Understanding Workplace Safety Hazards: What Employers Need to Know

Posted on by April Jones

Understanding Workplace Safety Hazards: What Employers Need to Know

| |

While the pandemic has brought mainstream attention to worker safety issues, workers and employers in many industries, such as construction, field services, manufacturing, and transportation/logistics, have long grappled with common workplace hazards. Not only do firms have a vested interest in keeping their employees safe from worksite risks, but the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) also requires them to do so. 

However, despite OSHA being the law of the land for more than 50 years, some employers still lack comprehensive safety management plans that address and mitigate the risk of common workplace hazards. Without such a plan, workers (and potentially customers) may be at risk of illness or injury. Further, their employers face potentially stiff financial, legal, and reputational consequences.

What are workplace hazards?

A workplace hazard is a workplace activity or condition that creates the potential for mental or physical harm. Employers are responsible for remediating workplace hazards that they know about or should have known about and keeping a log of all workplace injuries and illnesses that have occurred at the workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Agency is tasked with inspecting worksites to ensure that employers provide workplaces free of hazards, and it takes enforcement actions when they are not.

What are the different types of hazards?

While the Act covers specific and detailed General Industry safety standards (as well as those for the Agriculture, Maritime, and Construction industries), OSHA’s general duty clause is broader. It requires employers to ensure their worksites are “which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.” While the list of hazards the Act covers is significant, they can generally be divided into the following categories:

Safety hazards

Safety hazards are workplace activities or conditions that can result in accidents or cause injuries. The list of possible safety hazards is considerable, but common examples include employees:

  • Being provided with broken mechanical or electrical equipment
  • Navigating slippery or cluttered floors
  • Working on insecure scaffolding or not having appropriate fall protection equipment
  • Working inside buildings with a single entrance/exit or blocked fire exits
  • Working schedules that are impossible to fulfill without cutting corners, among others

Biological hazards

These workplace safety hazards can stem from exposure to dangerous materials, such as healthcare and lab workers’ exposure to infectious diseases, or a food processing employee’s exposure to animal materials, in a day’s work. However, biological hazards can also result in all workplaces from neglect, such as in mold occurrences. 

Chemical hazards

Chemical hazards can also result from exposure to dangerous substances and compounds as part of a worker’s routine duties. Employers must ensure that equipment is in working order, employees are provided personal protective equipment (PPE), and that chemicals are handled in well-ventilated places, among other safety measures, to mitigate the risk of injury/illness from a worker’s exposure to chemicals. Employers are required to provide Safety Data Sheets for anyone that manages chemicals in the workplace.

Physical hazards

Workers in certain industries often face a variety of physical hazards. Construction workers may deal with excessive noise, while manufacturing workers may face elevated temperatures. Or an employee at a nuclear plant may deal with radiation exposure. Employers must minimize the risk of employee injury from these and other types of physical hazards.

Ergonomic risk factors

Another type of hazard concerns physical activities that may result in injury. For example, a worker who must repeatedly perform heavy lifting puts themselves at risk for musculoskeletal injury, as would an employee who performs repetitive injuries. Employers should examine processes and workflows that create this type of risk and provide tools, or even automation, to minimize ergonomic risks. 

How to identify hazards in the workplace

Safety-conscious employers can identify workplace hazards through regular inspections of their worksites, equipment, and operations. It’s best to document these inspections to help ensure the appropriate remediation takes place. 

It’s also recommended that employers speak with frontline workers about workplace safety hazards, as they will likely identify some that managers miss. Among other areas of potential danger, employers should examine:

  • Clutter
  • Use of electrical, chemical, or biological materials and equipment
  • Equipment maintenance and operation
  • PPE inventory and suitability
  • Work scheduling and processes
  • Emergency plans and evacuation procedures
  • Fire safety measures

These areas are just a sampling of workplace elements where hazardous conditions may be found. In addition to seeking input from workers, it’s also often advisable for employers to use services from third-party safety experts to help identify all potential workplace safety hazards.

How to prevent hazards in the workplace

Performing regular workplace safety inspections is one way to prevent hazardous conditions. Another tool is training. Employers should ensure that workers at all levels have the fundamental training they need to perform their duties safely and receive regular refresher training that helps keep their skills up-to-date. Further, workers should also be well-versed in their employer’s internal safety practices and procedures to help prevent hazards.

Employers should also encourage a safety-oriented workplace culture. Workers should not only have an outlet to provide health and safety-related feedback, but they should also be actively encouraged to do so. In unionized environments, formal mechanisms, such as labor-management health and safety committees, may be established by contract or past practice. However, all workplaces, union and non-union alike, should establish a mechanism for workers to identify potential hazards without fear of retaliation.

Another way to prevent workplace hazards is by establishing a workplace health and safety management plan.

The benefits of a health and safety management plan

When employers develop a comprehensive health and safety management plan, employers can greatly mitigate the risk of worksite illnesses, injuries, and deaths. They can also save themselves considerable money in the process. When a safety incident occurs at work, the company may be liable for damages from the victim/family or, if the incident stemmed from an OSHA violation, from the Agency. Employers lose the services of an employee, reducing overall productivity. And their insurance premiums may also go up as a result.

But by drafting a plan that includes provisions for workplace hazard prevention, assessment, and remediation and employee training (from leadership on down), employers can avoid high financial costs, productivity reductions, legal consequences, and bad press.

Using GoCanvas to identify hazards and ensure a safe workplace

When incorporating GoCanvas into their workplace health and safety plans, employers don’t need to rely on expensive third-party consultants for periodic assessments. Instead, they enjoy continuous access to a robust safety application that helps employers and employees collaboratively identify workplace safety hazards and incidents in real-time, reducing paperwork and saving time and money in the process. GoCanvas’ robust platform allows you to take advantage of pre-formatted forms for specific industries and use cases or build your own, tailored to your unique business.

Interested in learning more? Try GoCanvas for free or contact us for more information today.

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Frequently asked workplace safety questions

What are the most common safety hazards at work? +

Common hazards include slips, trips, falls, exposure to hazardous substances, electrical risks, and ergonomic issues. These can lead to sprains, burns, and repetitive strain injuries. Identify risks early and reduce them with clear protocols, training, and the right PPE.

How can I identify potential hazards in the workplace? +

Run regular inspections, review incident reports, and ask employees for feedback. Assess equipment, materials, and work processes. Use checklists and safety audits to spot risks in a structured way. Involving workers builds a proactive safety culture.

What are the different types of hazards in the workplace? +

Hazards fall into categories: safety (machinery failures), chemical (toxic exposure), biological (bacteria, viruses), physical (noise, radiation), ergonomic (repetitive strain), and psychosocial (stress, harassment). Knowing the type helps you apply the right controls.

What are some examples of safety hazards in the workplace? +

Examples include wet floors that cause slips, exposed wires that shock, unguarded machines that injure, and cluttered walkways that trip people. Address these quickly and reinforce awareness with regular training.

How can workplace hazards be prevented? +

Use a control hierarchy: eliminate the hazard, substitute safer options, add engineering controls, enforce administrative controls, and supply suitable PPE. Provide ongoing training, set clear procedures, and encourage reporting so risks are fixed early.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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A Guide to Stop Work Orders for Contractors

Posted on by April Jones

A Guide to Stop Work Orders for Contractors

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Dealing with paper-thin margins and tight schedules is not the only nightmare for a contractor on a project. A minor violation of the building code can force a stop work order, leading to extended timelines, expensive penalties, and more customer frustrations. This article covers what you should know about stop work orders and we share how easy-to-use construction jobsite management software can better manage contracts and work orders.

What Is a Stop Work Order in Construction?

A stop work order (SWO) is a legally binding instruction given to a contractor, asking them to suspend all work on a project. The order may be given by word of mouth, but it’s only enforceable when confirmed in writing. Stop work orders may apply in any project with a written contract, but they’re more common in the construction industry. When issued, the contractor should cease all project-related activities immediately.

What Are Common Reasons for a Stop Work Order?

When a project fails to comply with the building code, the authorities can issue a stop work order. The orders also help to solve payment disputes, and they can help reduce the extent of damage in breach of contract. Here are more reasons why you would get served with one:

  • Failure to comply with workers’ compensation regulations
  • Using unlicensed contractors
  • Violating environmental protection laws or use of hazardous materials at the construction site
  • Failure to follow the Occupational Health and Safety Act
  • Any other activity considered illegal according to the regulations

Who Can Issue a Stop Work Order?

The authorities and anyone who’s part of the contract can request a stoppage. Government agencies will recommend a work stoppage for noncompliance with the regulations. Sometimes a project may move according to plan, but the requirements change midway, forcing modifications that might need government approval. A stop work order can also help when a client or contractor disputes when one party changes the agreed terms and substantially alters the final product. Workers can also ask for suspension of operations to resolve a payment dispute. 

