The whole point of inspections is to ensure compliance. They help you ensure your work is up to code and your employees are safe. But paper inspections come with a host of issues, many of which could be leaving you at risk. Here are five ways mobile inspection apps ensure better compliance:
1. Apps ensure information is accessible
Perhaps it got lost on the way to your office. Maybe you go to look up a form later on and just can’t find it. Either way, you’re missing a report. It happens to many businesses. In fact, up to 11% of documents are misfiled or lost. That’s 11% of your time wasted. Worse, lost inspections create a massive liability risk.
Going mobile ensures you receive every inspection. Every finished safety inspection is stored securely in the cloud. There, you can access each and every form as a PDF, or download them for your own databases in various form types. GoCanvas also makes it easy in case OSHA audits you.
With all safety inspections stored in your GoCanvas account, you can quickly retrieve your safety inspections to prove your continued dedication to a culture of safety. A mobile app ensures your business has all the safety inspection records you need to stay in compliance and give you an accurate bigger picture.
2. Apps help you avoid errors and misspellings
Reading handwriting can be an art. You can have amazing inspectors, but if you can’t read their writing, they might as well have written the information in Greek! Mobile apps allow you to gather that information in a clear and easy-to-understand way.
Every inspection has typed text. Easily read it at your computer, or even on the go on a smartphone or tablet. You’ll spend less time trying to translate and more time getting work done.
3. Apps create clear documentation
A safety inspection done on paper can be hard to verify. How can you be sure that it occurred at the appropriate time and place?
Some companies have tried to game the system: New York is taking up a case against a business that hired unqualified people to pose as licensed site safety managers. These bad eggs, however, can put additional pressure on other businesses to prove that their work sites are safe.
Going mobile can provide additional information to protect and validate your inspections. Automatic date and time stamps prove when an inspection took place. With one click, you can have GPS capture your location, proving that the inspection occurred at the right location. You can also take photos, providing visual information to back up your inspection. Need a signature? Just sign with a finger or a stylus.
All of these features provide additional proof that paper forms can’t provide. They create external validation, protecting your business even further. Mobile apps keep your business safe and help you gather more information than ever before.
4. Apps eliminate paperwork and associated issues
It’s a dangerous world out there. Grease, dirt, heck even a cup of water can ruin a paper form! All it takes is a stumble for you to tear up an inspection and lose an hour of hard work.
Sure, smartphones and tablets can break. But you can easily protect these devices in a way that was never possible with paper. You can put a paper inspection in a folder, but to use it, you have to write directly on it.
On the other hand, with smartphones and tablets you have choices of different ruggedized devices and protective cases. Not only can you gather information, but you can also ensure that a cup of coffee won’t ruin your hard work.
5. Apps help to minimize rework and manual processes
It doesn’t matter how many asterisks or underlines you use; sometimes forms come back incomplete. With forms taking hours or days to come to your office, it’s often too late to go back and get good information.
A mobile inspection removes this headache. With one click, you can make fields required. Even if an employee skips a section, they won’t be able to submit their inspection until they fill out the required fields. No more chasing down employees days later, just easy-to-read and complete inspections at your fingertips.
Creating accurate reports relies on having the best data possible. Mobile technology reduces human error and allows you to gather more information in real time. Say goodbye to illegible handwriting, missing paperwork, and other holes in your information. Say hello to more accurate information in real time each and every time.
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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Incident reports are used to document when an accident or near-miss happens at work. Instead of using paper forms, many organizations choose to file incident reports digitally as PDF files that can be sent via email. Templates are commonly used to give employees a standard form to file when an incident occurs. Proper reporting is required by OSHA and it helps companies address safety issues by bringing to light any problems or potential areas for concern.
What is an employee incident report?
OSHA requires employers to file timely incident reports. The employee incident report from OSHA is designed to encourage employees to fill out the document and share it with their supervisor when injuries, illnesses, or near-miss events occur. No matter how minor the event may seem, it’s important to file employee incident reports to have an accurate understanding of events in the workplace. The employee incident report gives the employee’s account of the incident, and then the supervisor also gives a separate account when investigating an accident. All of these forms are designed to capture the details of the incident and document what happened for reporting purposes.
Why do you need an employee incident report?
It’s important to encourage employees to self-report incidents. You don’t want a culture where safety issues go unnoticed, as this can lead to further issues and impact employee satisfaction. Employees should feel empowered to voice concerns and share when incidents or near-miss events happen. Providing a digital incident form for employees gives them the ability to submit information on their mobile devices instantly.
What should you include on the form?
Incident report forms follow a standard template that is used to capture all of the pertinent details of the event. Here are some examples of what to include on the form:
Type of incident. Injury, incident, near-miss.
Personal details. Name of employee, name of workplace, job title, supervisor, and the date.
Details of incident. A detailed account of where it happened, what happened, and names of witnesses.
About the incident. Note if this has happened before, could have been prevented, or required medical care.
Why Go Digital with Incident Reports?
Going digital can simplify and standardize your company’s safety management programs. Here are the top three reasons to go digital:
Central, cloud-based platform for safety management
Providing a central location for employees to access and manage safety information can simplify workflows for your employees. If an incident happens, they know to open the safety app and find the appropriate form. If they need to access inspection forms, toolbox talks, and any other safety program documentation — everything is stored in a central location. This helps to increase compliance by making it easier for employees to follow safety program best practices.
Greater visibility into safety program results
Incident reports are one part of a safety program that you would want to analyze the data to understand patterns and trends. Are certain job sites or teams having higher than average incidents? Which teams are participating in required toolbox talks? With a digital safety management solution, you can easily view summarized data in real-time. Leveraging dashboards and analytics, your organization can use data to inform safety programs and minimize risk.
Avoid lost paperwork and manual workflows
Paper forms can be easily lost or misplaced over time. This ultimately creates more challenges if important documents can’t be found. Likewise, paper forms create manual work for employees to fill out paperwork, drive to an office, enter the data into a computer, or rely on mailed documents. All of these workflow challenges create extra work when performing a safety inspection, submitting an incident report, or filling out any number of other safety forms your teams use. Going digital can help automate how work gets done and streamline work for employees. Simply fill out forms using a mobile device or tablet and instantly sync information to the cloud.
