3 Reasons to Invest in Safety Apps for Construction

Safety programs managed on paper are difficult to track. That’s why construction companies are going digital with their safety programs to gain more visibility into safety and track compliance. With digital training or toolbox talks, employees have an easier time accessing information through mobile devices. A digital record is created for documentation purposes within a safety meeting app.

Beyond safety meetings, apps for contractors can act as a comprehensive safety management solution. With robust reporting that’s visible in real-time, organizations can address potential hazards and limit OSHA violations and fines. 

This article covers some of the top reasons why construction companies and contractors are moving away from paper-based processes to modern, digital operations using safety apps.

#1 Modern Operations

Safety apps like GoCanvas are designed to empower businesses of all sizes to completely digitize their operations and business processes. There are many components of a safety program that can be moved away from paper sheets, including things like incident reporting, inspections, safety data sheets, safety meetings, job safety analysis, and much more.

Safety apps for the construction industry take these paper-based processes and convert them into digital programs that are completely accessible to employees via a mobile device on a job site or on a computer.

Making this type of investment in digital technologies is good for workers and the company’s bottom line. 

For businesses, investing in worker safety means lower direct and insurance costs, lower legal fees, more competitive bids, and better overall company performance. An article from Construction Executive even cited that an effective safety program “will increase business value and return between $2 and $6 for every $1 invested in injury prevention.” 

And for employees, an investment in digital apps brings a modern solution for construction safety. This helps to formalize the programs, makes them accessible for everyone, and promotes best practices in the workplace. All of this can lead to greater employee satisfaction in the long run when employees see a clear investment in programs that benefit their well-being. 

#2 Greater Insight into Safety Trends

Data and analytics have historically been underutilized in the construction industry. Research from FMI suggests that 96% of data in the construction industry goes unused.

With mobile apps for safety, construction firms and contractors can have a better understanding of the data that is collected across job sites, automatically rolling this information up for easy reporting. 

The end result is time saved on manually manipulating data for reporting purposes and greater insights into trends. A survey of GoCanvas customers found that going digital with forms and apps for construction has saved their teams 50+ hours per week that was historically spent on manually creating reports.

When thinking about greater insights and visibility into the business, take safety meetings as an example. 

By digitizing safety meetings through apps, management can get real-time visibility into who has attended required safety training and which job sites are underperforming compared to others, in terms of compliance.

Having the data rolled up instantly for analytics and the ability to drill down into specific job sites or other demographic data can be incredibly useful for spotting safety trends, so your organization can take the appropriate next steps.

#3 Ensure Compliance and Lower Risk 

Safety apps are designed to help construction companies and contractors stay in compliance with OSHA and other regulations. 

With digital and mobile apps for safety, GoCanvas customers have reported and 18% reduction in their risk and liability. Some of the most common risks with paper forms are data loss, errors on paper forms, and missing or lost information.

Moving from paper to mobile apps can make your OSHA compliance efforts much easier and more effective. With digital technology you can:

•  Enter data in real-time and that data is not only stored in the cloud but can be immediately shared with a supervisor or manager, minimizing response times
• Create a variety of inspection checklists for various tasks and sites – all accessible from a smartphone or tablet
• Update your mobile apps as OSHA guidelines evolve and change to reflect changes and immediately deploy the information across your organization

Your mobile safety apps will help to ensure that your business is in compliance with the latest regulations and employees won’t have to rely on paper sheets and inefficient processes.

To learn more about digital apps for safety, check out the GoCanvas website and sign up for a free trial of our no-code platform with app templates designed for the construction industry. Go digital with safety apps for incident reports, inspections, safety data sheets, safety meetings, job safety analysis, and more.