Easy Incident Logging via QR Codes Is a Win for Safety on the Factory Floor and EHSwise

Following ABI Insights “Embedding a Safety Culture at Industrial and Manufacturing Firms Should Be a Narrative That Many Types of Vendors Can Readily Get Behind” and “SafetyQube Addresses UK Manufacturers’ Need to Both Document Actual and Potential Safety Risks plus Enhance the Safety Culture on Their Factory Floors” earlier this year, EHSwise for Manufacturing (EHSwise) is another innovative Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) software solution looking to keep safety professionals and their colleagues safe. The solution has been developed by Dublin-based Kianda Technologies.

EHSwise for Manufacturing taps into several trends in the software industry with its modules tailored to workflows and tasks, optimization for mobile devices, and customization of the user interface via low-code no-code tools. In addition, the solution is underpinned by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help users analyze risks in their facilities. Finally, the solution, which incorporates QR codes, enables manufacturers to remove paper-based data collection, showcasing to current and potential staff the adoption of cutting-edge software tools, and stressing the importance they place on the safety of their workforces.

EHSwise for Manufacturing is currently used by EHS professionals/EHS directors working at organizations with between 500 and 10,000 employees. Kianda has developed equivalent solutions for the construction, logistics, and retail sectors.

Customers can utilize modules to support tasks such as conducting risk assessments, managing contractors and permits to work, reporting incidents, performing safety audits, updating safety training records, tracking events, recording training events, articulating lessons learned, and developing Corrective and Preventative Actions (CAPAs).

Core users have access to a portal that houses their internal data and contracts. Enabled by the low-code/no-code platform, system administrators can develop widgets that incorporate internal data and information with workflows such as scheduling, contractor management, and permits to work or to perform audits and demonstrate compliance. Furthermore, the user interface can be tailored to any spoken language.

QR codes provide an innovative and convenient method for submitting observations, via mobile devices, and the AI can define and apply a risk score to the images. The solution is action-orientated with risk scores triggering alerts and suggested actions such as identifying a training need when, for example, an issue stems from the use of a piece of equipment or behavior. EHSwise is integrated with third-party applications such as Docusign, SharePoint, and Autodesk’s Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) tools, to name but a few. Reflecting the reality of poor signal coverage inside many industrial and manufacturing facilities, EHSwise still enables users to record information when offline and will sync with the centralized system when back online.

As part of signaling the importance of safety and providing staff with a convenient method for submitting safety-related information, EHSwise has developed kiosks whereby a staff member can provide safety-related information via interactive screens with the data fed to a centralized data repository. The company reports that safety kiosks are being used by Mercury, an international engineering and construction contractor company, and since introducing this solution, the company is now receiving every week more than 1,000 anonymous safety observations/interactions.

Both SafetyQube and EHSwise offer innovative solutions that enable industrial and manufacturing firms to improve the culture in their organizations around safety.

What makes EHSwise stand out is the fact that it is as much an analytical and compliance tool for safety professionals as it is for staff members to adhere to working practices and submit information. Safety information is not just about compliance data that remain in a silo; the ability to share information with other enterprise software applications via EHSwise helps safety professionals partner with colleagues in Human Resources (HR) to devise safety-related training programs. Enabling users to submit safety information via QR codes or the kiosk, rather than copious forms, will encourage engagement. Furthermore, the ability to offer the interface in any language encourages adoption in facilities in Ireland and the United Kingdom where English is not necessarily the user’s first language, and attracts customers overseas.

As the company expands its customer base, Kianda will need to provide clarity regarding how the AI has calculated the risk scores and come to it its recommendations for actions. In addition, the company, like other software providers, will need to ensure it is compliant with local laws regarding data storage and utilization.