Try the Employee Incident Report Template
GoCanvas offers a free trial where you can try out the employee incident report template. Our no-code form builder allows you to digitize paperwork, so employees can submit information from the field on a mobile device. Employees fill out the digital forms and a PDF report is automatically generated and shared with the office. GoCanvas customers have found that by digitizing their safety programs, they’re able to lower risk and liability by 18%.
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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Keeping construction workers safe is a top priority for managers and business owners. This guide covers some of the most common safety meeting topics to cover and provides links to examples to get you started.
What are some good safety topics?
While there are many safety topics you can cover, the best topics are going to be the ones that are most frequent problems in your organization. You can find good safety topics by analyzing your data to understand what types of incidents are most common by job site, and use that to inform what safety topics should be addressed to minimize accidents.
If you don’t have the ability or time to analyze your own data, another place to find good safety topics is to look at OSHA’s top 10 most common violations, as this gives a picture overall on construction safety trends.
What is GoCanvas and how does it work for safety?
In this article, we will share examples of safety meeting topics you can cover using the GoCanvas templates provided. We compiled a list of the most common safety meetings or toolbox talks that construction pros use on the GoCanvas platform.
GoCanvas is a comprehensive safety management solution that helps to keep your workers safe and productive. By leveraging mobile forms and apps in the field, workers can access all safety program information in a centralized, cloud-based software solution. Easily complete toolbox talks from anywhere, file an incident report from a tablet device on a job site, and complete routine job site safety inspections – all within the GoCanvas platform.
10 Construction Safety Topics to Cover with GoCanvas Templates
Continue reading for templates that can be used on specific safety meeting topics. Follow the links below to learn more and sign up for a free trial to test out the experience. We’ve made it simple to leverage our existing safety meeting templates to host your own toolbox talks without having to start from scratch. Keep track of safety compliance and ensure that all of your safety program data is accessible from the field or in the office.
1. Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Safety Meeting Topic
This safety meeting topic provides an easy way to monitor, track and record the employees who have participated in taking measures to become informed on the basic protective measures against the new coronavirus (COVID-19).
This effective tool provides videos that are imperative for all employees to view and learn; what can people do to protect themselves and others, why it is recommended to avoid close contact, and how the coronavirus is affecting people who get it. Using this app, each workplace member who views the video can provide their information and signature to confirm they have watched the videos as required by the employer in efforts to prevent the spread of virus and infection.
Working people at increased risk are those who frequently interact with potentially infected individuals. Increased risk for the contagious spread is health care workers, emergency responders, airline operators, correctional facility staff, educators, cleaning personnel, and other workers with broad exposure working with the public.
This toolbox talk covers the topic of protective eyewear. This safety meeting topic is ideal for helping refresh workers’ knowledge on protective eyewear and related safety practices, standard operating procedures and preventive actions, completing last minute safety checks, reviewing company policies and industry standards, as well as new safety rules and laws. Encourage workers to discuss their experiences with planning, preparation, supervision, and documentation of safety procedures.
This safety meeting topic is designed to mitigate dangers associated with setting up ladders. Falls from ladders and other hazards can cause severe bodily harm or death to workers. Use this safety meeting topic to help spotlight fall protection when using ladders. The meeting topic covers how to avoid injuries when working with ladders and how to prioritize the health and safety of workers.
4. Hazard Recognition and Control – Safety Meeting Topic
This toolbox talk covers the topic of hazard recognition and control. This hazard recognition and control toolbox talk is ideal for helping refresh workers’ knowledge on hazard recognition and control and related safety practices, standard operating procedures and preventive actions, completing last minute safety checks, reviewing company policies and industry standards, as well as new safety rules and laws. Encourage workers to discuss their experiences with planning, preparation, supervision, and documentation of safety procedures.
The Scaffold Requirements safety meeting topic is used to facilitate a discussion surrounding the requirements for scaffolding including erecting and dismantling of scaffolding, the placement of vertical supports, the base support for scaffolding, ensuring safety protocols are followed such as using guardrails, stable materials for the base of scaffolding, that manufacturer instructions are followed for bracing scaffolding, and more.
The defensive driving safety meeting topic is designed for companies that operate vehicles on the job and need to be aware of best practices for driver safety. In all cases, while operating a motor vehicle, drivers should practice defensive driving techniques. Defensive driving is the art of driving so as to prevent and avoid traffic crashes, regardless of the unsafe conditions and actions created by other drivers and adverse road and or weather conditions. This app lays out eight techniques that good defensive drivers do.
This toolbox talk covers the topic of slips, trips, and falls. These types of accidents are common on job sites when the ground is wet or loose from snow, rain, ice, or other liquids. Use this template to cover best practices on safe walking and tips on how to avoid slips, trips, and falls in the workplace.
It’s easy to overlook the hazards associated with the common tools that are used on a daily basis. This safety meeting topic aims to bring some awareness to the potential hazards of these tools and how to minimize them. The toolbox talk reviews training, pre-inspection use, proper use, and storage of hand and power tools. Workers must always wear personal protective equipment, such as eye protection, when using tools to avoid injuries.
The Tool Box Talk Safe Bending, Lifting, and Carrying app is a toolbox talk app used in construction and work environments to protect workers against musculoskeletal disorders resulting from poor or improper lifting techniques. When trying to lift a load of a heavy weight, workers are prone to injuries such as strains, sprains, and “throwing out” backs. Knowing the hazards of bending, lifting, and carrying items, as well as other handling techniques, such as lifting from the knees, and stretching certain muscles, and go a long way to promote the health and safety of personnel.
10. Proper Use of Foam Earplugs – Safety Meeting Topic
This meeting promotes discussions of hearing protection, specifically foam ear plugs, in the work place. Noise-induced hearing loss is caused when loud noises such as those generated by tools and equipment on a construction site occur and penetrate the ear plug as there is protection such as foam ear plugs which block noise from entering the ear canal. Unprotected individuals are subject to problems such as hearing loss, tinnitus, ear pain, head aches, and more.
