Starting a new job can be daunting, especially if it is your first position working in environmental health and safety (EHS) or as an EHS manager. This is why you must make the most of all the tools available so that you can find success within your new position. As someone who is just starting out in EHS, or as a safety manager who has never used EHS management software, it is important to learn how to utilize all of its components as it has the power to both make your job easier and ensure the safety of your team which is always the top priority. It can help you build action plans, assess risk, create training modules, and follow incidence trends. So, how should you get started with your newfound tool?
Take the Time for Training
In order to make sure you are getting the most out of the EHS management software your company has provided you with, you need to go through the training modules provided. It is important that you know the ins and outs of the software, so going through the modules and becoming comfortable using the various programs, analytical tools, and data mining options should be your first point of business. Once you have gained a working knowledge of the product you can then move on to assessing and building on the existing management programs for environmental and risk management, as well as waste disposal depending on the business you work for.
Creating Action Plans
Now that you are comfortable using the software you can check out the employee profiles in the system and assess the risk management programs in place. You can see the risk trends that have been compiled from the incident reporting software which works in conjunction with the EHS management software. This way you can assess how effective the current risk management plans are and analyse the incident trends associated with them. This will give you a comprehensive picture of whether or not the current plans are effective or if you need to go in and adapt them or completely overhaul them. If it appears that certain areas have higher rates of incidents such as on a certain assembly line in a manufacturing plant, then you can quickly investigate that team to see if they lack the requisite safety gear, or if someone is not adhering to safety regulations which is why more workplace accidents are occurring. Now that you are quickly getting a 360-degree view of the safety protocols you are better able to provide training modules through the software to increase employee safety awareness/skills, and hopefully decrease the incidents in that area.
Staying on Top of Waste Management
Waste management and meeting environmental regulations are key parts of an EHS manager’s job. EHS management software in conjunction with environmental management software can help you stay on top of this aspect of your position. The system keeps track of proper waste disposal procedures and disposal sites, and can even track specific shipments or waste containers.
Ensuring that changing regulations are met both for safety and disposal is extremely important, and it can be very difficult to keep up with changing laws not only in your own state or province, but also if you are working across provincial or state lines. The regulations can become that much more complex which is why ensuring you meet all of them is an important aspect of your new role. The software aggregates all of this together so that you can quickly assess the EHS working environment you have entered and quickly get up to speed on all of the current practices, and those that may need to be changed.
Make the most of all the tools at your disposal and keep your team as safe and compliant as possible!