What’s Included in a Stop Work Order?

A stop work order will describe everything that needs to be suspended and provide clear instructions on fixing it. Here is what you can expect to find in the document:

  • Details of the activities suspended. It could be a section of the works or the entire project.
  • Clear instructions on the corrections needed. For example, the authorities can order a contractor to obtain a permit for renovation work before continuing with the project.
    • Resolution: The SWO should provide the steps for work resumption should the contractor make corrections that meet the requirements.
    • Termination: If it seems like no amount of rectifying will resolve the problem, like when the project owner and contractor have irreconcilable differences, the stop order should outline the steps for termination.
  •  The SWO should also explain the penalties for non-compliance. They could include consequences like prosecution, civil fines, termination of the contract, and others.

What Types of Stop Work Orders Exist?

Not all stop work orders require you to abandon the construction site completely. The authorities might issue a full or partial stoppage depending on the potential impact of the issue at hand. 

  • In partial SWO, you will halt some activities and continue with the rest of the work. For example, a partial PWA can be issued to make you address the safety issues of a section of your construction as you continue working on other sites.
  • A full SWO stops the entire operation. It’s usually used when it’s found that you need to address serious issues affecting your entire project, like a change in technical specifications or non-compliance with regulations.

What Should You Do When You Receive One?

A stop work order may cause unnecessary delays and possible prison time for legal noncompliance. You also don’t want to spend your time fighting legal battles for money that could have been more useful in your project. 

Here’s what you need to do when you get an order to halt operations:

  1. Stop working immediately, or you could face serious penalties from the authorities.
  2. Contact the issuing authority to seek further clarification if you need to.
  3. Review the issues raised to confirm any violations. Contact your lawyer if you feel the order was raised unfairly.
  4. Determine the cost and extent of the work needed to make corrections. You can decide whether termination makes more sense than continuing the project.
  5. Create a work plan and fix the issues.
  6. Start the process of having the order by requesting an inspection of the work done. Sometimes the SWOs are lifted by the expiration of time.
  7. Pay the fines if you have to and resume your project.

What Are the Penalties for Not Following a Stop Work Order?

You should brace yourself for heavy fines and penalties from the authorities if you decide to ignore a stop work order for noncompliance. Across many states in the US, civil penalties start to accumulate from the first day you violate the SWO, building up to a hefty sum that you might struggle to pay. Noncompliance may also bring criminal charges, not forgetting the time spent sitting in courts or dispute resolution sessions.

What is an Example of a Stop Work Order?

A stop work order will be very specific to the violations in your project.  State departments and city authorities can issue stop orders for many reasons. For example:

Failure to Comply With City Zoning Regulations

  • Unsafe activities at a job site, for example, a tunneling project with extremely loose soil above ground
  • Extreme modifications going against what was previously approved for a project

A project owner who wishes to have similar powers to halt operations should ensure that they include a stop work order clause in the contract.

How Do You Resume Work?

Stop work orders are costly to the project, and contractors should prioritize resuming normal operations as fast as possible. Work may start again when the order is canceled, expires, or the authorities send a written notice to continue working. 

Here’s what you need to do if you want to lift the order quickly:

  • Handle the corrections immediately. The best solution is to clean up your mess as soon as possible to avoid penalties and further delays.
  • Request for re-inspection from the issuing authority. It’s going to be thorough, so ensure that you’ve done a pretty neat job this time.
  • Pay the applicable fines.

Preventing Stop Work Orders From Disrupting Your Construction

Running a construction project is a tough job, and it would be regrettable if a stoppage should get in the way of meeting your schedules. It is always a good idea to comply with all the building codes and environmental regulations in your area. Try to maintain good relations with all of the stakeholders in your project. 

Ensure that you document everything, and it might help in your defense should you run into legal troubles. However, all this is easier said than done, and you may benefit from having construction management software to keep up with all the requirements.

What is Construction Management Software?

Construction management software is designed to integrate with different aspects of construction work like contract management, threat analysis, stock management, cost management, client management, task management, and much more. 

Construction management software can help contractors at different levels to keep tabs on every part of the project, helping them with compliance, avoiding contract disputes, and curbing illegal or substandard work.

Benefits Managing Construction Contracts and Work Orders With Software

As a contractor or project manager, you will have a much easier time navigating SWO-related issues when you have software to help manage work orders, contracts, inspections, and similar workflows between the field and office. 

For example, you will have all your contracts in one place where they’re easily accessible, and you can track and avoid changes that might cause a stop work order. Here are some of the benefits of using software for construction:

  • Planning. It’s much easier to staff your project and equip them with the right tools when you have effective planning software. Having the right people doing the work with equipment that serves them sufficiently lowers the chances of doing substandard work and accidental injuries caused by insufficient tools. 
  • Communication. Effective stakeholder engagement is one of the most critical roles for any project manager. However, poor communication is one of the biggest hindrances, and it causes many contractual disputes. The major challenge is how to process the tons of information coming in from different sections and share it effectively with the owners, the workers, and the authorities. The software provides timely alerts and useful communication tools like reports and analytics that you share with the stakeholders as needed. 
  • Documentation. Imagine being unable to trace your safety reports or having a hard time accessing your building permits. Document management can be one of the hardest things to do, and software keeps everything in one place so you can focus on your deadlines instead of paperwork.
  • Safety. Incorporating software into your construction project brings more awareness to safety-related issues. They can help you identify possible risks and plan for safety guidelines to minimize worksite injuries and stop work orders.
  • Monitoring. Construction management software gives you more eyes over the project, making it easy to keep everyone accountable for their work and monitor your operations from anywhere. Greater visibility into your field operations can allow you to spot issues, trends, and other information that can be difficult to report on without the help of digital technology.

Software To Manage Contracts & Work Orders

GoCanvas provides an easy-to-use platform for managing your contracts, work orders, inspections, safety programs, quality control, and much more. Contact our team to schedule your demo.

Frequently asked questions

How does a stop work order affect subcontractors? +

A stop work order can significantly impact subcontractors by halting all or part of their work on a project. This interruption can lead to delays in project timelines and potential financial losses, as subcontractors may not be able to bill for work that hasn’t been completed. Subcontractors may face challenges in reallocating their resources and workforce to other projects during the stoppage.

Subcontractors should maintain clear communication with the primary contractor to understand the reasons for the stop work order and any necessary corrective actions. By staying informed, subcontractors can better prepare for resuming work once the order is lifted. It’s also beneficial for subcontractors to have clauses in their contracts that address potential stop work orders to protect their interests.

What are the most common reasons for stop work orders? +

Stop work orders are typically issued due to noncompliance with building codes, safety regulations, or contractual agreements. Common reasons include the use of unlicensed contractors, violations of environmental protection laws, and failure to adhere to workers’ compensation regulations. These orders serve as a regulatory tool to ensure that projects meet legal and safety standards.

In some cases, stop work orders may also arise from payment disputes between parties involved in the project. By addressing these issues promptly and ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations, contractors can minimize the risk of receiving a stop work order. Regular inspections and communication with regulatory bodies can also help prevent such interruptions.

What is the process for issuing a stop work order? +

The process for issuing a stop work order typically begins with an inspection or report of a violation. Once a potential issue is identified, the relevant authority, such as a government agency or project owner, will evaluate the situation. If a violation is confirmed, they will issue a stop work order, which legally mandates the cessation of work until the problem is resolved.

The stop work order will be communicated in writing and detail the specific activities that must be halted, as well as the corrective actions required. Contractors should address these issues promptly to resume work. It’s crucial to understand the terms of the order and seek clarification if needed to ensure compliance and avoid penalties.

How long does a stop work order typically last? +

The duration of a stop work order can vary depending on the nature of the violations and the time required to address them. Generally, a stop work order can last up to 90 days, but it may be lifted sooner if the necessary corrections are made and verified by the issuing authority.

To minimize the duration of a stop work order, contractors should act swiftly to address the issues outlined in the order. Promptly requesting a re-inspection and ensuring all corrective actions meet regulatory standards can expedite the lifting of the order. It’s essential to communicate with the relevant authorities to understand the timeline and requirements for resuming work.

Can a stop work order be issued without a permit? +

Yes, a stop work order can be issued if work is being conducted without the necessary permits. Permits are essential for ensuring that construction projects comply with local building codes and safety regulations. Conducting work without them is a common reason for issuing a stop work order, as it indicates noncompliance with legal requirements.