Need more ideas for safety meeting topics? You can always search the GoCanvas App Store for the specific toolbox talk or safety meeting topic you have in mind. With thousands of templates to choose from, GoCanvas makes it easy to access and customize safety meeting templates. Going digital with safety programs can help increase your productivity and eliminate manual work. Contact our team to learn more about GoCanvas Safety or sign up here for a free trial to see it in action.
Frequently asked construction safety questions
What are the key topics to cover in construction safety talks?
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Construction safety talks should cover hazard identification, PPE, fall protection, and proper tool use. Include emergency procedures, safety regulations, and best practices for the tasks on your site. Real examples help the message stick, and open discussion builds a stronger safety culture. GoCanvas provides digital checklists and templates that make it easy to document and track topics discussed on site.
What should be included in a construction safety meeting?
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A solid safety meeting reviews recent incidents, site-specific risks, and any changes to regulations. Cover common hazards, PPE requirements, emergency steps, and worker health. GoCanvas helps you organise and record every part of the meeting with digital tools so important information is easy to share and store for later.
What are some safety meeting topics for construction sites?
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Useful topics include equipment operation, scaffolding safety, trenching, fire safety, and handling hazardous materials. Also address mental health and fatigue. GoCanvas offers customisable digital safety meeting templates to help teams stay on critical topics, improve documentation, and follow up on actions.
How can toolbox talks improve construction site safety?
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Toolbox talks engage workers and focus on the risks tied to daily tasks. Common items include safe lifting, electrical safety, chemical handling, and spotting hazards in the work area. GoCanvas provides mobile toolbox talk templates that you can customise and share with the crew to raise awareness and cut accidents on site.
What are the most important construction safety topics for workers?
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Key topics include fall protection, equipment safety, proper PPE, electrical safety, and personal health at work. Do not forget hazard communication, vehicle and equipment movement, and emergency response planning. GoCanvas supports compliance with simple tools for tracking training and discussions so workers stay current on standards and practices.
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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Your competition is finding faster ways to capture data and get critical insights from the field into their existing systems. In short, they’re not going bigger, they’re getting smarter. In this 15-minute broadcast on the construction industry’s digital transformation, find out why the trend is to modernize workflows – and how you can stay ahead of the curve…
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A vehicle inspection form is used to document the condition of a vehicle. These forms have many different uses, both for personal vehicles and companies that operate commercial vehicles or fleets. Different types of vehicle inspection report forms will have different fields used to assess the vehicle based on the goal of that inspection. For example, a pre-trip inspection will look for safety concerns before operating a vehicle on a trip, whereas a multi-point inspection will provide a greater level of detail if performed only on an annual basis.
Typically a vehicle inspection form is used by a licensed inspector or mechanic to give an official assessment of the vehicle. However, there are also vehicle inspection forms that can be used by individuals or drivers to ensure the safety of their vehicles.
Whatever your goal is for a vehicle inspection form, consider searching the GoCanvas website for all vehicle inspection forms. With thousands of forms, you can get started with one of our pre-built templates rather than creating your own from scratch.
Understanding Vehicle Inspection Reports?
Once the data is collected in the vehicle inspection form, it’s common for the information to be presented as a vehicle inspection report. A vehicle inspection report will document the findings from the inspection and make any necessary recommendations needed for the maintenance of the vehicle.
One benefit of using inspection software is the ability to streamline the data collection and reporting process. For example, a digital vehicle inspection is performed by a technician using a tablet device to rapidly collect information on an easy-to-use digital checklist. The inspector can upload photos, insert recommendations, and sign digitally. Once the inspection is complete, a branded PDF report can be generated to send to any stakeholders or clients to have for their records.
Utilize GoCanvas for Vehicle Inspections.
GoCanvas provides inspection software and forms that can be used by your business to perform vehicle inspection checklists in the field. Using a mobile form on a tablet, inspectors can use the software to perform faster inspections and your office can have an instant report generated to the cloud and shared via email.
Why use GoCanvas?
Companies are switching to GoCanvas to eliminate paperwork and cut down on manual, time-consuming processes such as annual vehicle inspection reports. If you need to perform many inspections to scale your business, consider leveraging software like GoCanvas to increase efficiency and eliminate the use of inspection sheets. A recent survey from GoCanvas customers found that they are able to:
Shorten the time to receive completed forms by 55%
Increase the amount of work completed by 24%
Increase the amount of time spent manually re-entering form data by 29%
You can get started for free with any of our vehicle inspection forms or you can contact our team here to learn more about our software for vehicle inspections and more.
Vehicle Inspection Checklist.
As we mentioned in the article, there are many vehicle inspection forms. In the next section, you will find a complete list of the top forms used for vehicle inspections. Here are some of the common areas of a vehicle inspection checklist:
Brake system
Coupling devices
Exhaust System
Fuel System
Lighting Devices
Safe Loading
Steering mechanism
Suspension
Frame
Tires
Wheels and Rims
Windshield Glazing
Windshield Wipers
GoCanvas Vehicle Inspection Templates
Looking for a specific vehicle inspection form? Here are some examples and templates you can use to get started. Follow the links below to find the inspection forms and you can use the GoCanvas app builder to easily customize your vehicle inspection forms depending on your needs. Our no-code builder allows you to drag and drop form fields into the designer, giving you a simple way to create vehicle inspection forms for any need. Here are 8 common vehicle inspection form examples and templates to work from:
#1. Annual vehicle inspection form
The easy-to-use safety inspection app is perfect for annual vehicle inspections of fleet cars, commercial vehicles, rental car inspections, and more. The customizable electronic inspection form covers important car inspection details that should be covered by the driver or inspection team, including the motor, safety features, wheels-rims, frame, brakes, tires, steering mechanism, and more.
The easy-to-use vehicle multi-point inspection app can be used for a variety of tasks, including pre-purchase inspections, vehicle insurance inspections, and dealership inspections, and as part of a general preventive maintenance program.
The Commercial Vehicle Pre-Trip Inspection Checklist mobile app is designed to test your ability to check a variety of commercial vehicle safety equipment and vehicle components. This ensures that drivers, vehicles, and products reach their destinations safely.
This Daily Vehicle Inspection Report Mobile App includes the minimum information to be recorded on a daily vehicle inspection report and can be used as a daily log of mandatory safety inspections. Use this vehicle maintenance tool to best monitor your commercial motor vehicle’s windshield, tires, wipers, power steering, parking brake, and more to identify any deficiencies.
