How a Safety Information Network Transforms the Safety Function Author: Dr

Industrial Safety

White Paper How a Safety Information Network Transforms the Safety Function Author: Dr. Jason Kolkey Introduction: Leadership for Safety

There is no question that keeping employees That is where a Safety Information Network comes safe is an important part of building a in. The network is an interoperable system of successful enterprise. Workers, especially smart applications, accessible through multiple if they are regularly exposed to hazardous devices and taking advantage of secure cloud circumstances, cannot do their jobs to the best storage to maintain and organize the data safety of their abilities unless they have confidence professionals rely upon. It eliminates redundancies that the organization as a whole is interested and makes safety information more visible and in protecting their well-being. And companies accessible, unifying the processes of training, must manage risks to move toward their data-gathering, and record-keeping. It also allows collective goals and build reputations for the safety manager to monitor Personal Protective reliability, foresight, and responsibility. Equipment. The network lowers the risk of non- Their workforce must therefore be thoroughly compliance, improves operational efficiencies of educated in safety procedures, sufficiently the safety function, and can have a positive impact protected against potential dangers, acting in on operational productivity. compliance with regulations, and efficiently This white paper discusses some of the major accomplishing their tasks. changes that come about in an organization But just knowing that health and safety are when it institutes a Safety Information Network. important in the workplace is not enough to Based on research into best practices for bring about improved outcomes. To make safety safety management and interviews with safety a priority, an organization needs leadership professionals, it examines how networked informed by experience and quality data. When technology can become a cornerstone for they have the right information, analytical tools, leadership in safety throughout a business. and the ability to act upon their findings, safety We will explore several of the major changes an managers are uniquely well positioned to make organization experiences when it spreads an the necessary connections that result in a safer understanding and appreciation for safety by working environment. building a Safety Information Network. These

changes streamline the safety professional’s

workload and allow him or her to make a

far-reaching impact, but also provide the

individualized information that involves

stakeholders at all levels of the business in a culture of safety.

RFID-enabled personal protective Data from your equipment inspections and observations Gain Perspective on Managing Occupational Health and Safety

Track Trends in Safety Safety managers use all the resources at their disposal, striving to minimize events and exposures by gathering data and learning why accidents occur. But detecting dangerous trends, much less counteracting them, can be a struggle when an organization relies on a clunky arrangement of multiple systems and spreadsheets or calculations by hand to monitor safety information. A Safety Employers must find Information Network offers safety managers the tools necessary to gain a new perspective on safety, “and correct safety tracking trends in hazards and accidents across the operation and over the long term. The system and health problems. guides them to find dangers within an organization and take measures to ward off potential problems OSHA further requires before they lead to injuries or delays. employers to try to eliminate or reduce Keeping Tabs on Exposures hazards first by making changes in In the past, it has been near-impossible to stay on top of safety information in real time as safety working conditions professionals struggled to synthesize the great volume of data from dosimeters for audiometric rather than just relying testing, wearable chemical sensors, and portable gas detectors. They must balance monitoring on masks, gloves, ear areas of specific concern, such as finding threshold shift in workers’ hearing, with meeting other daily plugs or other types regulatory necessities and keeping employees out of dangerous situations. of personal protective equipment (PPE). A quality safety information management system embedded in a robust network can make meeting these responsibilities far more manageable. It provides accessible, accurate information about the duration and intensity of workers’ exposures to hazards. A network monitors ” the long-term effects of hazards for individuals and groups of workers, and by linking to smart Personal Protective Equipment can track information about different exposure types for each worker, including noise, electricity, and heat. The Safety Information Management System (SIMS) will help Cloud to assign experienced workers to critical functions based on their recent exposure history, scheduling them to optimize productivity and minimize danger. After comparing exposure records against internal standards and regulations, a network alerts the safety director of any areas that are out of compliance.

