Now’s the time to entrench participation in your programs and extend your EHS platform across devices with minimal headache and heartache.
Ensuring the health and safety of your workforce carries a huge amount of responsibility. You are your team’s most trusted advisor when it comes to improving well-being in your workplace.
You know that replacing error-prone paper procedures for incident management and environmental monitoring with automated workflows improves compliance, expedites decision-making and facilitates better communication across the enterprise. But to really take your programs to the next level, it’s time to entrench participation across the organization with tools that make data capture more instantaneous, accurate and extensive. Instead of looking for another single-use solution designed to track a lone process or one that requires the purchase of new devices, savvy EHS managers looking to accelerate the entrenchment of their EHS initiatives are turning toward Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based offerings that enable mobility though a web-browser (otherwise known as a mobile-first strategy).
Why mobile-first matters
Think of a mobile-first solution as the ubiquitous extension of your core EHS platform – but designed to be primarily accessed through a web-browser on your smartphone, tablet or desktop browser.
A mobile-first architecture by design offers superior usability as they deploy leading user-interface design principles like those issued by Google™ or Apple™. These are not the old clunky enterprise software applications that you access online and need to scroll down or increase the magnification of screen size to navigate. Mobile-first applications automatically scale to the size of your browser. Mobile-first applications can also be accessed from any smartphone or tablet. This means your organization doesn’t need to standardize on a set of phones and tablets – you can use what you’ve already invested in. Great news for your IT and Finance teams!
Get more out of your EHS investment
Your organization has invested a significant amount of time and effort into choosing the right EHS platform. Maybe you’re at the stage where you’ve already got your teams up and running and ironed out all the kinks – that’s EHS Manager nirvana. If that’s the case – it’s time to extend your solution to remote employees and other pilot groups. Deploying a mobile-first solution is simple. There are no apps to download. Your team members can simply leverage their existing mobile devices.
Why is this important?
- It reduces the strain on your IT team. There’s no risk of downtime due to upgrades in operating systems, hardware, and vendor application updates that need to be managed through an app store. Everything is accessed through the web browser. The due diligence your team did during the application selection process remains. They have one less “app” or instance to manage while more functionality is gained (i.e. offline processing). In a SaaS environment as opposed to downloadable apps, your team is always using the latest functionality. There are no delays as your technology partner takes their time to update the application.
- Team members don’t have to repeat training. This is especially important as most of your employees may only need to access the EHS solution a few times a year to complete medical or other annual questionnaires. As mobile-first applications are designed with an exceptional user experience in mind, they scale to your browser size and can be deployed in a way so the user only sees the parts of the application they need. It’s not a distinct experience like those that are delivered through a mobile app. Your team’s power users will also benefit from a single application to navigate.
- It accelerates EHS adoption across the enterprise. You’re the hero! Your IT team is happier because it’s one less app for them to manage. Your users are happier because they have an easy to use solution for completing their EHS activities without having to learn multiple programs. More team members such as remote workers can participate as they can complete their tasks without an Internet connection (and transfer the information when they are back-online). And, all the data that is collected from the mobile app is fed directly into the EHS platform for better analytics and decision-making.
When it comes to making the business case for taking your EHS solution mobile, there are significant ROI savings when it comes to deploying a mobile-first solution – from being able to use the hardware you already own to reducing the ongoing management and maintenance costs associated with download-able apps. When taken in tandem with the savings and efficiencies that come with workflow automation, furthering a safety culture and improved standardized processes, you’ve got a great business case for mobility!
| Jessica Shields is the Product Marketing Manager responsible for Cority’s platform, BI/ Analytics, and Mobile initiatives. She’s a seasoned marketing manager who has experience working in product marketing and channel and partner management. She has worked in leading organizations such as Rogers, Ceridian HCM, and AT&T Canada. |