This thorough and extensive pre-purchase vehicle inspection form app makes sure that car inspection technicians conduct all the necessary inspections and repairs during the inspection process before giving motor vehicles to their owners.
This forklift inspection checklist helps ensure safe operation and helps identify areas where forklift maintenance may be required. This forklift inspection checklist covers all areas of the electric forklifts, including fluid levels, tires, forklift trucks, forklift operator safety equipment, and more. Once the form has been completed, the app saves the checklist for your records.
As an important component of a fleet management program for a fleet manager, this preventive maintenance checklist app includes a detailed driver vehicle inspection report that promotes driver safety and vehicle integrity by identifying necessary repairs. Use this checklist template app for industry standard compliance, safety, and preventative maintenance through solutions based on real-time tracking and observations.
If your company hires drivers of commercial vehicles, you will want the DOT Driver Vehicle Inspections Mobile App available for everyone on your team. This digital checklist or pre-trip inspection form gives the driver assurance their company vehicle is safe for driving – or they can make a note of a maintenance issue.
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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Construction safety is a top priority for all firms and contractors. That’s why more construction pros are moving todigitize their construction safety programsto create more visibility into their operations.
The Data Dilemma
A study from FMI research found that 96% of data goes unused in the construction industry. This highlights the challenge and opportunity that exists for companies to become more data-driven.
The Challenge
With a distributed workforce that is on different job sites or has multiple subcontractors, it can be difficult to gather data in a consistent way. Traditional safety measures that rely on paper forms make it difficult to roll up that information for reporting and the data becomes lost on paper forms or siloed across the business. This high level of business complexity is a challenge for construction companies, but can be solved by focusing on improving its data processes and culture.
The Opportunity
Countless studies have shown the importance of using data to make business decisions. When data is accurate and available in near real-time, organizations are able to gain greater visibility into their operations and use that information to take appropriate next steps. The opportunity to take advantage of data starts with digitizing programs to improve the data that is captured, ultimately leading to better reporting and processes for construction safety. Key outcomes of digitization include lowered risk and liability, greater productivity, and higher employee satisfaction.
The data dilemma that construction firms and contractors face is the need to move away from paper forms and manual processes through digitization and automation that can streamline operations and provide greater insights. While this requires careful upfront planning and dedicated resources, the upside can be highly beneficial for achieving better construction safety outcomes in the long term.
3 Reasons to Digitize Your Construction Safety Programs
#1. Better Data Capture
Accurate reporting relies on having the best data possible. By improving the quality of the data you’re collecting, this allows you to make the best decisions for your business.
This all starts with data capture. For field operations, the core component of capturing better data in the field relies on mobile technology. Digitizing your construction safety programs often starts with the data that is captured in the field. Traditionally on the paper forms and sheets, now is captured through mobile devices and tablets that sync the information in real-time to the cloud.
In terms of your safety management programs, this would include all types of data that needs to be captured. Examples include:
OSHA Forms
Inspections and Audits
Job Safety Analysis
Safety Meetings
Incident Reports
Hazard Management
Safety Data Sheets
All of these paper forms are opportunities to digitize how data is captured, using simple mobile forms to capture better data from the field.
Digital forms reduce errors and standardize how data is collected. While paper forms are error-prone and can become lost over time, digital forms can require information and can always be accessed securely through the cloud.
With better practices for data capture in the field, you’re able to take that information and use it for better analytics and reporting.
#2. Greater Data Visibility
Tracking the progress of your safety programs can be difficult on paper forms and manual processes. Just getting the information ready for reporting can become a heavy lift for your teams, making it less likely that you can do the analysis you want in the end.
By eliminating paper and digitizing safety data, all of those key safety data points are available for reporting. Using safety management software, data is captured in real-time and available for you to run as reports, dashboards, or analytics. Are there job sites that are falling behind on compliance? Can you spot trends in your incident reporting over time? Have safety meetings been held and attended?
Setting up your data capture around the KPIs and business questions you want to answer can help you with data analytics. Better processes for data capture, leads to more accurate and complete data. If you are looking for real-time data exploration and analysis, safety management software can help you to capture better data and serve it for instant insights to drive decision-making.
#3. Improved Data Processes and Culture
Tools and technology for construction safety will help you with the data capture and reporting components. But it will also help you to improve processes and your culture over time.
Digitizing your construction safety programs provides a central solution for employees and managers. There is accountability and structure, so everyone knows where to go when they need to take an action. For example, employees may be looking for an SDS sheet, file an incident report, or attend a safety meeting. With a comprehensive safety management solution, all of these resources are clearly documented and available to access when they are needed.
In the digital era that we live in today, employees prefer using their phones or mobile devices to access information. This has the benefit of simplifying data forms and eliminating manual work that is a drain on productivity and morale.
A robust safety program that is managed digitally is a clear sign to employees that their well-being is a top concern, helping with retention and satisfaction on the job. Clear processes and a culture of safety can have a positive impact on the business, making it a clear return on investment for digitizing construction safety.
If you’re ready to go digital, reach out to the team at GoCanvas to learn more about our comprehensive and easy-to-use safety management solutions.
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
The Ultimate Guide to Quality Control Inspections
Managing a construction project is a complex and stressful process. Among other things, you have to coordinate project team members, materials, and equipment and ensure that contractors are not afflicted by the potential risks and hazards present at the construction site. That said, quality means different things to different people which is why you should…
Your competition is finding faster ways to capture data and get critical insights from the field into their existing systems. In short, they’re not going bigger, they’re getting smarter. In this 15-minute broadcast on the construction industry’s digital transformation, find out why the trend is to modernize workflows – and how you can stay ahead of the curve…
See how VIP Lighting optimized efficiency with GoCanvas
VIP Lighting is a retail lighting and electrical maintenance business that services over 10,000 retail locations all over Australia and New Zealand. Before GoCanvas, VIP Lighting had two separate systems that were impossible to integrate, leading to inefficiencies. GoCanvas made it easy to integrate their systems into single, centralized platform…
You’re required to have safety data sheets if your business handles hazardous chemicals. OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard states that “Employers must ensure that the SDSs are readily accessible to employees for all hazardous chemicals in their workplace.”
