Safety and technology have been hand in hand for quite a while, and this isn’t expected to slow down any time soon. Wearable technology, protective technology, virtual safety training, and the emergence of technology in just about every aspect of EHS will soon be unavoidable.

That being the case, more and more safety professionals are embracing technology and its many benefits for EHS training at their worksite. While EHS training software systems may seem like a big undertaking, the truth is that they’re relatively simple to deploy, and have many great benefits once fully implemented.

What is an EHS Software System?

EHS training software is online technology that features a database of safety training courses, content, and resources. Typically, it’s accessed via the internet, a company’s intranet, or even a downloaded course program.

EHS software systems come in many different forms, but all rely on technology for training deployment. Technology, as you know, is capable of streamlining certain processes, automating operations, storing vital information, etc.

How Does EHS Training Software Work?

While EHS training software systems come in many different forms, they all work relatively similarly, give or take a few key features and functions.

Using a login and password, an administrator can log in to their dashboard and access a variety of features relative to administering online training courses to their employees. This may be finding and assigning safety courses, reviewing safety training reports, downloading reports for their insurance companies, creating training schedules, and more.

Once an administrator assigns a safety training course to an employee, that employee, using their own login and password, can log into their own training dashboard and complete their necessary training. Often, the training courses within the EHS training software will provide interactive quizzes and will report scores to the admin to store for record keeping.

What Are the Key Features of EHS Training Software?

There are a few key attributes of EHS training software including:

• EHS training software can replace outdated hardware such as DVDs, VHS, and USB drives.
• EHS training software has record keeping capabilities that aggregate reports based on who’s passed their tests, who’s taken the necessary training, who still needs to take their training, who is assigned what training, and many more reporting functions.
• If an employee is absent on the day of training, they can take an online training course to still be accounted for.
• Employees can take their training in a variety of diverse work settings.
• “Refresher” training or safety shorts can be used to brush up specific topics before diving into the workday.
• It assists with instructor-led training by offering more in-depth safety training topics.
• Certain EHS training software also provides value-added material such as handouts, toolbox talks, etc.
• It's more engaging in that it can provide a one-on-one experience.
• It can help nurture a positive safety culture through learning retention because it allows the user to learn at their own pace.
• It produces a high ROI.

How To Deploy EHS Training Software at Your Worksite

Successfully deploying EHS training software at your worksite means exploring a few key items first:

Assess Your Needs

A prominent benefit of EHS training software is that it’s incredibly dynamic, and no matter the worksite, there’s a viable option to effectively train your employees using the software.

Think about your current safety training needs. Are they being met? What does an ideal safety training program look like? How many employees should be trained, and how often? The key with EHS training software is that it can improve your current safety training program not just in functionality, but in terms of effectiveness, frequency, and consistency. Once you have a clear image of what an ideal and compliant training program looks like, you can begin to explore how the different methods of EHS training software can support it.

Do Your Research

Now that you know what you need to implement an ideal safety training program at your company, you can begin to explore the different EHS training software methods commonly being used by a diverse spectrum of worksites.

If you’re on an actual worksite, most EHS safety training software can be accessed via a mobile phone or tablet. Don’t let that deter you by falling into the “sounds expensive” trap. Today, you can get any sort of basic, easy-to-use tablet to hand out to employees to take their training or to do it in cycles at the worksite to maintain productivity. This is a lot more cost-effective than a day off the site to train with a trainer in a classroom.

If you host your training in a classroom typically, you may wonder how EHS training software can assist in instructor-led training. Certain EHS training software methods include accessing an online library of safety training videos with downloadable materials specific to instructors. Accessing this library to show a class is as simple as hooking a laptop up to a TV using an HDMI cable or using a projector.

Make the Case

At some point or another, you’ll have to make the case to your business leader about deploying EHS software at your workplace. When doing so, simply outline the different benefits and key attributes uncovered in your research phase, and be sure to make sure it connects to how it positively impacts the business, what the ROI would be, what the benefits are, and how it can be a desirable company asset.

Integrate it Into Your Training Program

After you’ve found your ideal EHS training software to support your ideal safety training and have made the case to your manager, the actual implementation of the software is easy. The EHS training provider will walk you through the technology with a live demo once their tech team has set you up with the software. This is a great time to ask questions, go over any features, etc. 

Be Consistent

The key to using your EHS training software is consistency. If it’s not an integral part of your safety training program, and you don’t actively put it to consistent use, then it’s just going to gather dust, be under-utilized, etc. Then, you just have a wasted asset with negative ROI. It has the potential to create a positive ripple of change in your safety culture, but as with anything, you get out what you put in.

Common Questions and Concerns About Deploying EHS Training Software

How Many Courses Does a Typical Course Library Have?

Every course library is a bit different, but most EHS training software platforms give you access to well over a few hundred courses. In some cases, the EHS training software platforms are targeted only toward one key training topic such as construction safety training, office safety training, healthcare training, etc.

How Long Does it Take to Get Set Up?

It varies, but in most cases, it takes about 24 hours to get your EHS safety training software set up. Typically, the training provider itself does most of the legwork, and you just need to provide critical company info and import or create users.

Will it Have the Training Courses I Need?

It depends. Most providers will offer you a brochure or course list that features all the safety training courses that you’ll have access to in your safety training software. In a lot of cases, they may even be able to track down a course for you if you need it, as they tend to have a wide body of partners and vendors they work with that produce the training content.

Does it Include Anything Else?

This is better answered in the research phase where you’ll explore the various offerings EHS training software providers have for you. For instance, SafetySoft offers a wide spectrum of downloads as a value-added service for using our portal including handouts, PowerPoints, Checklists, Toolbox or tailgate talks, instructor guides, and more.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is the marriage between safety and technology will only grow stronger as time goes on, which presents many benefits for those not hesitant to embrace the technology and take advantage of the many benefits it offers its users.