Can Social Media Tools Empower Employees To Prevent Accidents?

Can Social Media Tools Empower Employees To Prevent Accidents?
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Using the engaging Safety PAL app to receive and disseminate up-to-date OSH information

Using the engaging Safety PAL app to receive and disseminate up-to-date OSH information

Photo Credit: Safety PAL

Can a simple app encourage employees to become enthusiastic about their own safety and health? Can an app engage workers and prevent workplace accidents? Can it help business owners and directors to manage safety and health more effectively, protecting them from potential penalties?

A Revolution In Attitudes Toward Safety & Health

By harnessing the power of technology, social media and online communication, a real shift in attitudes toward occupational safety and health (OSH) has already been achieved by some companies in the United Kingdom (UK), according to Karl Spencer, founder and Managing Director of PAL Software Ltd, a company based in Nottinghamshire, UK.

These companies empower their employees to upload relevant and engaging safety videos and share them with their colleagues. They improve productivity by allowing their contractors and workers to take part in virtual safety briefings before they arrive on-site. They make it easier for managers to oversee all aspects of OSH, no matter where employees are working.

How is this possible? The answer is that they use an internet-based application (app), which enables them to do all this and more.

Developing An App That Streamlines Safety & Health And Cuts Costs

Safety PAL can be accessed 24/7 via any internet-connected device

Safety PAL can be accessed 24/7 via any internet-connected device

Photo credit: Safety PAL

During the three years he spent developing the Safety PAL app, Karl Spencer spoke with many directors, managers and supervisors in a variety of industries. They said they were looking for an easy-to-use system that would help them comply with all the occupational safety and health regulations that exist under current legislation.

They were looking for a single system that would allow them to implement a holistic approach to occupational safety and health throughout their organizations. They were convinced that such a system didn’t exist.

A common comment was that investment in five or six different systems was required to ensure full compliance with safety and health regulations. However, using so many systems was time-consuming and expensive, especially for smaller companies with limited budgets.

That’s why Safety PAL was developed as a cost-effective, integrated stand-alone safety and health system. Once it’s installed, everyone in the company is involved in OSH and no other systems are needed. Safety PAL integrates seamlessly with existing systems and is always available via the internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“The biggest benefit of Safety PAL is keeping everything in one central hub, centered around health and safety at work and health and safety at sites for clients, “ according to Gawaine Yates of AECOM, a company that provides project management services for infrastructure projects.

Resolving Communication Breakdowns With Social Media

During his discussions, Karl Spencer found out that, despite forms being filled in and boxes being ticked, important safety announcements and information were not being communicated to the people who carried out the jobs - the people who took on the most personal risk.

If these people could receive that information directly, on their cell phones, rather than on notice boards in off-site locations, then a lot of accidents could be prevented.

That’s why he ensured that Safety PAL communicates information in real time directly to cell phones, so that workers can pick up a safety alert wherever they are working and managers can upload documents or grant approval at the touch of a button, whether they are working on-site, traveling or in their offices.

Preventing Projects From Starting For Safety Reasons

Karl Spencer also discovered that the correct documentation was not always in place before a project went ahead. In some instances, documents had been uploaded on safety management systems but they had not been verified to ensure that they were the correct documents and were valid at the time of the project.

Examples of such cases included:

  • work permits being issued before risk assessments were completed
  • workers starting jobs before watching and understanding mandatory safety videos
  • insurance policies that were valid when the project was planned expiring after the project’s start-date.

Therefore, when developing Safety PAL, Karl wanted to make sure the system prevented a project from starting if all the correct and valid documentation had not been uploaded and verified.

Industry-wide And Worldwide Communication Helps Prevent Accidents

Communication within industries and across different industries helps prevent accidents

Communication within industries and across different industries helps prevent accidents

Photo credit: Safety PAL

Safety PAL also promotes wider communication not only within a company but also between a company and its clients, suppliers and inspectors, as well as across industries. Clients, suppliers and inspectors can easily log into the system to be updated on projects and to follow a full audit trail.

Important safety and health information can be shared with other companies worldwide. This means that everyone in the industry can learn from improvements.

How Virtual Safety Briefings Prevent Accidents And Increase Productivity

Safety PAL saves time and increases productivity by allowing contractors and workers to take part in virtual safety briefings before arriving on-site.

These safety briefings can be easily filmed at the work site using a cell phone. Seeing a video of the actual site where they will be working increases the impact of the video and makes the information being conveyed more real to the workers.

This helps workers recall the information more quickly when they are on-site, allowing them to react quickly to hazards and prevent accidents.

“From an organizational point of view, Safety PAL helps us to manage our own employees when they are on-site. They’ve gone through the correct processes and they are managing their own health and safety, even when they go to sites where health and safety controls aren’t what they should be,” according to Gawaine Yates.

Reducing The Risks Companies Take

Many companies are not fully aware of the risks they are taking by carrying out only tick-in-the box checks and not adopting a technology-based holistic approach to managing safety and health. The results are that accidents still happen and companies still receive hefty fines and penalties.

Implementing the Safety PAL app can reduce a company’s risks substantially, make all work sites safer places for all workers and contractors, and ultimately prevent serious injury or even a death.

The author received compensation in exchange for writing this article.

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