Most safety management solutions on the market today have the ability for your business to digitize their safety data sheets. More companies are implementing digital programs for safety management, bringing this information online using cloud-based tools. Continue reading this article to learn the top reasons why you should go digital with your safety management programs.
Reason 1: Greater accessibility for employees
Digitizing your SDS sheets and your larger safety management programs can benefit your business by providing greater accessibility for employees. The safety management system becomes a central solution for employees when they need to take action. This makes it easy for employees to find the resources they need, for example when they go to find an SDS sheet, file an incident report, or attend a safety meeting. Having all of these resources available in a software tool for safety will benefit employees by having clearly documented processes, in a digital format that can be easily completed from anywhere on a mobile device or tablet.
All of this goes to build an organization’s culture of safety. By providing easy access to safety programs in a digital format, employees are encouraged to follow best practices and there is a clear investment in employee safety. Robust safety programs managed digitally help to promote employees’ well-being and ensure that accidents and incidents are avoided. If an accident does occur on-site, SDS sheets and other important safety documentation are easy to find when needed and the appropriate response can be taken.
Reason 2: More visibility for management
Another important factor for implementing digital safety management systems is greater visibility for management. With a distributed workforce, across many different job sites and locations, it can become difficult for companies to effectively track safety compliance. Specifically for SDS sheets, it’s hard to know with paper sheets if they are being accessed in the field. Are employees viewing the documents? Is the latest or updated version available on site?
With digital documentation, management has a greater understanding of how documents are being used and can ensure compliance across job sites. Digital systems provide the ability to keep records of who has viewed the safety document, giving companies the insight needed to take action and avoid potential safety and compliance issues.
Going digital provides real-time job site visibility and analytics that can enable management and operations teams to spot safety trends and make data-informed decisions. A recent study found that 96% of data in the engineering and construction industry goes unused, suggesting that harnessing there’s potential for organizations to leverage their data to have an impact on key outcomes like safety and productivity. Safety management solutions help build better data processes for the business and enable faster reporting to make that information actionable and available to anyone that needs it.
Reason 3: Compliance with OSHA
As mentioned throughout the article, compliance with OSHA is a requirement for businesses, and failure to comply will inevitably lead to fines, penalties, and negative outcomes for the business.
Digital tools for safety management and SDS sheets will help to ensure that your job sites are always prepared in the case of an OSHA inspection. Most safety management solutions today will allow you to store the SDS sheets digitally for easy access, as well as hosting your other safety programs to stay in compliance.
This includes things like hazard management, incident reporting, job safety analysis, inspections, audits, and more. Having a central and cloud-based system for safety management in place will make it easier to track compliance and be prepared in case of an on site inspection with OSHA.
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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The term mobile inspection refers to the process of using a mobile device or tablet to perform an inspection in the field. Companies are eliminating paper forms and instead relying on mobile technology in today’s digital era to perform job functions like inspections on a mobile device.
The mobile inspection is performed by a technician in the field and the data is then automatically synced in real-time to the office or generated as a report for the customer. Given the remote nature of many inspection job sites, mobile inspections can also be performed offline. Using an inspection mobile app, the information can be collected offline and synced to the cloud once an internet connection is available again.
What is the best inspection app?
The best construction project management app should be simple to use and customizable for any business or use case. Here is what you need in order to have a best-in-class inspection app for your business:
Ease to use and adopt. The best inspection apps should be easy to use and easy for your entire staff to adopt into their workflows. No coding or advanced help from IT should be required with app development or customization, ensuring that you can quickly build inspection apps and see a fast return on investment.
Fast time to value. The best inspection apps should provide an immediate value to your organization. There should be clear processes to help you implement and get started with the app platform, with dedicated customer success teams to ensure your organization is getting value from the inspection app.
Secure and compliant. The best inspection apps will have robust security for cloud software and will be designed for compliance with HIPPA, GDPR, OSHA, and any other business-specific requirements to ensure data is processed and stored properly.
Data integrations and insights. The best inspection apps will integrate with other cloud apps that your business already uses.Analytics and reporting capabilities should be robust to provide business insights in real-time to inform smarter decisions for operations leaders.
When evaluating inspection apps and technology, be sure to take these factors into consideration to ensure that you have tools that can help you scale your business, automate key business processes, and enable your business to work more efficiently.
15 Inspection Apps to Get Started With for Free
GoCanvas is a leading provider of inspection apps and forms for businesses across industries. Our expansive library of templates is a great place to start when looking for free templates to use for your next inspection. All of our mobile inspection apps are completely customizable and are built on our drag and drop interface that doesn’t require any coding to build apps.
This article compiles a list of our most popular inspection apps available for businesses in 2021. You can also search the GoCanvas application store for more examples and templates. Follow the links below to see how it works or simply contact our team any time to learn more.
Construction, Manufacturing, and Job Site Inspections
Safety Inspection App
Heavy Equipment Inspection App
Forklift Inspection App
Ladder Inspection App
Manufacturing Material Inspection App
GoCanvas Inspection Apps
Home inspection app
Home inspection apps are used during real estate transactions to assess the state of a property. If you are in the business of performing home inspections, this app allows you to digitize the process of a home inspection. Dynamic checklists help to speed up the process and home inspectors only need to fill out the relevant sections of the form based on the house type. Use the dispatch feature to send out a worker in the field and automatically have a report generated for the buyer and for your office records.
Learn more about the GoCanvas home inspection app and get started for free.
Property Inspection App
Similar to the home inspection app, this property inspection mobile app is designed to assess the state of a property, specifically for landlords or management companies for their rental properties. This checklist inspection app allows property owners, managers, or landlords to easily check the condition of a residential rental property and record that it is in good condition for tenants. Digitizing this information makes it simple to create PDF reports that can automatically be shared with the tenant and the management team has a record stored in a central cloud location for easy access when needed.
Learn more about the GoCanvas property inspection app and get started for free.
