rapid release of ammonia into an enclosed room.
“Our report is focused on understanding the factors that led to the incident and providing recommendations to improve safety and prevent a similar tragedy,” said Janice Lee, Director of Safety Oversight at Technical Safety BC. “Since the incident occurred last year, Technical Safety BC has taken decisive action to advance the safety of ammonia refrigeration facilities in the province. We issued a province-wide Safety Order requiring all public occupancy ammonia refrigeration plants – including arenas – to test for ammonia leaks and shut down the system if necessary. All 185 facilities in British Columbia have fulfilled the obligation and are compliant.”
The incident report is based upon the evidence presented and available at the time of the investigation, which took place between October 2017 and June 2018. The investigation explored pre-incident and post-incident factors that may have contributed to the ammonia leak at Fernie Memorial Arena. Technical Safety BC analyzed equipment and its condition and reviewed inspection reports and the results of systems testing. The team also examined relevant organizational and operational decisions that may have contributed to the incident, and inspected and tested the alarm, ventilation and discharge systems.
The investigation identified three areas where evidence indicates contributing factors leading to the incident and the impact to the arena and surrounding community:
- Failure of refrigeration system equipment;
- Operational decisions that contributed to the incident; and,
- Impact of inadequate ventilation and discharge systems following the incident.
Based on the findings of the investigation, the incident resulted from practices that were common in the industry at the time.
It is imperative that industry and owners of refrigeration systems learn a number of lessons from this incident, but two in particular stand out,” said Jeff Coleman, Director of Risk and Safety Knowledge with Technical Safety BC and leader of the investigation team. “First, maintenance programs for refrigeration systems must address and alleviate the risks presented by aging equipment. And second, even very small leaks of refrigerant can indicate extremely hazardous situations.”
Technical Safety BC has made 18 recommendations to prevent a recurrence of this type of incident and improve safety in ice rink refrigeration systems throughout BC. These recommendations seek improvements to:
- owner maintenance programs, especially in relation to aging equipment;
- identification of leak hazards and professional disclosure of such hazards;
- training of owners’ representatives, operators and mechanics; and,
- secondary coolant system configuration and construction.
“This has been a terrible loss for the families of the three workers and had a deep impact on the whole community of Fernie,” said Quinn Newcomb, Interim Vice President of Human Resources, Learning and Engagement. “We will work with stakeholders to enhance the safety system to prevent a similar tragedy from ever happening again.”
“Technical Safety BC believes safety is a shared responsibility and will take a leadership role in meeting with stakeholder groups including plant owners, maintenance contractors, training providers, municipalities, and the Canadian Standards Association to present and discuss the recommendations and improve facility maintenance procedures and programs,” added Newcomb.
Full report is available here: https://www.technicalsafetybc.ca/fernieincident
- Published in Uncategorized