Regardless of the industry that your company caters to, health and safety is an important factor in running a compliant and successful business. Although adhering to health and safety rules and regulations can sometimes seem arduous, it is a necessary part of running any company, regardless of size. Keeping reports up-to-date and maintaining accurate records isn’t always easy, especially for those using outdated methods of creating reports. When seeking data to identify health and safety issues in the company, staff surveys can be an excellent way to determine areas that require improvement. Many businesses ask their employees to complete forms and file reports when a health and safety incident occurs. Companies rely on the information provided to them by their employees through reports, so it’s paramount that these are both accurate and easily accessible.
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Issues with paper reporting
Creating paper reports comes with many negatives, especially in the area of health and safety. If staff are asked to complete forms after an incident, making it as simple as possible should be a top priority. Paper forms are easily lost and staff tend to complete them in a rush, especially if there are other important tasks for them to tend to. This means that the level of accuracy in the data that is collected can be questionable, staff may be less likely to fully complete a paper form due to it being time-consuming. There is also a risk that staff members will incorrectly report incidents, leaving out key details, or even fabricating details to complete the report in a shorter time frame.
Paper forms are often very specific, meaning that questions are usually generic and may not be appropriate for every type of incident. Because of this, important information can be left out of reports, this makes identifying certain issues difficult. A one-size-fits-all survey doesn’t allow a lot of flexibility for the respondent.
Storage and filing can also be difficult when using paper forms. Health and safety reports need to be easily accessible for many reasons, including auditing or data analysis. Analysing data from paper forms isn’t a simple process, particularly if you want to produce accurate data. If an accurate snapshot of data is needed, then the data will need to be manually inputted into analytics software, which can take a significant amount of time and may also increase the likelihood of errors in reports.
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Why it’s important to automate data collection
Depending on the nature of your company, you may need to keep electronic files by law. Whether this is the case or not, choosing to automate data collection can come with many benefits. By doing so, you know exactly where your reports are and you can access them quickly when needed. This means that making crucial decisions and changes to policy or company health and safety protocols are simpler. Digital reports mean that your company can easily prove its compliance when necessary and easily analyse data and identify trends to implement changes more efficiently.
With paper files, accessing and comparing data is difficult. Furthermore, paper forms that are often completed by hand can be difficult to read, meaning that key details may be missed by the reader. Health and safety records need to be quickly accessible, accurate, and easily readable. Automation solves all of these problems and provides a reliable reporting solution to staff.
Ways electronic reports can improve company practices
As well as making records more accessible and improving the accuracy of reports, automation can improve many company practices. As staff spend less time reporting issues, productivity will likely increase. Additionally, identifying issues quickly can mean that preventable dangers will not be missed, which, in turn, protects your workforce. This extra level of protection rarely goes unnoticed, meaning employee morale can increase, even if this is on a subconscious level. Providing a safe workplace for your staff is a key element in encouraging and maintaining a productive workforce.
Accurate record-keeping is also of great importance when it comes to preventing any legal action against your company. Whether the threat of a lawsuit comes from an internal source, competitor, third-party or agency, if your reports are in order, accurate, compliant and easily accessible then your company will have nothing to be concerned about.
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Using Tapapp to implement automation
Tapapp is the perfect cost-effective solution for collecting field-based reports, health and safety reporting and keeping data secure and accessible. The solution is scalable, making it ideal for growing companies, that are seeking a simple to use reporting software. The app allows companies to create unlimited forms and surveys and have these available to an unlimited number of employees, meaning that a workforce can always easily and quickly access and complete different forms for different situations. Unlike generic paper forms, employees can give more detail when reporting through Tapapp, meaning surveys can present users with additional questions based on the circumstances that they are reporting.
As Tapapp is app-based, introducing automation into the company’s reporting is simple. Most people now have smartphones that they take to work with them, the app is available on both Android and iOS devices, meaning all employees with a smartphone will be able to install it.
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Summary
Using advanced tools such as Tapapp can greatly improve your company’s health and safety reporting. Not only does it provide a simple to use and flexible solution for employees, but it also makes for better record keeping. Accuracy and efficiency are important aspects of all types of reporting, especially when the reports can be the difference between staff members obtaining injuries in the workplace and identifying issues that could prevent this from happening in the first place.
As the app is easily accessible and provides workers with potentially hundreds of different forms in their pocket, the quality of the data collected is likely to improve substantially. The app allows managers to effortlessly compare data and recognise trends, making changes in policy and procedure much easier to employ. Using outdated methods of reporting can negatively impact your business overall and doesn’t utilise resources effectively.
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