As a professional who oversees safety operations in the construction business, we understand you have a multitude of responsibilities. Time is a valuable commodity, and you often find yourself splitting that time between commuting to worksites, walking job sites, going into the office, meeting with executives, and much more. The last thing on your mind is taking hours to determine which safety management tool you want to use for your program.
This can be a daunting task for any safety professional. Workplace hazards in the construction industry are notably more dangerous than other spaces. It’s important to choose the right platform to help protect workers in these environments. There are various things to consider when browsing the software market, along with knowing how to implement it successfully across the organization.
To help you cut down on time, we’ve written a guide that outlines key information to look for when making your decision. Let’s explore what you should know.
Assess Your Needs
Having a comprehensive understanding of your needs is a great place to start so you gain the best results. Identify which factors you struggle with the most. For example, you may have trouble streamlining your processes, or even assessing your past performance.
Another important factor to consider when assessing needs is to understand who the software tool is for, and how it’ll benefit each role. The platform should address the needs of multiple groups within your organization. From top decision makers, down to workers who are on the ground completing projects big and small.
- Frontline teams will need a platform that is easy to navigate. They need a quick way to find helpful safety resources and regulation rules if they’re learning about digging in certain areas, or they’re operating risky machinery.
- As a professional safety leader, you’ll need the capability to report incidents in real-time, collect crucial data, quickly create forms, maintain safety accountability across multiple teams, provide training and other materials, conduct safety meetings with agendas that align to your message, and much more.
- Stakeholders and executive teams will need to gather and analyze insights from data that’s been collected. This crucial data will give them the confidence needed to make important business decisions. They understand safety is a high-stakes scenario that is top priority no matter the project.
Proper Documentation
Chances are the software you choose will have a learning curve. This can be difficult to adapt to, even for people who have experience using construction site technology.
Like adopting any new software, it can take time to learn how to use it to full capacity, so you are maximizing your efforts.
Only work with developers who offer thorough documentation. This should be a single source of truth that tells you everything you need to know about the product and how it operates.
You should be able to fully understand its functionality after reading the documentation. It also serves as a great way to resolve issues on your own. For instance, you might persistently encounter an error when learning how to use the software.
You mistakenly believe the software malfunctions and then become frustrated. Upon investigation, the documentation tells you the error is the result of an improper user input. Be selective of providers that don’t offer any documentation. This is a red flag you can’t ignore, and you’re sure to encounter issues in the future.
Powerful Analytics Tools
Just about every digital safety management platform can collect data from one place and display it in some way. The best software options provide useful insights into the data you’re gathering so you can make better decisions that lead to improved behavior at the front line.
The more detail the software provides, the better. This allows you to identify trends over time and ensure you’re always improving. They can also help you emphasize strategies that currently work, while also understanding strategies that don’t.
Real-time reporting is another crucial functionality to look for. This helps you quickly respond to incidents and document the causes. You’ll want software that helps you easily interpret data so you’re not having to hunt down simple answers for complex insights.
Something to also note is that many providers charge extra for detailed analytics. They can even charge more for a certain date range of data if you’re outside the timeframe window. Evaluate software that avoids these things so you’re getting the best value.
Mobile App Functionality
When it comes to convenience, having the ability to access worksite information from a mobile device is something you can’t overlook. This provides seamless efficiency that can streamline your workflow. It should not be the deciding factor, but it’s something important to consider in the long term.
Be thorough and assess the mobile app before making your decision, though. Just because a mobile application exists doesn’t mean it can meet your needs. There’s a chance it isn’t anything like the desktop version of the software.
Check the Developer's Reputation
In today’s day and age, you can learn a lot with a simple Google search. Looking into a software tool’s reputation will provide insight into what other people have to say about the developer. Check to see how satisfied previous clients were.
Look for any case studies and customer references directly linked to the developer. Do their customers mention how they help solve problems, or how they help establish long-term success within the product? Reliable review sites like Capterra and G2 can give you honest and real customer reviews so you feel confident knowing you’re in good hands with the developer of your choice.
You should also consider how the developer responds to criticism. If they get defensive or aggressive, this is a sign you should look elsewhere. Check the provider’s credentials, as well. Are they endorsed by notable organizations? Have they won any awards? Questions like these can help you narrow your search.
Look Into Its Pricing
The developer should always be transparent about what you will pay. This can help you avoid financial surprises. Assessing software pricing can also weed out poor-quality vendors.
To clarify, there’s a reason some developers offer rock-bottom prices. This indicates they may have cut corners, released an unfinished product, or locked critical features behind more expensive tiers.
Up-front costs can vary from developer to developer. Examples of these can be costs for any additional customization, onboarding and training, additional modules or features
Be aware of different pricing models as well. There are two common models you’ll find. The first is per-user, where you pay a monthly or yearly fee for each individual user. The other is % of revenue. In this pricing model you will be asked to share information about how much business you’re doing annually, and your cost will be a percentage of that.
There are pros and cons to each model, so be sure to ask when you’re ready for a quote. In general, software that lies somewhere in the middle of the price range is likely your best bet. Stay away from software that throws in unnecessary fees.
Ask for a Free Trial
You wouldn’t buy a car before you take it for a test drive. The same can be said when choosing safety management software. Reputable developers should have no issue providing you with a free trial or pilot usage period.
Some companies even offer free trials indefinitely. This lets you assess how the software functions and fits into your current workflow. You can also gauge how difficult it is to learn. As previously mentioned, most people have a challenging time picking up new software.
However, some applications are hard to navigate and are difficult to work with even after you have experience. These are the programs you want to avoid, as they will only serve to slow you down when trying to implement the platform across your organization.
Level of Ongoing Support
Few things are more frustrating than getting left in the dark when problems arise. The software you choose should be properly maintained and supported by the developer.
In context, this means they should consciously make updates and tweaks to keep the software running smoothly. They should also have a solid customer support policy. Ask how you can contact a representative if you encounter an issue. You should be able to receive help at any hour of the day or night.
Prioritize companies that have 24/7 support where you can speak to a human representative. While automated responses can often resolve problems, serious issues need human input. They should be fully transparent about the level of support they offer. Stay cautious of companies that attempt to deflect questions about this detail.
Find the Right Software Safety Tool
Evaluating software is an overlooked part of a safety professional’s job. It’ll take some due diligence to find the right software safety tool for your construction business, but the long-term rewards are plenty. This guide is designed to help you because we know this can be a distracting and difficult task, and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to know what you need to make the best decision for all your safety needs.
Safety Mojo proudly offers software that helps make construction sites safer than ever. Our end-to-end safety management tool is easy to integrate and navigate, and it can even function offline. You can learn more about the benefits when you schedule a demo.