To prevent receiving a stop work order, contractors should ensure that all necessary permits are obtained before commencing any work. Regularly reviewing permit requirements and maintaining documentation can help avoid such issues. If a stop work order is issued due to missing permits, obtaining the required permits promptly is crucial for resuming work.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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Guide to PPE for Construction Safety

Posted on by April Jones

Guide to PPE for Construction Safety

| |

Though it’s almost impossible to remove all hazards on a construction site, one effective way to keep employees safe is the use of PPE. PPE is essential on construction job sites when there is no other way to remove the risk or hazard. Continue reading to learn more about PPE and what types of risks workers exist for workers on construction sites. The article will explain an introduction to PPE and workplace hazards, and we will explain how software can help manage construction safety programs and inspections.

What is PPE?

PPE is short for Personal Protective Equipment. It includes all devices that employees use to prevent risks in the workplace. PPE protects against injuries to the eyes, head, skin, lungs, and ears. 

Some examples of Personal Protective Equipment for construction safety include:

  1. Gloves
  2. Shoes
  3. Safety glasses
  4. Earmuffs
  5. Vests
  6. Coveralls
  7. Full bodysuits
  8. Respirators
  9. Hard hats

Why is PPE important?

PPE becomes essential after exhausting other measures of risk prevention. Personal Protective Equipment limits exposure to objects or chemicals that can cause harm to workers on the construction site. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) requires employees to wear PPE whenever necessary.

What hazards exist in the workplace?

A workplace hazard creates room for potential harm to the workers. Though employers are responsible for removing these hazards, employees should have a keen understanding of workplace safety hazards. OSHA agents may carry out routine inspections of construction sites to ensure site managers comply with safety requirements.

While construction safety is non-negotiable, common hazards in the workplace include:

  • Safety hazards
  • Biological hazards
  • Chemical hazards
  • Physical and ergonomic hazards

Safety hazards

Safety hazards are conditions or activities in the construction area that cause accidents, injuries, or death. Some actions or scenarios that constitute safety hazards are:

  1. Walking on slippery floors.
  2. Using a faulty working tool.
  3. Standing on an insecure scaffolding.
  4. Absence of fall protection equipment.
  5. Working in a poorly ventilated environment.
  6. Tight working schedules.
  7. Working in buildings with no alternative entrance and exit.

Chemical hazards

Chemical hazards expose a worker to direct contact with a harmful liquid. Construction site managers must provide workers with the correct equipment and put all measures to prevent leakage of chemicals. All employees that handle chemicals should have Safety Data Sheets for routine inspection and reports. 

Biological hazards

Biological hazards can come from exposure to viruses, bacteria, infected animals, or humans. A typical example is a Covid-19 pandemic. To prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace, workers should adhere to WHO guidelines for wearing PPE.

Physical hazards

Construction workers face noise problems and should wear earplugs to prevent harm. Employers must enforce the use of PPEs to reduce the risk of employee injury from physical hazards.

Ergonomic hazards

Excessive physical activities also expose workers to the risk of injuries. A worker who often lifts heavy objects or fails to use the correct object carrying-posture risks skeletal injury. Employers should provide work tools and switch to automation processes to limit ergonomic risks. 

What are the types of PPE?

Types of PPE fall under the category of protection. PPE includes helmets, goggles, boots, safety harnesses, reflective dress, gloves, earplugs, etc. Employers must assess the risks in the job site and provide a suitable PPE. 

Use of PPE for construction safety should be for:

  • Head protection
  • Hands protection
  • Feet and leg protection
  • Face and eye protection
  • Hearing protection
  • Lungs protection
  • Skin or body protection

Head protection

All construction sites require head protection. While employers remove hazards, workers need to wear the correct helmets. Conditions for adequate head protection include:

  • Ensuring the helmet is in good condition. If the headgear is faulty, throw it away while the employer replaces it.
  • A helmet should fit comfortably on the head. And the size should match the individual.
  • Head protection equipment should not prevent someone from wearing earplugs.
  • Only buy headgear from a reliable supplier.

Foot or leg protection

Construction workers must wear protective footwear on the job site to prevent foot injuries. A suitable foot PPE comes equipped with steel toecaps to protect the wearer from falling objects, and it should also protect against puncture wounds from sharp objects.

Ear protection

Construction workers experience high noise levels, which could lead to ear damage. Noise level and duration of exposure are the most significant risk factors for hearing issues. For example, there could be damages if the duration of exposure is short, but the noise level is high. Hence, workers should wear hearing protection that matches both duration of exposure and noise level.

Ear protection must protect without preventing the use of a helmet. Employers must train workers on PPE applications to ensure absolute construction safety. Possible options for ear protection devices include:

  • Earplugs
  • Semi-insert caps
  • Canal caps
  • Earmuffs

Face and eye protection

Eye and face protective devices prevent dust, gas, flying metals, liquid splashes, gas, and sun glare. The selection of eye protection must match the task and fit the worker; otherwise, wearing it becomes useless.

PPE for facial protection are:

  • Goggles
  • Safety glasses
  • Face shields
  • Visors
  • Face screens

Respiratory protection

Construction workers require protective devices that prevent the inhalation of dust, vapors, and gasses that damage the lungs. Like face protection, it’s essential to select a lung-protective device that fits the user and the intended purpose. If there’s no shrug fit of the respiratory PPE, use enough seal to boost protection levels. 

Examples of respiratory protection are:

  • Respirators
  • Filtering face-pieces
  • Fresh-air hose
  • Breathing apparatus
  • Powered respirators

Skin and body protection

Workers on construction sites also deal with harmful dust and chemical splashes. Employees should wear disposable coveralls or aprons that can withstand fluid hazards.

What does OSHA require for PPE?

PPE promotes construction safety by reducing exposure to hazards in job locations. OSHA states that PPE should pass safety standards for design and construction. Other OSHA requirements are:

  1. PPE must be easy to maintain, clean, and store.
  2. Should provide a comfortable fit
  3. PPE must be reliable, effective and encourage the worker to use

What PPE is needed for COVID-19?

Construction workers are at risk of contracting Coronavirus in the workplace, hence gear up. For prevention of Covid-19, the employer shall provide the following kits where applicable:

  • Gloves
  • Face shields
  • Googles
  • Non-surgical masks
  • N95 masks
  • Gowns

Who is required to pay for PPE?

The employer is required to cover the costs of purchasing the PPE for employees. Besides, the employer is responsible for each worker’s training on the use of the specific PPE free of charge. Each employee must demonstrate a proper understanding of the use and maintenance of the PPE. Where necessary, the employer is responsible for retraining the workers on PPE applications.

What are PPE inspections?

PPE Inspections are regular checks performed by companies to ensure total compliance to OSHA and construction safety standards. Pre-use PPE inspections help detect devices’ problems, exposing employees to hazards.

Inspections help identify issues with the equipment before an accident happens. Completing an inspection checklist can confirm whether the PPE is suitable for use or not. Sometimes, cleaning a protective device is all that is needed to put it into shape. But it’s also reasonable to shelve an item that performs below standard.

PPE inspections are an important part of construction safety and regular PPE inspections ensure the devices function as intended. PPE inspections can also be performed during an OSHA inspection, and employers should make sure to prepare for an OSHA safety inspection by creating a clear inspection plan. 

How can you provide safety training for PPE to employees?

As mentioned earlier, employers must train employees on PPE. Such training sessions can be individually or in groups, and they must address the hazards, selection, and use of the PPE. How the employer delivers the safety talk can determine its effectiveness, and the address cannot create positive results if only given to satisfy OSHA requirements.

Consider the following tips for practical safety training for PPE to employees:

  • Present the talk and not read – the presenter should understand the subject and speak in a practical tone. Be clear when speaking and avoid mumbling.
  • Choose competent presenters – A foreperson or supervisor with rich experience in safety should deliver the talk. Junior employees will take the program seriously when a superior engineer presents the safety talk.
  • Bar all distractions – Hold the talk in a serene environment.
  • The talk must be straightforward as it addresses the worker’s safety.
  • Make your topic concise.
  • Avoid generic talk that could distract the employees.
  • Use props where available
  • Document the safety training session

Benefits of managing safety programs with software 

Analyzing safety programs and creating safety checklists with mobile apps can prevent accidents to employees. The use of software can make your construction site safer and keep your business in compliance with OSHA’s directives. 

GoCanvas offers practical and easy-to-use OSHA mobile apps to enhance your OSHA’s compliance efforts.   Get in touch to learn how managing safety programs with software is essential for maintaining construction safety standards.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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What is HAZOP Analysis?

Posted on by April Jones

What is HAZOP Analysis?

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Reducing workplace hazards as much as possible ensures the health and well-being of your employees, and also prevents the costly repairs, lawsuits, and lost reputation that can come from a safety-related incident. One of the key methods of proactive hazard control is Process Hazard Analysis (PHA). In fact, OSHA finds PHA to be such an important step that it’s required as part of their standards. This article covers one of the components of PHA, Hazard & Operability Analysis (HAZOP) and digital templates you can use for your organization.