Meeting Regulatory Standards without the Hassle One of the foremost concerns for every safety professional is staying on top of alterations in workplace health and safety regulations. For instance, over the past few years, there have been changes in Arc Flash standards, hazard communication protocols, regulations for construction workers in confined spaces, and requirements for eye and face protection. And health and safety regulations place a major burden of responsibility upon those tasked with safety management. According to OSHA guidelines, “Employers must find and correct safety and health problems. OSHA further requires employers to try to eliminate or reduce hazards first by making changes in working conditions rather than just relying on masks, gloves, Databases ear plugs or other types of personal protective equipment (PPE).” 1 Safety managers can benefit the enterprise when they have systems that reduce the hassles of meeting regulations by providing intuitive, customizable hazard management tools. A Safety Information Network integrates the responsibility to ameliorate threats to safety at every juncture into the daily workflow. With safety professionals tracking compliance at all levels, they are freed to take an active hand in improving conditions and avoid falling behind in meeting regulatory demands. They can more readily fulfill even complex and changing requirements when they receive real-time updates on the facilities within their purview, documenting known hazards and protective equipment requirements. Armed with the necessary information, they can mitigate dangers with procedures based on OSHA standards, periodically accessing worker records, noting training requirements and compliance Summary: standards, and generating reports.

• Safety managers often lack the Moreover, the safety manager can go beyond just trying to keep up with resources to make the safety hazards and work toward engineering them out. Both temporary and function as effective a force as it permanent dangers become more visible and options for handling them, can be within a business. such as providing collective protection for all workers in a potentially • By using networked tools, they hazardous area, become more readily apparent. By planning ahead, can take a broader view of safety. minimizing risks, and evading damage, they not only improve workers’ lives They discover fresh insights but reap economic benefits for the business in general. and improve practices, tracking worker exposures and meeting regulations with ease. Allow Safety Professionals to Give Their Work a Personal Touch

Safety directors agree that much of their job consists of managing a huge volume of relevant reports and information. Those surveyed reported spending over half their work week tracking safety information. They spend their days tracking down others to gather information, updating spreadsheets and databases, filling out forms, and writing reports. “People don’t realize how much data there is involved in all the things a safety professional deals with,” one explained. Making the safety function as effective as possible means going beyond improving how that paperwork is organized and processed, fundamentally altering how experts in safety spend their days.

With a Safety Information Network in place, safety managers can cut the time they devote to paperwork and maintaining information in multiple systems. Their workday is transformed as they are liberated from their desks to devote more time to training, observing, and personally engaging with workers.

Taming the Paper Monster The bookkeeping that presently dominates the safety function can be overwhelming to the experts who must deal with it. A safety professional spoke of the dread she felt when she considered the sheer volume of forms awaiting her attention because she simply does not have time for them. She described the physical documents she has stored away in a desk The safety professional’s paper monster. drawer as a “paper monster” anticipating its moment to attack. A Safety Information Network offers the immediate benefit of resources to assist safety directors in overcoming the paper monster of seemingly endless forms and spreadsheets. Unlike in the makeshift arrangements many currently employ, they do not have to coordinate between multiple systems in order to organize and integrate data. By recording, archiving, and analyzing vital information, the system makes completing paperwork and keeping accurate, updated records a far more efficient process, minimizing the need for manual transcription. In turn, less time spent filling out repetitive information means opening up days or weeks per month for the safety professional to take on other tasks.

Safety with a Personal Touch The Reality of Safety: When they are no longer inundated with documents, safety Average time spent on paperwork managers have more chances to observe conditions in the field and interact directly with employees. “It’s going to free up time for us as safety managers to concentrate on other things, like getting out and doing safety walkthroughs,” a safety professional said. “I spend Under about 10-15% [of my time at work] in the field; I’d 20-60 hours 10 hours like to spend more time there.” They want to be present in the workplace, acting as advocates for 53% 25% safety culture, rather than chained to their desks and isolated from the rest of the operation.

