EHS 2019 Recap: Notable News, Insights And Trends

As we’ve made it halfway through 2019, it may be useful to check in on some of the major trends and insights occurring in the Environmental, Health and Safety sector. According to the National Safety Council, a worker is injured on the job every seven seconds. It isn’t just up to the workers and their managers to maintain a safe workplace culture. Business leaders and executives also hold the responsibility of keeping employees safe. With today’s high-quality EHS capabilities, organizations are more empowered than ever to create and maintain safe workplaces. Although EHS technologies have effectively mitigated many workplace injuries, we are far from an incident-free world.

To be the best at what we do, it’s important that we look at the industry as a whole, taking into account advancements in technologies and priorities. Here are some of the major EHS trends and insights of 2019 thus far:

Increased Spending on EHS

There are some areas of business that companies’ decision-makers are trying to cut back on. Others require extra attention and increased spending. This year, it seems that EHS has become a spending priority for business leaders looking to step up their compliance and productivity. According to Verdantix, a renowned research and consulting voice in the EHS market, worldwide spending on EHS solutions is projected to increase by 4% in 2019. Businesses that hadn’t yet jumped onboard the EHS software train seem to be doing so of late, and those that have already implemented these technologies into their solutions are upping their spend. Budget increases are put toward things like improved training, digital upgrades and updated personal protective equipment.

The Rise of Cross-functional Collaboration

One of the major issues facing EHS teams is the siloed way in which they report data and conduct their work. This two-dimensional approach presents a hindrance to performance improvement. Since EHS occurs in multiple disciplines of the business, it is crucial that organization leaders encourage their workers and managers to adopt EHS as an interconnected function across all areas of the business. It’s not just something those who work directly on the site have to deal with and manage. It’s the responsibility of every member of the workforce to be accountable for various EHS functions.

User-friendly EHS Solutions

EHS 2019 Trends

Business leaders want the most advanced technologies keeping their employees safe and operations in check. However, advanced doesn’t necessarily mean complex. 

Rather, companies are finding themselves too busy to take on complicated software platforms, and instead tend to favor user-friendly interfaces. Not only do accessible technologies make it easier for business leaders to track problematic areas in their businesses, but they also provide greater ease for  workers and managers who are using the platform on site. When the technology is simple to learn and use, employees are more likely to use it; it’s that simple

Adopt Automation or Risk Falling Behind

A few years ago, advanced EHS technology was a new feature that some organizations adopted in order to improve their compliance and safety measures. It was valuable but not yet crucial, as a majority of businesses continued to work with manual capabilities when this technology was still new.

As organizations have fully integrated intelligent software into their EHS capacities, businesses that have yet to take on this technology are falling behind. It isn’t a matter of staying ahead of the competition. It’s about staying on pace with them. Businesses that are still relying on manual or antiquated EHS capabilities are likely doing so to cut down on costs. However, they are increasing their chances of experiencing an issue in compliance or a lapse in workflow that result from workplace injuries or near misses, two incidents that can severely impact a business’s bottom line.

Businesses that make the decision to mitigate workplace incidents through the implementation of EHS software and other innovative risk management tools can expect a quick return on investment. When organizations reduce the appearance of workplace incidents — and fix close calls before they turn into issues — they can save a significant amount of money that they would have lost due to decreased productivity and that they may have had to pay in legal fees when an issue was a result of noncompliance.

In addition to the benefits an efficient EHS system can have on a business’s bottom line, it can positively impact the culture. When workers believe their company is making an effort to improve their safety and workplace conditions, they will feel validated and empowered. This in turn can lower turnover rates – a huge issue facing businesses in all sectors that work directly with EHS.

Whether you’d like to implement an EHS solution or adopt a new, more sophisticated system, consider ProcessMAP’s innovative EHS suite. Connect with us to learn more about how ProcessMAP fits into your priorities for 2019.

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