Q&A: Sospes Health & Safety Management Software
Sospes provides EHS insights to improve workplace safety programs
Sospes EH&S management helps drive effectiveness into your company’s safety operations. Seamlessly manage injury reporting & incident reporting, assign and complete safety inspections, and leverage on-board analytics. It allows your people to quickly and easily submit reports of close calls or safety incidents. Its unique inspection module allows companies to digitize inspections (of equipment, conveyor for instance), processes or other issues.
Commonly asked Sospes questions
Q: What makes Sospes unique among safety software?
Answer:
Sospes uses modern web and mobile technology to link all workers across the organization to a single EHS Management System. It’s simple to use, so workers can more easily report events in real-time. This avoids issues related to paper-based and desktop only reporting. Sospes collects the information and uses it to
automate regulatory reporting and deliver actionable decision support to management. This lets workers report faster, but also reduces data entry and “running around” time for a safety manager.
Q: Do we need special equipment to run Sospes?
Answer: Nope. Just the smartphones you always carry– or the computer on your desk, or your tablet. It runs on most every device you already have. There isn’t anything to maintain or buy.
Sospes’ mobile app will work on any Apple or Android mobile device, typically smartphones or tablets. Its back end manager portal works on any browser and can be accessed from any computer or tablet.
Commonly asked Inspections Module questions
Q: What if I already have an inspections package?
Answer: You’re ahead of the game if you do. Here are some things you consider:
- Is the system you use today easy for your employees to use? Do they actually use it?
- Does the system you use today create an electronic report of the results, including inspection fails, action items and resolution.
- Can inspectors send requests from the field to people for help getting inspection fails resolved quickly?
- Does the system eliminate double text entry and paperwork?
Q: iAuditor provides their inspection system for free – what would we get from Sospes that makes it worth paying for?
Answer: iAuditor offers a lightweight version of their product for free, but the emphasis is on lightweight.
The offering comes with no support and no way to share results except by emailing completed forms. There is no data management, nor is there a way to drive task creation and management for inspection failures. For some simple safety programs, that could be enough. Modern safety programs tend to find this only a marginal improvement from paper forms. Information, once gathered, should be accessible and actionable. If you can’t easily use it, why would you collect it?
Safety reporting software questions
Q: We are already using a system for reporting incidents and close calls. What does this package bring to the table?
Answer: That’s great, you’re ahead of the bulk of companies who still use paper forms–but there are some factors to consider:
- Is the system easy to use for your employees? Are they using it?
- Are all accidents and injuries being reported? When they are reported, do you receive them in real time?
- Do you think you are getting reports of all incidents and close calls in real time, or close to it?
- Some companies have trouble overcoming cultural prejudices about reporting–does your system allow anonymous reporting?
- Does your current system automate regulatory reporting such as that required by OSHA?
These are some of the features that make Sospes a popular choice for safety professionals across many industries.
Q: How do companies use Sospes “Make Us Better” reporting to truly improve?
Answer: Sospes’ Make Us Better feature allows workers to easily create four special categories of reports that both inform management of issues and reinforce safety awareness across the entire workplace. By reporting both positive and risky behaviors, companies can spot patterns of behavior that can be addressed before damage occurs. Safety culture is so critical to a safer operation, and Sospes can be wired into a safety culture to support and encourage it.
By reporting substandard conditions from the field, safety professionals can act quickly to remedy dangerous situations. And the ability to make suggestions shows an appreciation for worker feedback. Sospes creates a way to collect those ideas for evaluation and action.
Q: What makes Sospes’ analytics dashboards so valuable?
Answer:
Most companies collect information about operations, incidents and close calls that have occurred in their facilities, but many have no easy way to accumulate and understand that information. Sospes’ dashboard provides an integrated, fast way to review large amounts of data. This helps identify patterns of behaviors or even situations that have not yet resulted in problems. This lets you take proactive action in addressing areas of concern before they manifest into problems.
Q: What if our company doesn’t permit cell phones on the factory floor/on the job sites?
Answer: We occasionally see that. You could still use the Sospes solution by placing workstations strategically around the work area for use by any worker. The Sospes solution has a flexible architecture that can adapt to most deployment needs
What if it’s too expensive for our budget?
Answer: Sospes costs about the same as a cup of coffee a month per employee for a company with 1,000 employees. That is attainable to most companies, and is a good investment when it comes to prevention. Systems that encourage safety reporting, simplify administration and help you see patterns can be invaluable in reducing accidents.
According to OSHA, one workplace injury costs $36,000 on average (and may cost more indirectly) so systems like this make sense from safety and financial perspectives. Finding ways to maintain awareness of safety issues is a perfect way to remain vigilant and improve safety in your operations.
More information
- Video: Sospes Inspection Module
- Video: Sospes Safety Inspection App
- Mandatory Digital OSHA Incident Recording is Coming
Scott Stone is Cisco-Eagle's Vice President of Marketing with more than thirty years of experience in material handling, warehousing and industrial operations. His work is published in multiple industry journals an websites on a variety of warehousing topics. He writes about automation, warehousing, safety, manufacturing and other areas of concern for industrial operations and those who operate them.