Custodial Inspection App
Custodial inspection apps are used for janitorial services to denote which areas of the building were cleaned by staff. Using an inspection app can ensure that quality standards are met and simple checklists are helpful for remembering all areas of the building. Digitizing this information can help cleaning businesses to elevate their customer service experience, bring reports, invoices, and a digital record of work that has been performed.
Learn more about the GoCanvas custodial inspection app and get started for free.
Hotel Room Inspection App
Many companies in the hospitality industry leverage the GoCanvas mobile platform to complete their hotel room inspections. This simple app provides a checklist for cleaning crews to perform all of the necessary tasks for servicing guest rooms at a hotel. Managers and hotel management benefit from having this information digitized, giving them more visibility into their operations and helping to understand the overall condition and state of the hotel in real-time.
Learn more about the GoCanvas hotel room inspection app and get started for free.
Fire Alarm Inspection App
Fire alarm and fire sprinkler inspections are common in buildings to ensure that all of the smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, and smoke alarms are in working order. This app allows inspectors to perform this inspection using a mobile device or tablet and a report is automatically generated with the results. This streamlines the process for staff and gives instant visibility into fire inspections for management and anyone else that needs the information.
Learn more about the GoCanvas fire alarm inspection app and get started for free.
Pool Inspection App
This app is designed for pool inspectors and public pool managers so they can list safety violations, corrective actions taken, and document any required pool closures. The pool safety inspection app includes fields for a variety of details, including water chemistry, pool water cleanliness, equipment safety and more. Once the inspection is completed, the pool operator can instantly sign off on the results using a tablet or mobile device and have the records saved automatically to the cloud.
Learn more about the GoCanvas pool inspection app and get started for free.
HVAC Inspection App
HVAC inspections are needed to ensure the heating and air-conditioning systems are properly configured. This mobile app template includes important elements, including the HVAC ducts, air quality test, exhaust fans, testing for leaks and a thermostat check.
As a building inspector or contractor, this inspection app simplifies the process for performing residential or commercial services and allows the entire process from work order, inspection, invoicing, payment, and reporting to be managed digitally.
Learn more about the GoCanvas HVAC inspection app and get started for free.
Pre-Trip / Post Trip Inspection App
The pre-trip and post-trip inspection is performed by drivers with CDL licenses to track details about their trucks and report any damage or improvements that need to be made before the vehicle can go out on the road. Digitizing this form allows commercial truck drivers and managers to ensure that the proper inspection has been performed and signed off digitally to keep an accurate record for management purposes.
Learn more about the GoCanvas pre trip inspection app and get started for free.
Vehicle Inspection App
The vehicle inspection app is designed for car dealerships to perform a pre-purchase inspection of a car. This mobile app is designed to digitize the inspection form that is used before vehicles are given to a new owner of a car. GoCanvas vehicle inspection apps can be customized to your needs and this template is a great way for car dealerships and business owners to manage the vehicle inspection process digitally.
Learn more about the GoCanvas vehicle inspection mobile app and get started for free.
Fleet Inspection App
For transportation companies that have a fleet management program, this inspection app provides a template that can be used for compliance, safety, and preventive maintenance. Managing this digitally allows fleet operations teams to gain greater instant visibility into their fleet with real-time reports.
Learn more about the GoCanvas fleet inspection app and get started for free.
Safety Inspection App
Safety inspections are an important part of any construction project. This safety inspection app helps contractors and construction firms to ensure compliance with OSHA and perform regular safety inspections of job sites. The data collected from a safety inspection app can be used as part of the safety management program and other important programs like toolbox talks, job safety analysis, incident reports, and more can be managed through GoCanvas for a comprehensive digital safety solution.
Learn more about the GoCanvas safety inspection app and get started for free.
Heavy Equipment Inspection App
Performing heavy equipment inspections are important on the job site to ensure safety and prevent delays by having greater insight into your equipment. This inspection app provides a template that can be used on job sites and includes all of the important details for the inspection, including the date of safety inspections, issues found, and other relevant details.
Learn more about the GoCanvas heavy equipment inspection app and get started for free.
Forklift Inspection App
Forklifts are commonly used in many different job sites. The GoCanvas forklift inspection checklist helps ensure safe operation and identifies areas where forklift maintenance may be required. The checklist template covers all areas of the electric forklifts, including fluid levels, tires, forklift trucks, forklift operator safety equipment and more.
Learn more about the GoCanvas forklift inspection app and get started for free.
Ladder Inspection App
Ladder inspections are critical for job sites to ensure worker safety. Using the ladder inspection app on GoCanvas, you can make sure that all ladder equipment is in good condition and any damaged equipment is fixed before use. Use this in conjunction with the other GoCanvas safety apps to ensure that all aspects of the job site are compliant with OSHA and injuries and incidents are avoided.
Learn more about the GoCanvas ladder inspection app and get started for free.
Manufacturing Material Inspection App
This mobile app is designed for quality inspections when items arrive or they are taken out of inventory as part of the manufacturing operations. The app is designed as a quality control tool to be used from anywhere and have a digital report generated automatically to simplify the process for workers and eliminate tedious paper work.
Learn more about the GoCanvas manufacturing material inspection app and get started for free.
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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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, construction project management apps and 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.
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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Construction firms rely on paper forms to complete many essential tasks on job sites. But anyone that’s had to fill out paperwork knows how inefficient, error-prone, and time-consuming the process can be for everyone involved. That’s why organizations are moving to construction jobsite management software and mobile forms to alleviate these concerns.
Going from paper to digital software and forms allows construction companies to:
Avoid losing paperwork. Paper sheets can get lost over time, creating additional risk for the business when information is misplaced or accidentally destroyed. Going digital keeps information secure in the cloud and available in real-time whenever it’s needed.
Limit human error. Paper sheets or spreadsheets can open companies up to human error with mispellings, deleted or missing information, and much more. Going digital allows companies to require what information is submitted, leading to better data quality and standardization.
Save time and money. Considering the direct and indirect costs to a business from paper usage, companies can save time and money by switching to digital forms and software. Automate processes, streamline workflows, and reduce the time everyone spends on busywork.
There is a very compelling business case for construction firms to embrace digitization with software and mobile forms. With the amount of paper and forms needed for safety management programs, there is a significant advantage for firms that can digitize their operations.