What is HAZOP?

Identifying risks means taking a systematic look at the way processes and operations work – both the way they are intended to work and the ways in which they work in practice. A Hazard & Operability Analysis is one way of doing that. During a HAZOP study, your team will break down the process or operation into smaller segments and examine each one for potential hazards. 

The goal of a HAZOP is to discover design and engineering issues that may lead to hazards. These issues are often overlooked during an initial design phase because everything is assumed to go according to plan. By bringing in a multi-disciplinary team, a broader view of the process can be had. Unintended ways in which the process or operation may be performed can be found, and any hidden hazards discovered before they have a chance to cause a catastrophe. 

To understand the concept better, let’s take a look at a simple example. Imagine you have some complex process. Your HAZOP team has broken that process down into many tiny portions, called nodes. Imagine further that one of those nodes involves pumping coolant from a storage tank to a piece of machinery. The team would then identify all the ways in which this process may go wrong. For example:

  • Perhaps the pump stops pumping. What hazards does an overheating machine cause?
  • Maybe the pipe carrying the coolant bursts. Will the escaping coolant burn someone?

These types of questions are asked and answered about every aspect, or node, of the process.

Who should be a part of a HAZOP analysis?

Picking the right people for a HAZOP team is extremely important. In fact, if you pick the wrong people, you may be better off doing no HAZOP analysis at all. The purpose of a HAZOP study is to provide your staff with peace of mind regarding the safety of the process and operations they engage in. Further, HAZOP analysis provides the groundwork for preparing employees for dealing with the potential hazards that are discovered. If the staff performing the HAZOP is incomplete, or isn’t qualified, then everyone will be ill-prepared for potential hazards and have a false sense of security while on the job.

Therefore, it’s important that the team you assemble to conduct a HAZOP study is well-qualified in their particular area of expertise. However, it’s equally important that you bring in people from a variety of disciplines. The strength of a HAZOP study comes from being able to view the process outside of the bounds in which it was designed. This requires as many perspectives as possible. 

How do you perform a HAZOP study? 

Once you’ve assembled your team and determined which process or operation they’ll be conducting their HAZOP study on, the process itself is straightforward and highly systematic. The team should conduct their study by following the six steps listed below:

1. Identify nodes

Each part of the system should be broken down into the smallest possible component. Each of these components, or nodes, should then be examined individually. Performing the study in this way ensures that all aspects of the system will get a thorough review.

2. Use guide words to identify deviations

Guide words are the heart of a HAZOP study. For each of the guide words listed below, think of how it may apply to the node of the process being studied. In order to do this effectively, the parameters of the node should be determined and compared to the list of guide words. Custom guide words may be developed as the team sees fit.

  • No or not – Something is not happening that should be.
  • More – There is more of something than there should be.
  • Less – There is less of something than there should be.
  • As well as – Something else is happening in addition to the intended design: Oil as well as impurities.
  • Part of – Only part of the process is operating as expected.
  • Reverse – A process is behaving opposite of what is expected.
  • Other than – A substitution has occurred: Something other than oil in the system.
  • Early – A part of the process arrives or finishes early.
  • Late – A part of the process arrives or finishes late.
  • Before – A part of the process arrives or finishes before another one.
  • After – A part of the process arrives or finishes after another one.

3. Identify the causes of those deviations

By applying the guide words to all of the parameters of a node of operations, your team will have identified the ways the parameters may be off. Now, they must brainstorm to determine all of the conditions that could lead to these parameters behaving incorrectly. By doing so, they’ll have identified many of the ways that hazards can develop. 

4. Determine the consequences

For each of the causes in the previous step, the team should figure out what the consequences of those causes are. This is an important part of determining exactly what safety hazards are presented by the problems. 

5. Identify safeguards

For any consequence that presents a safety hazard, the team should determine a list of safeguards that can help prevent that hazard from occurring. Additionally, they should come up with a procedure for dealing with those consequences should preventing them not work. 

6. Provide safety recommendations 

Finally, the team should assemble a list of safety recommendations based on the safeguards and mitigation procedures that they developed in the last step. This will give management the tools they need to make informed decisions about what changes need to be made to the processes, operations, and training surrounding them. 

Using software for safety and risk management 

Using paper forms is time-consuming, error prone, and makes it difficult to quickly distribute the results to everyone who needs them. Companies are going digital with their operations, leveraging tools like GoCanvas Safety  that is built to meet the complex needs of hazard management. Data entered into the mobile app becomes immediately available and can be presented in an easy-to-understand dashboard. The software allows you to examine key metrics from the data to determine trends and gain insights that will let you find and address hazards more quickly. By digitizing your safety management programs, you help ensure that your business stays compliant with rules and regulations in your industry.

Simplify Hazard Analysis with GoCanvas

Built-in to GoCanvas Safety is a set of templates that will make your hazard identification studies more streamlined and thorough than ever before. This includes not only templates for HAZOP, but for a wide range of hazard identification use cases. These tools and templates make specialized hazard and safety software a must-have for any operation that wants to maximize its hazard-reduction efforts.  Follow this link to access the HAZOP form template and get started today with a free trial of GoCanvas to see how it works.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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Investing in Mobile Form Builders: How to Calculate the ROI

Posted on by April Jones

Investing in Mobile Form Builders: How to Calculate the ROI

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If you are thinking about investing in a , it’s important to understand what that means for your business and the potential return on investment (ROI). Form builders help field service companies to digitize their processes and improve workflows between the field and office. Simple, yet powerful software built for the field can become your competitive advantage, with a digital experience for customers and tools to improve productivity for your employees. This article will cover some of the types of questions to ask yourself to understand the potential ROI that can be achieved through direct cost savings, productivity gains, and much more. You can also access our free ROI calculator here, that shows you the impact of GoCanvas on key business outcomes.

8 Considerations for Calculating ROI

While calculating return on investment is a fairly simple calculation, there can be some nuance to understand the different ways software impacts your business outcomes. The basic concept of ROI calculations is to understand the cost savings or revenue growth achieved when implementing software, minus the cost of the initial investment. The difference is your return on investment and it helps provide justification for the time, effort, and money spent on building out these business processes. With most form builders and field service management software, there is a clear return on investment in the form of cost savings, productivity gains, and competitive advantage by going digital over paper. While each business is unique, here are some helpful questions and categories to consider:

1. Number of Employees on Staff

Starting with the number of employees you have is important for understanding your ROI calculation. For example, if you only have two employees that are managing your operations, the calculation will be very different than if you have one hundred employees. As a company scales its growth, it becomes a larger impact to implement form builders and software built for the field to help eliminate manual processes. Manual processes on a smaller scale are manageable, but become increasingly difficult as your business grows.

2. The Cost of Paper

It’s often overlooked, but the direct cost of paper can be more than you think. You should consider things like how many paper forms are filled out by employees each day and what are the costs per form. This will allow you to calculate the direct cost of paper spent on a daily basis, so you can get a true cost of your paper processes. GoCanvas is often priced below what a typical company spends on buying paper forms, not to mention the impact that office paper has on the environment.

3. Time Spent Delivering Paper Forms

Do your employees spend time traveling between the field and office to manage paperwork? If so, then you could be losing valuable employee time that can add up into a significant cost to your business. To calculate the total daily cost of form delivery, you can multiply the number of hours per day spent delivering forms by the average hourly wage for a field technician. Form delivery is often one of the most expensive components of paperwork and manual processes. Going digital allows employees to upload their documentation instantly to the cloud, giving real-time visibility into operations and reducing the need for travel time.

4. Time Spent Manually Entering Data

Another cost that is often overlooked and difficult to calculate is the time employees spend in the office to manage paperwork and perform manual data entry. To calculate the total daily cost of manual data entry, you can multiply the hourly pay of office administrators by the number of hours per day employees spend  entering paperwork into your back office or accessing paper based forms.

By pushing data collected from field service management software to your other back office software tools, you can eliminate these very manual processes of data entry and paper form collection. Don’t forget the cost of hard to read paperwork, or even having to pull that paperwork afterwards to confirm information. Rework is often another culprit when it comes to dealing with manual processes that are a drain on productivity.

5. Time Spent Fixing Incorrect Forms and Tracking Down Information

Form builders like GoCanvas can help you to eliminate the time spent tracking down missing or incomplete information and trying to decipher handwritten data and information. Understanding the daily cost of fixing errors and tracking down information is an important consideration. Be sure to ask yourself how many hours a day are spent by your data entry specialist tracking down info and/or fixing errors. While this may be hard to calculate, having an estimate is a useful measure for understanding how employees on average are spending their time fixing problematic paperwork.

