The BCFSC, in conjunction with the Silviculture Advisory Committee (SAC), has embarked on a new initiative to provide forestry and silviculture employers with an advanced electronic safety reporting system.
The new system, available to all members companies at no charge, will make documenting and reporting easier and provide employers with tools for viewing their safety performance and how it compares to industry.
This project originated more than two years ago when the SAC, representing a cross-section of forestry silviculture employers and land owners in BC, discussed the absence in the sector of meaningful data to proactively and accurately assess leading indicators of injuries and near misses that could assist employers in better preventing these occurrences. As a result, SAC initiated a project with the BCFSC and technology provider EHS Analytics to develop this member driven solution. The result was the development of a safety reporting app and analytics tool for members.
The tools, provided by the BCFSC, are a mobile and web-based technology that provides a modern architecture for capturing and coordinating safety records and activities for users as well as simple and informative ways of assessing performance through a visual dashboard.
The early adopters in silviculture who helped shape and test the app are pleased with the results, its ease of use, privacy and security features.
The system has two parts. It includes electronic reporting forms, via a web-based and mobile app which streamlines and enhances the often frustrating and challenging process associated with safety paperwork. As well, the set of analytical “dashboards” provide charts and data summaries to illustrate and explain what is occurring within a company’s operations. Access to EHS Analytics is paid for by BCFSC, and employers may use one or both parts as follows:
1. They can use the mobile app and web-based forms, called “EHS Forms” to record all their injury, incident, and close call records. The system provides industry tailored forms that can be completed online or offline. The mobile app functions online and offline and can be installed on most smart phones or tablets. The web-app can be accessed online for laptops or mobile devices as well. The forms automatically synchronise with a cloud database across all your devices and provide updated reporting summaries for rapid management review. Completed incidents can easily be reported via email to necessary parties, like a licensee, and information can be transferred into a WorkSafe Form 7 report and submitted electronically if needed. In order to review their data and performance, companies that use the app will have access to dashboards and summary tools for analyzing safety.
2. For those employers with their own existing reporting systems, use of EHS Forms is not required. Employers can connect their existing systems to EHS and automatically sync records to a cloud database and gain access to the full suite of analytical tools and dashboards. There are many firms in the forestry industry already linked to the EHS system this way. EHS is compatible with most leading safety management systems.
All employers, whether using the EHS Forms or those who link existing systems to EHS can use the dashboard and its full suite of tools. EHS users are able to instantly view and analyze incident report data for their own company and, should they choose to, share and compare their activity with a pool of data based on peers in their sector. Employers that generate only a small number of reports are able to view their incidents and close calls as part of a larger field of data.
As employers take steps to improve their safety programs, solid data analysis will be increasingly valuable for assessing the success of their initiatives. The use of electronic reporting tools is swiftly becoming the norm in forestry and other sectors, and more and more industries are moving towards collaborative data-sharing systems that help them learn from each others’ experiences. These tools are evolving rapidly, and EHS Analytics is providing a way for companies to bring their operations up to speed with advanced safety management strategies, including enhanced support for claims management and comprehensive data for program review and improvement.
These systems gain power and grow in value with the number of companies that join into the data-collaboration system, and there is an opportunity now for forestry and silviculture employers to move together and make the data they are already required to collect work for them.
Interested employers who would like to sign-up can register here.
For more information you can contact EHS Analytics support at 1-888-400-7298 or support@ehsanalytics.com
Take advantage of EHS Analytics and integrate it with your preseason planning and training.
- There is no cost to participate and you have no obligation to continue participation if at any point you wish to withdraw.