Lafayette, Colo. – April 14, 2020 – KPA and EHS Today, partnered on a new report looking at whether companies are investing in environment, health, and safety (EHS) programs and how they’re investing in their programs. The results, titled “State of the Industry: EHS Program Trends,” found that relying on EHS software was more effective at improving safety outcomes. Alternatively, relying on older or little technology only increases absenteeism, injuries, and safety violations. The report also found a correlation between using older or little technology with increased safety issues.

During October 2019, EHS Today surveyed nearly 600 people about their business’ safety practices and priorities. The report focuses on the more than 550 surveys from people who are actively involved in their company’s safety program. The results focused on rates of injuries, absenteeism, and safety violations, comparing the results of high performing companies (with well-below average rates of injuries, absenteeism, and safety violations) with low performing companies (higher rates of injuries, absenteeism, and safety violations).

Manual Processes Are A Challenge for Poor Performers

Companies with high rates of injuries, absenteeism, and safety violations found that relying on manual processes to manage operations were a much more significant challenge over companies with higher safety performance. These companies found manual processes to be challenging or extremely challenging, up to 27% more often than higher-performing companies.

“The challenge with manual spreadsheets or clipboards with paper is you can’t ensure you’re collecting the right information at the right time, every time,” says Kathryn Carlson, KPA’s Vice President of Product Management. “The other challenge, in our digital society, most people expect to have access to information online, from any device.”

Interestingly, 47% of low performing companies believe that EHS software and services are a good investment. The difficulty is a lack of support for EHS programs.

Investment in EHS Software Is About Leadership Support (And, Yes, Budget)

One question focused on how challenging people found low levels of executive support for improving EHS performance. The result was that lower-performing companies identified executive support to be more challenging as compared to higher performing companies. In turn, low performing companies found that budget issues were also challenging or extremely challenging.

“Leadership support is perhaps the most critical factor in the success or failure of an EHS program. And it’s not just about a CEO or EVP, but a leader who is willing to demonstrate ownership or sponsorship of the program,” commented Carlson. “EHS programs might seem like an expense without a return on investment, but this report shows those companies investing in technology are outperforming their peers.

An unsupported EHS program demonstrates poor results and costs the company more than investing in software.”

Find the full report here.

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About KPA

KPA provides Environment, Health & Safety (EHS), and Workforce Compliance software and services for mid-sized businesses. KPA solutions help clients identify, remedy, and prevent workplace safety and compliance problems across their entire enterprise. The combination of KPA’s Vera Suite SaaS platform, 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.

For more information, go to www.kpa.io or call 866.356.1735.