6. Time Spent Calculating Costs and Looking For Data

Form builders like GoCanvas will save you a large percentage of the time spent doing manual calculations and looking up data that would normally have been in paper-based customer lists, product catalogs and price lists. Be sure to calculate how many hours per day are spent by each of your mobile workers looking up information. For examples this could be in Parts Catalogs, Patient Files, Price Books, Tax Lists, Delivery Schedules, and more. This will allow you to better understand the total daily time savings by switching from paper forms to a digital form builder like GoCanvas.

GoCanvas will save you a large percentage of the time spent doing manual calculations and looking up data that would normally have been in paper-based customer lists, product catalogs and price lists.

7. Job Write-Offs

Many businesses that lose important documents like work orders and invoices have to write these costs off. Software can help you to eliminate this issue and helps you recoup this lost revenue. For example, how much business do you write off because of lost, damaged or illegible paperwork each week? While this may be harder for you to calculate, having an estimate of the write-offs that happen while on the job can help you get an idea of lost opportunities that can be avoided with better processes.

8. Other Soft Savings to Consider

In addition to helping organizations recoup lost revenue and save time, tools like GoCanvas enable businesses to realize a variety of soft savings that may or may not be able to be directly measured, but can be extremely valuable. Here are some key considerations:

  • Are efforts to improve your company’s going green initiatives important to you and your company?
  • Is the ability to access real time data from the field important to you or your company?
  • Field service software does the math for your workers, eliminating errors. Is this important to you and your company?
  • Technology can collect information not possible on paper (e.g., the actual time of events, GPS locations, photos, payment capture) and give you advanced functionality to Dispatch forms to employees and improve collaboration. Are these features important to you and your company? 

Now that you have an understanding of what factors go into calculating the business impact of software built for the field, be sure to fill out our free online calculator to see the potential ROI of GoCanvas. You can also reach out to our team at any time and we can walk you through the ways GoCanvas can make an impact for your business growth.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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Top Checklist Apps for the Construction Industry

Posted on by April Jones

Top Checklist Apps for the Construction Industry

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Embracing technology is one opportunity for contractors in the construction industry to increase their productivity and streamline operations. Construction project management software is one category of software solution that can be deployed on job sites to manage how work gets done. This article covers some of the top construction checklist apps in the construction industry, with links to examples and templates you can access on the GoCanvas site. We will also share some of the key benefits for using construction checklist apps and the top use cases within the construction industry.

Why Go Digital with Construction Checklist Apps

Historically, companies used paper forms as the primary mode of collecting data, but more firms are beginning to move away from paper-based processes. Companies are now switching to digital apps that can simplify the process for everyone involved and eliminate the headaches of using paper forms. Bringing the process into the digital world is beneficial to organizations in a number of different ways. Here are some of the key benefits:

Improve Workflows Between Field and Office

Construction apps help to streamline work between the field and the office. Eliminating paper forms helps to reduce the time spent on manual and error prone processes that can waste time and decrease productivity for everyone involved. All data can be easily captured using a mobile device or tablet, without requiring an internet connection. Digital construction apps transform how teams work, both in the field and in the office, with a suite of tools designed to improve and manage workflows.

 

Enable Best Practices for Data Management and Analytics

Digital construction apps for contractors help to ensure that data is consistent and accurate every time, with standardized fields for collecting information and best practices for data capture. Businesses also need greater visibility into their operations in real-time. Digital construction apps allow you to track issues in the field and have a quick turnaround time if another action needs to be taken, like scheduling further maintenance or repairs, for example. Construction apps for contractors promote best practices for data capture in the field and allow companies to easily roll up and summarize information for reporting.

Top Use Cases for Construction Checklist Apps

There are many types of construction checklist apps available for job sites today. These can help with safety, quality, project management, and much more. Here are some of the top use cases to consider:

Safety and Risk Management. Checklist apps are useful for converting your paper forms into digital safety programs. Perform inspections, report incidents, assign toolbox talks, perform safety audits, and much more. Digital tools help you to assign and manage your safety programs, helping to formalize these programs and minimize your risk.

Quality Control. Construction checklist apps are widely used to ensure that quality standards are met. Quality control inspection checklists can be utilized during all phases of construction projects, and PDF reports can be generated automatically for key project stakeholders. Managing quality control checklists using construction management software can help your business avoid rework and delays. Construction checklist apps ensure this work is completed and can be monitored using dashboards and analytics.

Equipment Inspections. Routine equipment inspections are another popular use case for checklist app software. Preventative maintenance and equipment inspections can be performed from a mobile device or tablet, bringing this information directly to the cloud. Companies have found that real-time insights into field operations can help them become more proactive and address problems before they lead to larger issues for the project. Construction apps enable data analytics and help to make your data actionable.

Project Management. Checklist apps are commonly used by project managers to ensure that processes are being followed on every job site. Common checklists like pre-project and project close out checklists help to keep work organized and provide a digital way to manage workflows.

10 Examples of Construction Checklist Apps 

There are many types of construction checklist apps available for job sites today. These can help with safety, quality, project management, and much more. We have compiled a list of the top construction checklist apps used in the construction industry. 

GoCanvas provides a central platform to manage all of your job site operations.  Follow the links to access the construction checklist apps on the GoCanvas App Store and sign up for a free trial to see all of our digital checklist apps for contractors.

1. Job Site Safety Inspection Checklist App 

This worker safety app also helps ensure that all construction work employees comply with OSHA standards in order to reduce workplace injuries and increase overall standards for workplace safety.

2. Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Compliance Checklist App

The safety data sheet app enables employers to develop a hazard management program of occupational safety measures, including training, which is specific to the individual workplace, and to consider any measures that may be necessary to protect the health and safety of the work area.

3. Equipment Inspection Checklist App

Construction equipment operators and others who are responsible for preventive maintenance and equipment safety can use the electronic inspection form to perform complete equipment safety reports from anywhere in the field.

4. Personal Protective Equipment Inspection Checklist App

Personal protective equipment must be used and worn in many work situations in order to protect employees from harm and potential hazards. Use this convenient construction checklist to make sure that occupational safety guidelines are being enforced to ensure the safety of your employees.

5. Electrical Safety Inspection Checklist App

The electrical work inspection app for employee safety provides an electronic self-inspection checklist that covers all aspects of electrical installations, including personal protective equipment, circuit breaker safety and electrical cords. 

6. Quality Control Inspection Checklist App

Contractors, subcontractors and construction project managers can use the construction app to complete a new construction quality control inspection. The app inspects the pre-start phase, foundation phase of construction, rough phase, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, pre-finish phase, and finish phase.

7. Building Inspection Checklist App

This checklist includes a building inspection checklist and tracks all aspects of a building including exterior, heating systems, electrical systems, housekeeping, fire safety, evacuation plans, and other miscellaneous areas ensuring compliance with building codes.

8. Construction Pre-Estimate Checklist App

This checklist helps track all the necessary steps to complete before submitting new construction estimates. Capture all the details of different construction projects, including listing the preferred vendors, permits required, material prices and more. Use the information to create the final estimated cost for new construction contracts.

9. Project Startup Checklist App

The startup checklist app is a smart alternative to project management software and paper forms at the job site. The construction project plan checklist covers everything from defining the scope of work at the job site, to developing the construction project plan and timeline. Once completed, the general contractor, management and other stakeholders can sign off on the project requirements electronically to ensure that all quality standards are met.

10. Project Closeout Checklist App

This helpful checklist is designed to help construction management teams and independent contractors. Use the construction checklist to make sure that all details are covered when handing off project work for quality assurance purposes, and that requirements from the general contractor and project managers have been met.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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Guide to Mobile Inspection Forms for the Trucking Industry

Posted on by April Jones

Guide to Mobile Inspection Forms for the Trucking Industry

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Trucks are the backbone of the global supply chain. According to the American Trucking Association, about 70 percent of all freight and cargo in the United States moves by truck. Without these vehicles, the U.S. economy would grind to a halt within a week. 

However, keeping that workforce moving comes with significant risks. Five million truck drivers share the roads with 250 million motorists — but even though large trucks only represent 2 percent of drivers, they’re involved in 11 percent of all road fatalities.

Passing inspections and complying with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations is key to keeping drivers and motorists safe — and trucks moving and generating revenue.

But that’s often a challenge in and of itself. To pass inspections and meet regulations, carriers and drivers are required to keep a long list of records related to their operations. If, during an inspection or investigation, they can’t produce accurate, up-to-date documentation, carriers and drivers may face fines or have their vehicles taken out of service.  

Using mobile forms can help you maintain and monitor vehicles, repairs, and drivers, and can make it easier for employees to conduct frequent, regular inspections. In this article, we will cover how the information you collect can help you:

  • Keep your Safety Measurement System percentile low
  • Pass roadside inspections and keep trucks generating revenue
  • Understand and manage CSA interventions 

What Carrier Documentation is Required?