One of the most valuable benefits of moving 11-20 hours toward a smart network is the effect on the mix of work the safety manager does. Changing 22% how safety professionals interact with workers gives them time to do what they do best: they can provide improved education and supervision when they are able to see things from the perspective of their fellow employees, talk about why safety procedures matter, and check Source: Safety Professional Opinion Panel more frequently for compliance. They can place a renewed emphasis on informing and observing workers, rather than being embroiled in endless paperwork. “You spend less time behind your desk,” one safety director said. “You get out in the field, interfacing with people and influencing Summary: them.” Liberated from their desks, safety professionals gain a better sense • Safety professionals are swamped for the effectiveness of safety policies and of the tangible, human results with paperwork due to inefficient of their work. systems and makeshift software solutions. • When they work with a smart network that centralizes their workflows, safety experts can finally keep up with their forms and recordkeeping. • As a result, they also have more time to spend in the field, educating and garnering greater personal engagement with workers. Give Management of Safety Information a Role in Your Safety Culture

As we have described, improved procedures for managing safety information can improve how safety managers comply with regulations and prioritize their workday. However, the benefits of these changes extend to other stakeholders as well, including management and the workers in the field. A safety manager explained, “The secret to success is trying to get everyone to be in the same frame of mind: be safety conscious, and always strive for continuous improvement in your safety practices.”

With a Safety Information Network providing the resources necessary for safety professionals to take a more active role in their organizations, they can spread awareness and promote safety culture at all levels. While safety managers always feel responsibility for workers, the system makes them effective leaders by facilitating interaction and collaboration. Safety culture becomes a constant and welcome presence in the work routine.

An Admired Role for Safety The National Safety Council/OSHA Principles of Employee Involvement, state, “Managers must believe that employees know their jobs best and should be the key decision makers relating to the safety and health of their jobs. The manager’s role then becomes one of coaching and mentoring employees, not controlling them. In turn, employees must communicate to managers, letting them know when they have safety and health concerns.” 2 Best practices in safety call for active involvement and communication from all stakeholders. As we have seen, enacting a Safety Information Network liberates safety experts to do what only they can: offer their expertise to fellow employees, who in turn are better able to watch out for themselves and others. From the workers’ perspective, there is now a recognizable face on rules and regulations, eager to offer advice and assistance while encouraging trust and full participation in the system. Our research found that Safety Directors see the possibility for transformative change by improving the management and dissemination of safety information. One safety professional commented on how the improved management of safety information can raise the profile of the safety function as a whole: “If [the safety manager] is empowered, then people will admire the safety manager for the value he brings to the company. They will admire the fact that he’s effective and that he’s moving the company into an improved safety culture.” In our qualitative research this point was frequently stressed. Improving safety information management creates an opportunity to fundamentally change organizational perceptions – rather than being seen as an essential but inconvenient or even intrusive obligation, the safety function becomes an Summary: admired and respected part of the organization. • Safety professionals know the importance of safety culture, This enhanced perception of the safety function has visible, tangible but for safety procedures to be benefits. As a safety professional has commented, “Safety is a value, successful all stakeholders need to ingrained in your workplace culture, unwavering, unchanging, and non- be involved. negotiable. Safety must be a guiding principle that permeates everything • A Safety Information Network 3 you do.” The Safety Information Network allows the safety function helps to promote safety as valued, to assume a new standing within a business by leading the entire respected part of the organization. organization to leverage modern approaches, breakthrough technology, new tools, and best practices that make a visible difference.

Transform How Workers Practice Safety

Embracing safety culture has tangible results for a business and in the lives of its workers. When a Safety Information Network is instituted as part of an organization’s commitment to promoting safety culture, it has the potential to change employees’ safety behavior. It can bring about a paradigm shift in their knowledge of safety practices and attitudes toward following guidelines. Workers are more likely to treat safety requirements as an important part of their work instead of obstacles.

