Occupational health and safety and compliance with the relevant laws is an important and increasingly extensive topic - not only for the safety advisor (SiBe) in large companies or on major construction sites, but also more and more for SMEs and their managing directors. But how do you actually ensure safety compliance? One solution is constant updating, perfect administration and optimal data management. Or you can simply use an app like the one developed by Lobsiger & Partner GmbH with "safely". Managing Director Marco Lobsiger explains in an interview what the software can do.
Mr. Lobsiger, how does your new web application benefit me as a user?
Marco Lobsiger: Nowadays you can use a lot of things electronically, but when it comes to occupational safety, people are often still not up to date with the latest technology. This is where our solution comes in, because there are extensive topics that companies have to deal with and work through meticulously: Audits, inspections or training, risk assessments and maintenance must be documented. Accident or defect reports can also be generated very conveniently via this web application. The user can then have the tasks and measures automatically forwarded to the right places and no more information is lost. "safely" is the web application for the simple and practice-oriented implementation of all legally relevant topics relating to occupational health and safety.
What was the idea behind it?
Through our many years of consulting work, we have repeatedly identified the same problems and challenges with our customers in relation to occupational health and safety: a lack of overview, insufficient documentation or unclear instructions. This is exactly where safely comes in. The application helps companies to maintain an overview in the area of occupational health and safety, to organize all associated processes efficiently and also to increase or guarantee legal certainty. Thanks to the seamless documentation, valuable information, tasks or recurring training and inspections can no longer be lost or forgotten.
Who is this app primarily aimed at?
It is designed for companies of all sizes and is suitable for small businesses as well as for use in complex company structures such as large corporations or industry associations. The application provides micro-enterprises with a central data pool for all matters relating to occupational health and safety. Larger companies benefit in particular from the delegation options and status monitoring, which avoids duplication and ensures the traceability of all relevant occupational health and safety processes at all times.
Marco Lobsiger with employee Heinz Stauffer during an inspection at a major construction site: "Thanks to the web application, every company can now easily digitize its occupational health and safety issues." (© Markus Frutig, SAFETY-PLUS)
What other advantages and added value does the web application offer in daily use by SiBes or company managers?
Among other things, the application automatically informs the person responsible for implementation by email when a new task is due - for example, that a defect needs to be rectified or that maintenance is due soon. For this purpose, a user is stored with a device as the person responsible for maintenance. This ensures that nothing is forgotten. The SiBe, for example, now has the advantage of being able to monitor all these processes centrally and only has to concentrate on deviations in the event of special incidents. At the end of the year, they can also compile statistics on all tasks, measures and incidents that have been implemented. This allows specific objectives and improvement measures to be derived and communicated for the following year. This enables the safety culture to be enhanced and increases legal certainty in every company.
How is the documentation flow regulated via the web application and what are the special features?
A task follows a clear process; for example, a measure can only be commissioned for implementation once the defect has been fully documented. Another advantage is that no further processing is required once an audit or site inspection has been completed: when the audit or inspection report is saved, it is already available as a PDF to all users of the system.
For which industries is safely particularly suitable - are there any restrictions?
The application is completely industry-independent and there are almost no restrictions. By taking EKAS guidelines (EKAS conformity according to the Federal Coordination Commission for Occupational Safety) and other Swiss legislation into account during development, existing industry, company or model solutions can even be easily integrated into the application. Thanks to an agreement with Suva, all Suva checklists are already pre-installed on safely in digital form - in all three national languages.
What exactly does EKAS 6508 compliance mean for users?
Our scope for development is significantly limited by various laws, directives and standards. However, we have relied in particular on the ten elements of the ASA system (involvement of occupational physicians and other occupational safety specialists) in accordance with EKAS 6508, as this has proven itself in practice and is also the basis for the approval of inter-company ASA solutions. This enabled us to easily integrate existing solutions into the system.
What are the requirements for operation and how do the access options work?
safely is web-based, so all you need to use it is a standard web browser in combination with a laptop, tablet or smartphone and, of course, an internet connection. As safely is distributed under the SaaS principle (Software as a Service), the customer does not have to worry about maintaining the software and benefits from regular updates. safely is constantly growing and developing in line with our customers' requirements.
Where was the app developed?
We are particularly proud of the fact that we have found a reliable development partner in Switzerland and can therefore rely on the Swiss-made quality feature. Our motto is: "From Switzerland for Switzerland". This symbiosis of our many years of experience in occupational health and safety and the many years of expertise of our programmers has enabled us to develop a practical, self-explanatory and legally compliant application. It is targeted and easy to use for everyone.
Originally published in SAFETY-PLUS 4/19, page 28-29