Lafayette, Colo. – October 12, 2021 – KPA and EHS Today partnered on a new report looking at how companies are investing in environment, health, and safety (EHS) programs and the latest industry trends. The “State of the Market: EHS Program Performance” report found that over 70% of surveyed companies still use spreadsheets and email to manage their safety programs, while those companies who invest in the latest technology and EHS software perform consistently above the industry standard and find the benefits of investment outweigh the costs. Additionally, companies that invest in EHS software report more accessible performance data on their safety programs and enjoy increased employee engagement and streamlined communication.
Methodology
Between June 10, 2021, and June 25, 2021, EHS Today surveyed 220 people about their business’ safety practices and priorities. The report focused on the surveys from people who are actively involved in their company’s safety program.
EHS Software Better Supports Proactive Safety Programs vs. Spreadsheets
A few questions in the survey gauged the proactiveness of a company’s safety program when it came to incident management and access to data to manage issues before they occurred. Only 14% of non-EHS software users stated that access to reporting and analytics is “very easy” or “somewhat easy.” In fact, nearly half of non-software users (45%) noted the process of accessing analytics as “very or somewhat challenging.”
As a result, 84% of companies who use EHS software have reported they are able to identify and remedy potential safety issues before they happen, compared to just over half of respondents who don’t use EHS software.
“The challenge, or expectation, with manual spreadsheets or paper and clipboards is that most people expect to have access to information whenever and wherever they need it,” says Jade Brainard KPA’s Product Director. “Spreadsheets require additional time for number crunching, chart-making, and building reports, whereas a good EHS software program will already have done that for you and sped up your ability to make decisions.”
EHS Software Promotes Consistent, Efficient Communication to Increase Employee Engagement
The survey found a strong relationship between EHS software and increased employee engagement. Half of EHS software users rated their employee engagement as “good” or “excellent.” In addition to asking about employee engagement, the report also asked for how companies communicated their safety information, including, but not limited to, smaller team meetings, email, posters, paper, mobile notifications. It also looked at the frequency of those communications.
Those companies who communicate with employees daily about safety topics are far more likely to rate employee engagement as “good” or “excellent.” EHS software allows for more frequent, streamlined communication with employees, enabling companies to continually reinforce their culture of safety.
“EHS programs might seem like an expense without a return on investment, but this report shows those companies investing in technology outperform their peers and accomplishing more than just preventing incidents but helping improve how their employees feel about the workplace,” commented Brainard.
In addition to the engagement metrics and incident management, the report looked at how EHS software and non-software users felt about mobile access to safety information, how they manage annual U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) reports, and more. The complete report can be downloaded here.
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About KPA
KPA provides Environment, Health & Safety (EHS), and Workforce Compliance software and services for a wide range of businesses. KPA solutions help clients identify, remedy, and prevent workplace safety and compliance problems across their entire enterprise. The combination of KPA’s software, EHS consulting services, and award-winning training content helps organizations minimize risk so they can focus on what’s important—their core business. For over 30 years, KPA has helped 10,000 + clients achieve regulatory compliance, protect assets, and retain top talent.