Improving Safety Practices through Improved Safety Information Jennifer Choi, Vice President of a PPE manufacturer, has argued for the importance of a business transitioning from merely reacting to workplace dangers to becoming a “generative” organization in which “HSE is a focal point of improvement from ALL levels. Tools are embraced at all levels.” 4 However, safety managers often feel there is a disconnect between how they perceive their work and the response from other employees. Workers may see safety information as a “nuisance” or simply “not give it a lot of thought.” In order to improve the information safety professionals receive and promote compliance, organizations must alter the hierarchy of responsibility for safety information by making everyone an invested stakeholder. A Safety Information Network facilitates just such a transition. A great virtue of an automated system is that it brings the management of protective equipment and data collection together. Safety managers emphasize the necessity of making data entry simple, well-organized, and reliable. Workers are likely to abandon or minimize use of any system if it crashes frequently or runs slowly. On the other hand, a dependable system earns their trust and motivates them to contribute to its continued functioning. As a result, managers and workers both get the timely information they need. The effect is an elevation in how workers perceive safety practices: no longer as a tedious burden but as a major priority to Summary: which they each have something valuable to contribute and from which • A Safety Information Network can they gain. elevate how workers perceive the safety function and encourage Moreover, involving employees in the Safety Information Network them to do their part. can improve their compliance with safety procedures in the field. The network grants workers a real-time look into the safety procedures and • Access to individualized information leads to better education in safety requirements relevant to their roles, demonstrating how they make a practices and greater awareness of difference. Reviews of safety are no longer abstract exercises conducted their importance. outside of normal workflows when information and data are constantly available and regularly updated. Employees are able to view individualized information about exposures, equipment, access and training. A Safety Information Network can help educate workers and make them better prepared in everything they do.

Take Control of Personal Protective Equipment Inventory and Training

Developing a powerful safety culture is the most important part of protecting employees, but sometimes dangers will nonetheless strike. That is why Personal Protective Equipment is a crucial aspect of any safety program, the last line of defense for workers against accidents or harmful exposures. A study on improving worker safety found that PPE effectiveness is based on not only the proper design and maintenance of the equipment itself but educating workers about hazards and the correct use and care for equipment.5 Employees must have the ensemble appropriate for their assigned tasks, be trained in its use, and understand how guidelines will preserve their well-being. Thus managers, safety professionals, and workers all benefit from centralizing and simplifying the workflows involved in acquiring, assigning, and maintaining PPE. The Safety Information Network allows them to go into work with confidence that individual protection is there if it is needed.

The Information to Maximize PPE Effectiveness Smarter management of protective equipment means safer workers, and taking command of PPE is a major advantage of a Safety Information Network. The system integrates the organization’s needs for purchasing, testing, and maintaining PPE, providing the information to obtain the right gear for the job. Summary: Safety professionals have the responsibility to ensure that employees know • Personal Protective Equipment is an important part of keeping workers and have access to the right PPE for the risks and hazards that they may safe that comes with complications encounter in a particular job or at specific site. With a Safety Information in budgeting, purchasing, testing, Network, they can easily track PPE requirements, including developing and maintenance. needs on the ground and updated regulations. • A Safety Information Network The system verifies that workers have appropriate and approved equipment centralizes the operations involved for their tasks and they are properly trained in its use. Safety professionals in managing personal protective know what PPE is approved for the risks at hand and can act to prevent equipment and makes it simple to the use of incorrect equipment in the field, mitigating the risks of a serious make sure workers are provided with the PPE they need for their jobs and safety event. With the necessarily guidelines readily available, they can educated in its use. follow best practices, educating workers and making wiser PPE use a part of the overall safety strategy.

Find New Insights and Opportunities through Forward-Looking Data Collection

The safety function is a powerful force in a But collecting more and better data can help business when safety directors efficiently meet safety professionals to maintain a firm handle on regulatory standards, promote safety culture, current dangers and look farther ahead. and manage the correct use of protective A Safety Information Network accomplishes these equipment; but they also need to understand goals by constantly monitoring for hazardous why dangers occur and how they can be avoided. conditions, standardizing and centralizing testing Recordables such as incident reports and video and sampling. It includes tools that go beyond footage provide stakeholders with important assembling recordables to analyze the current details when something has already gone health and safety conditions and give warnings wrong; they can often even suggest insights before potential dangers develop. for developing strategies to prevent accidents. Controlling the Present with Real-Time Management A safety manager summed up the dilemma in gathering data as a need to “see the woods for the trees.” To prevent injury or disaster, safety professionals, managers, supervisors, and workers alike all have to be aware of dangerous situations as they occur. This calls for a system of managing safety and hazard information that provides the knowledge all stakeholders need to respond intelligently and in a timely fashion, reducing risks to themselves and others.