Carriers must maintain records including, but not limited to:

  • Accident registers
  • Hazardous materials shipping papers/logs
  • Vehicle maintenance history
  • Annual lists of driver violations
  • Driver’s medical examiner certificates
  • Driver safety performance evaluation certificates
  • Vehicle identifying information: DOT registration, vehicle make, serial number and tire sizes
  • Vehicle inspections: schedule, type and date
  • Pre- and post-trip inspection reports  

How Does Driver Safety Impact Carriers? 

Drivers themselves are not rated, but their inspections, accidents, and violations impact the carriers’ safety measurements.  The data from inspections while a driver works for you remains part of your safety record for two years. Carriers do not inherit any of a new hire’s past violations — only violations received while driving under your authority. 

Why Use an App to Manage Critical Data? 

Pre- and post-trip inspection forms, regular maintenance inspections, and even regular tire inspections are all part of keeping your trucks moving. Logging all of this data onto paper forms means lost paperwork, manually re-entering data, and then storing all of those forms in one of many file cabinets. 

With mobile forms, data entry is more accurate because there is no duplicated data entry, form fields can be required so that nothing gets skipped, and that data is all stored in the cloud, and accessible to you and your drivers anytime and anywhere. And while paper forms get lost or can be destroyed in an accident, data securely archived in the cloud is easily accessed in the case of an accident or legal suit. 

Getting your team to complete regular inspections is key to keeping your vehicles moving. 

Here are some examples of the types of mobile form inspections:

  • Pre-trip inspections. Seven of the top ten CSA violations could be prevented with a thorough pre-trip inspection.
  • Maintenance inspections. Average downtime can cost $100 per hour, so a preventive maintenance system can save money in the long run, help avoid violations, and keep drivers safe.
  • Hazardous materials inspections. A serious violation of hazardous materials transport regulations can cost you more than $77,000.

1. Why Compliance, Safety, and Accountability Matter

 

Keeping Your Vehicles in Check

All vehicles that meet the description of a motor carrier are bound by FMCSA’s regulations, including Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA), FMCSA’s data-driven safety compliance and enforcement program. CSA is designed to improve safety and prevent commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes, injuries, and fatalities. The core element of CSA — the Safety Measurement System (SMS) — measures carriers’ safety performance. Poor safety and compliance can prompt two other elements of the program: interventions and Safety Fitness Determination.

What You Need to Know About CSA’s Ranking Systems 

Identifying Carriers for Interventions 

The FMCSA uses historical data, such as number of crashes or compliance violations, to identify carriers for interventions. Through interventions — which could range from warning letters to investigations — inspectors work with the carriers address those issues. They then use a rating system to designate the safety of motor carriers and remove those unfit to operate on public roads.

Safety Measurement System Percentiles

CSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) assigns carriers a Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) percentile in seven categories. Carriers are grouped by the number of safety incidents (e.g., crashes or violations) they’ve had in each category, then assigned a percentile. The higher the percentile, the worse the performance. This percentile does not affect the carrier’s safety ranking; it simply prioritizes them for interventions.

Safety Rankings 

Safety rankings may be assigned after an on-site investigation. Carriers can be assigned the ranking satisfactory, conditional, or unsatisfactory. A carrier ranked as unsatisfactory is prohibited from operating a CMV in interstate commerce. 

The Safety Measurement System (SMS) assigns a BASIC percentile in seven categories: 

  • Unsafe driving
  • Crash indicator
  • Hours-of-service compliance
  • Vehicle maintenance
  • Controlled substances/alcohol compliance
  • Hazardous materials compliance
  • Driver fitness

SMS Prioritization & Public Reporting

Your company’s safety data is publicly available online in FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS). FMCSA updates the SMS once a month with data from roadside inspections, crash reports from the last two years, and investigation results. Some of what the SMS considers includes:

  • Number of safety violations and inspections
  • Number of trucks/buses a carrier operates and number of vehicle miles traveled
  • Severity of safety violations

How Do You Maintain Your Records?

To comply with the FMCSA’s CSA and SMS programs, and keep vehicles moving and companies generating revenue, it’s important for company owners and managers to evaluate the quality of their records and record-keeping systems. Mobile inspections help your crew stay up to date on maintenance, compliance, and keep trucks on the roads instead of out of service. 

Using a mobile app to enter, digitally record, and store data electronically eliminates vulnerabilities common to paper records and expedites the record-keeping process. 

2. Minimizing Roadside Inspection Downtime and Avoiding Fines

FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program is designed to keep the roads safe. 

Part of keeping your company’s CSA ranking as low as possible is making sure that all of your vehicles pass roadside inspections with flying colors.  

How Do You Make Sure Your Drivers and Vehicles Pass Inspection?

Make the pre-trip inspection process quick and painless for your drivers. 

Use mobile apps to check, double check, and document all the basics like lights, mirrors, horns, etc. Remember that passing inspection is specific to the category of what is being transported. Instruct your drivers to pay special attention to their vehicle’s brakes, tires, and cargo security (as these are some of the leading causes of large truck crashes), and use a mobile app to document specific areas (including taking photos) pre-trip. 

Make documents easy to inspect.

Crumpled and incomplete documentation that a driver digs out of a messy glove compartment don’t leave a good impression on an inspector. A mobile inspection form gives your drivers access to inspection documents at their fingertips. If an inspector knows the paperwork is organized, he or she will have a better initial impression of your truck overall.

Cooperate.

This may seem like common sense, but it’s not always common. The more cooperation the officer receives, the smoother things go. An officer doesn’t have to go through with a full inspection just because he or she pulls a driver over, but does have the right to cite the driver, the company, or both, so attitude pays. 

How can mobile inspection checklists make your company more efficient (and successful) when it comes to roadside inspections?  

  • Much faster to complete than traditional paper forms
  • Cloud-based forms are instantly accessible for the inspector, anywhere, anytime 
  • Forms can be created to require drivers to fill in all sections so nothing gets skipped  
  • Fields can be pre-populated with company data for efficiency
  • GPS tracks and confirms where the inspection took place
  • Date and timestamp features keep drivers honest and prevent any backdating 
  • Image captures at point of inspection may be later used to substantiate compliance in the event of a crash or accident

What Does Non-Compliance Cost?

  • Improper or lack of recordkeeping violations can soar up to $14,502 per violation
  • Operating in violation of an out-of-service order carries a fine of $22,587
  • Violation of hazmat material regulations generates fines of no less than $463 but up to $77,114 per violation

Beyond the Fine

Non-compliance hits your bottom line beyond just the fine. Your loss of revenue will vary, but you can estimate it using the following equation:

Travel Speed x Revenue Per Hour x Downtime for Non-Compliance = Total Revenue Lost

So, for example, if your truck travels 50 miles in an hour, and your revenue is $1.75 per hour, you will lose $350 if your truck sits for only four hours. And that doesn’t include repairs on the spot, which are more expensive than if planned in advance. But as violations, roadside inspection violations, and fines are logged, they are added to the FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS).

As your ranking climbs within the SMS system, it is more likely that you will be targeted for intervention by FMCSA, which can affect your insurance and contract rates, and ultimately, your ability to attract new customers.

Worried that roadside inspections will take your vehicles out of service? Here are three of the most critical areas for drivers to be aware of to pass an inspection:

  • Completing a full pre-trip inspection. Besides the basic vehicle inspection, drivers should check any load securement devices if the load falls into any special categories. 
  • Knowing the working load limit. The limit requires that drivers use enough weight-rated tie downs to equal at least half the weight of the load. If they are under the limit, they will be out of service (OOS) until they correct the problem. 
  • Using the 10-foot rule. The general rule is that you need at least one tie down for every 10 feet of what the driver is hauling. The tie downs cannot be more than 10 feet apart. Inspectors will measure. Drivers should carry extra tie downs just in case. 

3. Understanding and Managing CSA Interventions 

FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program uses the Safety Measurement System (SMS) to identify carriers that aren’t complying with safety regulations. When carriers earn high enough rankings, CSA uses intervention tools to step in and assist those owners and drivers — or take more serious action if carriers still fail to improve. 

Interventions fall into three categories:

Early Contact 

These initial actions include warning letters, which notify carriers of their performance issues, and targeted roadside inspections to look further into a carrier’s specific safety concerns. 

Investigation 

Safety inspectors (SIs) conduct investigations on site or off site to identify and address safety compliance issues and help carriers identify ways to improve. 

Follow-On 

Following an investigation, CSA may issue a follow-up action, which could include a cooperative safety plan, a notice of violation or claim, or an operation out of service order (OOSO), which instructs the carrier to immediately cease trucking operations.  

What Triggers an Intervention?