This article explains how safety management software works, with examples of the types of solutions utilized within a safety management program. Continue reading for our guide to the types of safety management software and forms that are available to construction firms today.
Use Cases for Safety Management Software and Forms
Incident Reporting
Construction firms use incident reports to formally document any accidents, events, or near-misses in the workplace.
Software and forms are designed to help companies capture information from the job site when incidents happen. The technology helps to document the incident and create a report detailing the events that occurred. This type of solution is used in situations like damage to company property, injuries, safety issues, misconduct, and other types of incident reporting.
Going digital with incident reporting simplifies the process for everyone involved.
Templates can be customized with the exact information that needs to be collected on every incident report. Companies can create unique digital forms for the various types of workplace incidents that occur.
Software solutions are designed to significantly cut down the time it takes to create a report. Reports are typically generated automatically so they can be distributed in real-time via email to OSHA, management, and anyone else that needs the information.
Companies chose to use this type of software and forms for incident reporting to streamline workflows for employees and give greater visibility into operations for management.
Mobile Inspections
Inspections happen during the entire lifecycle of construction projects to make sure that safety standards are being met. While paper forms can be used for inspections, there are many benefits to going digital with software and forms for inspections.
Most inspection software will allow companies to build checklists, conduct inspections, and file all reports from a mobile device or tablet on the job site. This helps to streamline the process for inspectors by giving them a standard set of criteria to look for in the inspection. All of the data for reporting is collected using required fields that ensure data is formatted correctly.
Digital inspection software can also enable businesses to use a dispatching feature to send workers in the field to the correct locations. The entire inspection process can be recorded digitally, signed off on with digital signatures, and saved in the cloud to be accessed by whoever needs to see it.
Software and forms for inspections give companies greater accountability and visibility into their operations, allowing management to spot trends and look for ways to improve their safety management programs in real-time.
Safety Meetings
Construction safety meetings are held regularly as group discussions that focus on one specific safety issue. Companies typically hold these meetings on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis.
Effective safety meetings can deliver significant and proven safety and cost benefits to an organization. Implementing safety meetings can help to decrease insurance rates, legal costs, employee turnover, damaged equipment, and medical costs.
Construction firms can use safety management software to formalize their safety meeting programs across job sites.
With software for safety meetings, your team can complete safety documentation from any mobile phone or tablet. Using required attendance logs, you can collect the names and IDs of every employee at each worksite to ensure they are present for the latest safety information.
Companies can also capture details related to the job site location, project manager, as well as date and time stamps for every briefing. An integrated signature capture field means employees can verify their attendance and signatures can be collected from a foreman or any other safety representative who makes an onsite visit.
Using software and forms for safety meetings helps to ensure that compliance measures are met for every meeting and management teams get greater visibility into overall safety trends.
Job Safety Analysis
Job Safety Analysis is a step-by-step procedure that splits each job into manageable training tasks, identifies the safety components in each task, and trains employees on how to avoid safety hazards.
Job safety analysis pinpoints specific areas that have potential safety risks and helps you keep your workers safe. It also helps your company become compliant with safety guidelines thus reducing your employee turnover and instilling trust in your customers.
Software and forms for JSA are helpful for construction companies to cover safety procedures on job sites, including personal protective equipment, safety training, and machinery safety. The construction safety analysis can be customized to suit the unique needs of a company.
Job safety analysis is another important component of safety programs and going digital can help to streamline the process across construction job sites.
Safety Data Sheets
For companies that manufacture, distribute, or import chemicals, safety data sheets are required to inform employees of the hazardous materials they are handling.
As more companies invest in digitization, it means that companies are moving towards housing much of their critical information in secure, cloud-based platforms using software and mobile forms.
When it comes to SDSs, OSHA indicates that safety data sheets can absolutely be stored as digital documents. OSHA just requires that these SDSs are easily accessible for all employees who need to understand the hazardous chemicals that are being used for their job site.
Having these documents stored digitally and made available through a mobile application will help your team manage the documents and ensure that your workers know where to find the latest version of the SDS.
In the rare case of a power outage or emergency situation, it makes sense to have a hard copy of your SDS available for workers. But otherwise in today’s digitally connected world, it’s going to make sense to have digital copies available for your SDSs that can be readily accessible in a secure mobile device on-site.
Analytics
Data analytics is quickly becoming one of the greatest assets for improving productivity, ensuring safety and compliance, and tracking and reporting on key elements of business operations.
Another key component of a safety management solution using is the ability to have analytics and data insights available.
This type of software solution is helpful for providing meaningful insights in real-time. Instead of compiling information on paper forms and manually creating reports for analytics, companies are adopting this type of analytics solution as part of their technology stack.
Having this type of insight into the business helps inform decision-making for management and operations, giving unprecedented insights into where there are opportunities to improve.
Software and Forms with GoCanvas for Construction
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 into their business. Construction firms rely on GoCanvas to increase productivity, promote workplace safety, and create a competitive advantage. You can learn more about all of our safety management software solutions and forms here on our website.
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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Worker safety has long been a priority among employers, workers, unions, and other stakeholders. However, the coronavirus pandemic has brought mainstream attention to this issue and shed light on a largely obscure agency known as OSHA. OSHA stands for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and is an agency in the U.S. Department of Labor responsible for ensuring workplace safety. Established in 1971 as a provision of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (the OSH Act) a year earlier, OSHA sets workforce safety standards for private employers and the federal government and conducts training to help employers ensure OSHA compliance.
Despite its half-century history, OSHA’s standards and compliance requirements remain unfamiliar to many employers and even many human resources professionals. Yet noncompliance can not only result in stiff penalties, but compromise worker safety, damage corporate reputations, and elicit expensive litigation.
OSHA Standards
Broadly, the OSH Act requires certain employers to provide a safe workplace to workers under the parameters of the law and OSHA standards and regulations. Section 5 of the act includes a “general duty clause,” which holds that covered employers must not only provide a safe workplace but must keep abreast with the best safety practices for their industry and establishment. Further, employers must provide personal protective equipment when workers are expected to work in unsafe conditions.