The real-time management tools in a Safety Information Network offer that broader view with extensive input from workers and electronic data-collection by sensors across the enterprise. Stored in a secure cloud and accessible via multiple platforms, that information is readily available to the safety professional whenever needed. When something goes wrong, a system can send automated alerts to all parties involved and offers real-time reporting on incidents. By facilitating better communication among roles in the workplace, a network makes for smarter, more effective safety measures, emergency preparedness, and crisis management.

1 OSHA, “Workers,” Accessed July 5, 2015, https://www.osha. 4 Jennifer Choi, “A constant sense of unease,” Industrial Safety gov/workers/index.html and Hygiene News (June 1, 2015), 72.

2 Safety Management Systems: Strategies for the Small 5 Cathryn T. Liverman and Howard J. Cohen, Certifying Business (Itasca, IL: National Safety Council, 2009), 2. Personal Protective Technologies: Improving Worker Safety (Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2011), 94. 3 Carol Hall, “Hey boss! Is safety really a priority?” Las Vegas Business Press (March 16, 2015), P11. 6 Griffin Schultz, “Don’t Drown in Big Data,” Industrial Safety and Hygiene News (June 1, 2015), 52 Leveraging Big Data to Look Forward Safety professionals want to move beyond just keeping up with regulatory requirements and mitigating risks. With the proper information and tools, he or she can find trends and cut off dangerous developments before they lead to expensive delays or tragic accidents. “You can move into a more proactive culture once you’re looking forward and planning for safety,” a safety manager stated. Studies suggest that Big Data can “be used by organizations to create leading indicators to improve safety outcomes. . . Big Data is making its case as the most effective tool at our disposal to reduce workplace injuries and save lives.” 6 A safety director with expansive access to meaningful data does not need to hunt for the information most important to safety in specific work environments and for particular tasks.

A Safety Information Network puts that information at the disposal of safety experts, allowing them to take leadership in finding and addressing areas of concern. It harnesses powerful tools for gathering and analyzing large quantities of safety data, storing it in a secure cloud. The system tracks trends in hazards and uncovers those leading indicators that might otherwise elude a busy safety manager. It suggests appropriate preventive measures and even warns of specific dangers before they occur. A network can provide helpful suggestions and warnings as appropriate. With a system designed to look forward, the safety director can provide advance warning and take action when the business needs to change policies or equipment. Summary: • Gathering recordables and safety Conclusion data is a necessary part of safety management. Leading the way in safety can be difficult when those best qualified to • However, a Safety Information disseminate best practices and heightened awareness of hazards are Network can make the safety bogged down with paperwork. A Safety Information Network revolutionizes function more proactive and the safety function, organizing and simplifying workflows and putting powerful in detecting and safety professionals back in the field. They are no longer looking preventing dangerous situations backwards at past incidents or struggling to keep up with the demands with real-time management tools. of regulation and needs Personal Protective Equipment. Instead, they • Big Data makes it possible to stand at the forefront of an organization dedicated to safety culture, using spot and analyze trends in safety, advanced resources to analyze data and warn of dangers before they reducing the risks of accidents become damaging or expensive problems. A Safety Information Network and planning ahead. transforms the way a business looks at safety and brings about remarkable improvements in efficiency and shared responsibility.

Transform Your Approach to Safety Data

With the Honeywell Safety Suite, it’s never been easier to keep your people safe and your operations running efficiently. www.honeywellsafety.com/SafetySuite Another way Honeywell is connecting and protecting your workers — wherever they’re at risk. As a global leader in safety technology, Honeywell is developing connected solutions that give you real-time safety awareness, so you have the right information at the right time to make better decisions. And Worker Compliance is part of that focus. With real-time visibility on safety compliance, you can ensure that every worker is ready for the job at hand.

This visibility on worker readiness is a great way to unlock new value from your Honeywell equipment, so you can further reduce safety incidents, streamline compliance administration and improve productivity. And it’s all backed by the long history of Honeywell developing software and other technology for companies’ toughest challenges in aerospace, defense and process optimization. Now we’re bringing our software expertise to industrial safety.

For more information www.honeywellsafety.com/safetysuite

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