Carriers are selected for interventions based on the following:

  • Number of BASIC percentiles above a certain threshold 
  • A critical or acute violation in the last 12 months 
  • Commodity hauled (e.g., passengers or hazardous materials)
  • Intervention history 
  • Time since last intervention
  • Complaint or fatal crash 

Types of Investigations 

On-Site Investigations  

SIs conduct on-site investigations at the carrier’s place of business, where they can interview employees, perform vehicle inspections, and ask carriers to produce documentation to prove compliance. Using mobile forms, you can produce any requested data on demand, on any device. Relying on paper forms, you’ll likely have to spend time before the inspection planning, collecting information, and making copies.

During an on-site investigation, SIs may choose to conduct vehicle inspections to make sure your fleet meets safety performance and compliance regulations. To assess the extent of any issues, SIs may request documentation including roadside inspection reports, vehicle maintenance files, annual vehicle inspection reports, equipment repair receipts, and accident reports.  

Off-Site Investigations 

SIs can also request copies of carriers’ documents to review remotely as an off-site investigation. The SIs use these documents to identify safety performance and compliance problems.

What Happens When There’s a Crash? 

A trucking accident can be costly to a company in a range of obvious ways — such as loss of cargo or vehicle damage. But an accident can be the cause of many indirect costs as well, including lost customers, lost sales, and poor public relations. Crashes also impact carriers’ percentile ranking in CSA’s Safety Measurement System, which can increase the likelihood of an intervention or investigation. 

 And that introduces another potential cost: If carriers can’t produce copies of roadside inspections or repairs records when the accident is investigated, they may face steep non-compliance penalties, civil penalties, and even criminal charges.

Armed with mobile apps, drivers can immediately access inspections records and forms at any time, from any location. In addition, when carriers keep accurate and updated information, they’re better equipped to make sure each truck has been inspected and is in working order — which can help prevent accidents in the first place.   

Do you know how to handle an intervention?   

If you receive an initial warning letter, what should be your next step? Here are three things to consider:

Should you respond to the letter?

Actually, no response is necessary. FMCSA will continue to monitor your performance — it’s your job to immediately take steps to improve your safety performance so no further intervention is necessary. 

Should you prepare for an investigation?

A warning letter is just that — a warning. It does not indicate that FMCSA will conduct an investigation. However, if your safety performance and compliance don’t improve, FMCSA may decide to conduct additional interventions, which could include an investigation.

Take steps to improve your safety 

Now that you have received a warning, it’s up to you to improve your safety performance and compliance, and regularly monitor your SMS data to make sure you don’t put your company at risk for additional interventions. 

Using Mobile Inspection Data to Grow Your Business

Operating trucks of any size is essential for many businesses. Keeping them (and their drivers) on the road has a profound impact on profitability, so maintaining those vehicles is key. It directly affects your ability to compete and win new work in the market.  

Mobile apps can not only help you manage everything from preventive maintenance to daily and weekly inspections — they can also give you valuable insight into your data, which can help you find more business efficiencies and generate more revenue. 

  • Which drivers are most profitable?
  • Which ones routinely “forget” to do pre-trip inspections?
  • Which vehicles break down the most and at what time of year?
  • What are the most common problem areas found during inspections?

With GoCanvas apps, drivers can perform critical inspections for maintenance, pre- and post-trip, with ease. And you have the peace of mind that data is always available to access to keep your vehicles on the road generating revenue and your employees safe. 

The right tools can not only help you stay compliant, but also competitive. Compliance gets easier and vehicles stay on the road when inspections are completed on mobile apps. Key features of GoCanvas include:

  • Photos with inspections. Mobile apps allow the user to photograph wear, tear, and damage during a maintenance inspection.
  • GPS tracking. Knowing where an inspection took place helps you keep tabs on both your equipment and your employees.
  • Required fields. Requiring certain fields to be filled in ensures that all critical information is filled out on maintenance or pre-trip inspections. Data is more accurate, your company is more compliant, and your equipment keeps running.

Want to get started with inspections using mobile forms and apps? Sign up today for a free trial of GoCanvas or contact our team to learn more.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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Best Apps for Painting Contractors

Posted on by April Jones

Best Apps for Painting Contractors

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Contractors are leveraging digital technologies to improve their workflows both in the office and in the field. For painting contractors,  mobile apps and forms can be used to improve how information is collected, shared, and stored. Going digital provides an opportunity for painting contractors to improve the customer experience and streamline their operations. Continue reading this article for examples of the top apps used by painting contractors to improve workflows between the field and office.

Is there an app for painting contractors?

There are many types of apps that painting contractors can use on their mobile devices. Many painting contractors are leveraging a platform for mobile forms and apps to better manage all of their data collection needs in the field. 

For example, GoCanvas is a mobile data platform that is used by thousands of companies to create customizable apps for the field. Most contractors will start with a pre-built template for their industry and customize the app based on their specific business needs. This type of software tool is beneficial for contractors because it gives them the ability to create many different types of apps for the different jobs and tasks that need to be completed on a job site.

A common scenario for many contractors is the process of working with a client on a painting job. Typically in this process you would have an estimate or quote go out to the customer, a work order that gets initiated when work is approved, and an invoice that gets generated once work is completed. All of the steps in this scenario can be done on mobile apps, rather than paper work that can be lost or contain errors. 

How Digital Apps Work for Contractors

Digital apps are designed to digitize your information and eliminate paper sheets from the daily workflow of contractors and business owners. All of the paper forms your business uses today can be transformed into digital and mobile forms that can be completed from anywhere and stored securely in the cloud. Here’s how apps for contractors work:

Digitize Your Paper Forms. The first step is to digitize your paper forms. Most contractors start with one use case like paper work orders, inspections, or estimates. Once you start digitizing your paper forms, it’s easy to see how going digital can save your business time and money. Using the GoCanvas form builder, you can start with a template or build your digital app from scratch.

Dispatch and Collect Information. Apps for contractors will also allow you to assign tasks and dispatch work to employees in the field. Since the information is collected in a standard way, you ensure that information collected is consistent and accurate every time. Data can be collected from the field on a mobile device or tablet, and no internet connection is required.

Report on Your Data. Once data is captured from the field, it’s instantly available in the cloud. This helps you share reports, create dashboards and analytics, and send information via email as PDF documents. Having information digitized in real-time allows your business to move faster and helps to automate your business processes and eliminate manual work.

Top 5 Apps for Painting Contractors – Examples and Templates

Looking for a specific app to help streamline your business? Here are some examples and templates used by painting contractors to automate how work gets done.

1. Painting Estimate with Quick Checklist Mobile App

The Painting Estimate app with Quick Checklist provides a simple way to total up the estimated cost for customer invoices before and after an interior or exterior painting job has been completed. Painting companies can customize the estimate template form to include the square footage of the areas to be painted, a list of services to be performed by the painting contractors, estimated gallons of paint to be used, specialty materials needed, labor and other details for the customer. The business can also add more specific details about the job as needed, including paint colors to be used and the number of coats to be applied.

2. Painting Work Order Invoice with Dispatch Mobile App

The Painting Work Order Invoice with Dispatch mobile app is an easy to use tool for painting contractors and professional painting services. Track all customer details, capture basic painting services details, terms of service and calculate the final costs with the easy to use the work order form designed just for you. Additionally, the application also features Dispatch functionality, making it possible for scheduling managers to assign different jobs in the painting business to the right employee while in the field.

3. Painting Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Report Mobile App

The Painting Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) app provides a simple way for painting contractors and project managers to evaluate test methods, surface preparation, product application and other applicable project procedures.The visual inspection and evaluation of procedures helps ensure that painters deliver work that meets all project standards, and that the objectives and quality assurance guidelines are followed throughout the painting process. 

4. Room Measurement Calculator with Dispatch Mobile App

This Room Measurement Calculator with Dispatch Mobile App replaces the manual process of measuring rooms by hand and provides a wide variety of helpful features. The room measurements form app is perfect for painting companies who need accurate measurements about floor plans. Instead of using graph paper or a computer to chart out room measurements and add notes, the room measurement calculator app does it for you. 

5. Painting Time and Material Form Mobile App

The Painting Time and Material Form is an invoice template app (also exports as a pdf doc) which allows for any painting company or independent contractors to invoice a client for painting jobs completed.This service invoice form can be used by any painting firm that offer services that need to create an invoice (electronically or as a pdf doc) for customers or for billing clients for painting jobs. The form then has a final total painting price for all the services performed on the project, as well as signature fields for who prepared the final invoice, and who accepts it from the client. 