OSHA may act under the general duty clause when covered employers know that a correctable hazard exists of which an employer is aware (or should be aware) and which could cause serious harm or death. To ensure employers are aware of what conditions may constitute a correctable and dangerous hazard, OSHA has established many general and industry-specific safety rules and regulations by which employers must abide.
Compliance and employer responsibilities
Covered employers must remediate workplace safety deficiencies while continuously working to mitigate new and emerging workplace risks. As per the OSHA website, employers must:
“Develop and implement a written hazard communication program and train employees on the hazards they are exposed to and proper precautions.”
“Provide safety training in a language, and vocabulary workers can understand.”
“Use color codes, posters, labels or signs to warn employees of potential hazards.”
“Post, at a prominent location within the workplace, the OSHA poster informing employees of their rights and responsibilities.”
“Establish or update operating procedures and communicate them so that employees follow safety and health requirements.”
Section 8 grants OSHA the authority to perform health and safety inspections at any covered employer’s worksite. If a worksite is found to violate OSHA’s health and safety standards, the employer must remediate the violation and may be subject to penalties. Furthermore, the employer must post any OSHA citations where the violation occurred until it has been remediated, or for three working days, whichever is longer.
Section 8 of the OSH Act further establishes a covered employer’s legal reporting responsibilities, mandating employers to keep illness and injury records stemming from incidents that have occurred on-site or as a result of work performed on-site. Employers are further obligated to provide access to employee medical records and injury logs open request. They must also report workplace fatalities or worksite incidents that result in three or more hospitalizations to OSHA within eight hours.
Inspections
OSHA inspections may be programmed or unprogrammed. Programmed inspections involve randomly selecting several employers to audit within an industry to ensure that their worksites are in compliance. Unprogrammed inspections are typically initiated through employee outreach to the agency. Workers whose employers are covered by the OSH Act may seek an OSHA inspection themselves and participate in any subsequent investigation. (Employers may not retaliate against any worker for exercising these rights as per Section 11(c) of the OSH Act).
OSHA inspectors (or compliance officers) typically perform a good deal of due diligence before coming on site. They usually do not provide advance notice of their inspections, with certain limited exceptions. But when an OSHA inspector does arrive, they will first share with the employer the reason for their arrival during a pre-inspection opening conference.
The inspector will conduct a physical walk-through of the premises, allowing one employer representative to accompany them. The inspector will also review all employee safety notices and training materials, as well as illness and injury records. After these reviews, the OSHA inspector will meet with the employer’s representatives to discuss the inspector’s findings and any necessary corrective measures that must be taken.
Penalties
If a worksite is found to be out of compliance with OSHA standards, the agency will issue citations and fines. An OSHA citation must be made within six months of the violation’s observed occurrence and will include:
The nature of the violation
The severity of the violation
Penalties for the violation
A deadline for corrective action
However, if an inspection has resulted in proposed citations and fines, employers do have the opportunity to meet with the OSHA Area Director for their region. The agency leverages penalties to ensure OSHA compliance more so than for punitive reasons. So if employers without extensive histories of violations are making good faith efforts to remediate safety issues, some leeway concerning penalties and remediation timeframes may be found during such a meeting.
Employers may also appeal any penalties within 15 days of receipt of the violations. Appeals are reviewed by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission for a final judgment.
Safety Best Practices
OSHA encourages all employers, covered or not, to develop their own workplace safety and health plan that minimally complies with OSHA standards and any relevant state or local-level workplace safety laws or ordinances. Doing so can help covered employers keep workers safe and avoid OSHA violations, penalties, and expensive remediation costs.
Through its national network of OSHA Training Institute Education Centers, the agency also conducts training on various workplace safety issues so that employers can learn how to comply with new OSHA regulations, address emerging hazards, and strengthen their internal programs. Employers can and should take advantage of these training opportunities, as well as participate in OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program. This program provides small and midsize businesses with free strategic safety advice from OSHA representatives, which can help them avoid accidents, high mediation costs, and OSHA violations at inspection.
SHARP Certification
An additional advantage of participating in the On-Site Consultation Program is that if an employer is found to have established an exemplary health and safety program, they may be eligible for SHARP certification. SHARP, which stands for Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program, is a recognition that not only distinguishes an employer from their industry peers. SHARP-certified employers are exempt from being randomly inspected for a programmed inspection for two years.
However, it is important to note that SHARP-certified employers must remain in compliance with all applicable safety standards during their certification period. Employers may still face unprogrammed inspections if an employee reports one or more hazards and reaches out to the agency to request an OSHA inspection.
Safety Training and Education
Employers and employees often believe that OSHA provides additional certification. It does not. However, workers who complete basic worker safety training in specific industries provided by OSHA-authorized trainers may receive an OSHA card certifying completion. These trainings include:
Construction (10 or 30 hours)
General Industry (10 or 30 hours)
Maritime (10 or 30 hours)
Disaster Site (15 hours)
Employers who provide their employees access to this training may benefit from a workforce more dedicated to safe practices, identifying and remediating hazards, and lower injury and illness rates.
OSHA’S website also offers training materials covering everything from best practices to training. There’s even a “Safety Pays” program online that can help employers assess the cost savings they will realize by implementing best practices in worker safety at their facilities.
Employers and HR staff should thoroughly review these materials, especially the recordkeeping and reporting requirements, as failing to keep complete records is a frequent source of OSHA violations. The website features the required forms and instructions available for download. However, employers who use these printed forms risk misplacement, illegible entries, or other similar issues garnering them an OSHA citation.
Rather than risking OSHA citations and fines by using paper forms, employers should rely on digitized versions of these forms that can be updated and stored electronically. GoCanvas specializes in creating these forms in use by various employers across industries. Our GoCanvas Safety package provides you with the safety forms and customization options you need to manage your reporting and compliance requirements in the field. Employees can securely record necessary safety information on mobile devices that you can access in real-time, as well as sort, share, and analyze.
With a graphics-rich dashboard, you’ll be able to easily identify potential hazards before they result in an injury, illness, or OSHA citation. And with robust customization options, you can tailor pre-built safety forms to your specific reporting needs or workflows. Or you can design your own entirely. By improving their reporting tools and processes, GoCanvas customers have reduced their risk by 18 percent. Don’t wait until an OSHA inspector shows up in your parking lot to strengthen your recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
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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