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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Home Inspection Checklists – Examples and Templates

Posted on by April Jones

Home Inspection Checklists – Examples and Templates

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Going Digital With Home Inspection Checklists

Inspection companies are moving toward digital apps rather than using traditional paper forms. By going digital, inspections can be completed from a mobile device or tablet, so information is instantly available in a PDF report. For home inspections, going digital allows you to have all of the necessary forms available within an app for inspectors to use from anywhere. These can be run without an internet connection, giving your business the ability to digitize information from remote locations. Here are some of the main benefits of going digital:

Eliminate paper forms and errors

Paper forms are notorious for becoming lost or misplaced over time. This can cause issues for a business when information is unavailable and it can create rework to fix the problems. Handwritten paper work is also known to contain mispellings, have incomplete sections, or other types of data entry mistakes. While paper work can be difficult to manage, digitizing this information solves many of these problems. Data becomes standardized, accurate, complete, and easy to access from the cloud.

Generate reports in real-time and reduce manual work

One common challenge with paper forms for inspections is the process of taking the paper work and turning it into the final report to share with clients and stakeholders. This process can be manual and time-consuming, requiring employees to dedicate their time on work that can be automated. Going digital with inspection apps allows you to generate the reports in near real-time. Share PDF reports instantly with clients and cut down on the time it takes to complete the reporting process.

Central system for data capture and sharing

Having a centralized system for capturing, storing, and managing your data is a key benefit of going digital with home inspection checklists. You can manage all of your core business documentation from a single platform for field operations. Continue reading this article for examples of specific home inspection checklists using the GoCanvas platform for mobile forms and apps. You can follow the links to view the checklists and sign up for a free trial to see the inspection checklist templates in our PDF designer. GoCanvas has thousands of pre-built templates for all different inspection types and you can easily customize the forms to fit your unique business needs.

10 Best Home Inspection Checklists – Examples and Templates

1. Home Inspection Checklist

This app is designed as a comprehensive tool for inspection companies to use when performing home inspections during real estate transactions. Each checklist can be quickly and easily accessed from a smartphone or tablet for follow-up, or can be generated into a PDF inspection report and submitted to real estate agents, the homeowner, or other appropriate parties. 

2. Residential Electrical Inspection Checklist

This mobile app replaces paper inspection forms that are used to inspect areas of electrical installations prior to installing insulation, sheet rock, paneling and other materials that cover wiring. The perfect tool for electrical inspectors, building code enforcement teams and others who deal with electrical safety and electrical wiring at job sites, this electrical inspection form is easily accessible from any smartphone or tablet and can be customized to meet different building codes and electrical safety regulations.

3. New Home Water Inspection Checklist

Contractors and housing developers can use the new home water inspection app to ensure that a new home has been constructed to meet water conservation standards and regulations. Using a mobile app allows you to automatically generate PDF reports for clients and streamline the inspection process.

4. Home Energy Audit

With the energy usage app, inspectors can perform energy audits quickly and easily right from their smartphone or tablet, making it easy to recommend cost effective energy conservation solutions. The comprehensive energy usage audit app covers a variety of audit data items that can affect energy consumption in the home, including the water heater, insulation type, number of windows and doors and number of floors. 

5. Home Sewer Inspection Checklist

The Home Sewer Inspection Checklist is designed for plumbers, inspectors, and the Do It Yourself (DIY) individual who want to inspect their home sewer. This app includes inspection criteria as well as possible recommendation bases in the findings.

6. Mold Inspection Checklist

The mold inspection app covers indoor mold growth testing, monitoring indoor air quality, checking for excess moisture and water damage and signs of existing indoor mold spores and more. Once the professional mold inspection has been completed, the mold inspector can save the results electronically for their records.

7. Radon Mitigation System Inspection Report

The Radon Mitigation System Inspection Report mobile app is used for performing detailed examinations for inspection reports. The app is designed to be used by inspectors as a reference when conducting an assessment on a radon mitigation system.

8. Residential Swimming Pool Inspection Report

Use this pool report to inspect the area for swimming pool safety hazard issues, safety certificates, diving board depth, pool safety barriers, storage of pool equipment, drain covers, leak detection, lighting system, and electrical equipment. The pool inspector can add notes about the pool structure, water chemistry, equipment and other notes as needed.

9. Fireplace and Chimney Inspection Report

Using this checklist helps ensure that all areas of the chimney are in good repair and that the fireplace and chimney inspection checklist identifies any defects that need repair. If you provide fireplace inspections, professional chimney sweeping services, chimney cleaning, chimney restoration, chimney flue inspection services, chimney repair, or a variety of other chimney services, then this chimney inspection form is the app for you. 

10. Wood Destroying Insect Inspection

The Wood Destroying Insect Inspection mobile app was designed for pest control company inspections. The app can be used for all types of wood destroying insects, including carpenter ants, termites, carpenter bees and beetles. Once completed, the pest control company can save the results for their records.

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas is a mobile platform that makes it simple for businesses to automate how work is done, replacing outdated processes and expensive paperwork. The GoCanvas App works on smartphones and tablets, helping companies easily collect information across their organization, share it instantly with others, and gain real-time insight on their business operations. GoCanvas can be easily customized by any type of business to empower their workforce, unleashing the value in data across the organization to help them connect better with colleagues and engage more effectively with customers.

GoCanvas is trusted by thousands of organizations throughout 70 countries, automating millions of workplace activities, making it one of the fastest growing mobile platforms in the world.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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What is the best app for construction daily reports?

Posted on by April Jones

What is the best app for construction daily reports?

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Construction daily reports serve to keep all project stakeholders updated on the progress of construction work. In the digital era, construction sites have embraced more mobile and digital technologies to capture important information from the field. Construction project management apps are now available for project and site managers to record updates using a mobile device or tablet. By instantly bringing information to the cloud, project stakeholders can easily access updates in real-time.

The best construction daily report apps will enable your job site to easily collect data, share reports, and improve data accuracy and quality. Construction daily report apps should also be connected with other forms and reports produced on a job site, like inspections, timecards, and safety. Having a comprehensive solution for managing data on a construction site can help to increase productivity and streamline your operations. Continue reading this article to learn more about GoCanvas for construction daily reports and related construction job site management apps.

Construction Daily Report Software – What You Should Know 

What makes a best-in-class platform for construction management software? Here are some key considerations when selecting technology for daily reports. 

Ease-of-use

Construction daily reports should be easy for employees in the field to complete. Likewise, it should be easy to assign work and manage workflows from the office. Having an easy-to-use platform for construction job site management will help to improve productivity and eliminate manual processes. In the field, employees will want the ability to easily complete forms on a mobile tablet and have the ability to access relevant information, all in one spot. In the office, construction management software will help managers to assign and view the status of work, with reporting and analytics on key trends from job sites. Prioritize solutions that are easy to use for your staff and this will help to increase their adoption of the new technologies.

Customization

Every company has different ways of working and software should be easily customized to fit your unique job site needs. When thinking about digital forms, the platform should allow you to customize how data is collected from the field. Best-in-class software for construction daily reports will allow you to build custom forms to ensure your data is consistent, accurate, and completed on time. All of this can be done without needing to invest heavily in additional IT resources or time. Construction daily report software should be easy to customize by any end user of the software, giving you the ability to make changes quickly and see a fast time to value.

Comprehensive Solution for the Field

Most software tools today that help with construction daily reports are offered as part of a larger ecosystem of apps and solutions for the field. While you may want to start out with a pilot project to get started, consider how the construction management software can help you expand into other use cases. For example, you may start with construction daily reports, but later decide to roll out other construction apps for safety, inspections, and other operational tasks. Additionally, you may need to integrate data collected from the field with other data and systems that your business uses today. A comprehensive solution for the field is essential, so you can integrate your data systems and create a suite of tailored field solutions based on your business needs. 

How GoCanvas Works

GoCanvas is a mobile platform that makes it simple for businesses to automate how work is done, replacing outdated processes and expensive paperwork. The GoCanvas App works on smartphones and tablets, helping companies easily collect information across their organization, share it instantly with others, and gain real-time insight on their business operations. Construction firms rely on GoCanvas to digitize their work orders, inspections, construction daily reports, safety programs, and more. Get started for free with our construction daily report template or contact our team to learn more.

Construction Daily Report Example and Template

The Construction Daily Field Report app provides a customizable daily report template that is accessible from anywhere in the field. This daily report template allows the project engineer and subcontractors to track all activities at the work site, including the job site report from the foremen, change orders and work orders, site accidents or delays, equipment status, time cards for team members and more. This construction daily report template can be modified to meet the needs of your team members and for different types of construction work.

With the construction daily report app, users can check daily time cards, track project status and more, all from the daily log app. Accessible from any mobile device, you can use the app from any job site and make changes to the template to meet your reporting needs. Once the daily log form is completed, team members can sign off on the information and save it for their records.

As a contractor, use this daily field report template to track progress and work performed on site location. Document and record essential activity data and hours worked through this log form in real time, reducing paperwork and cost.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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