If it were up to me (aka. If I had some sort of divine power), I would make it so that no one ever made a mistake when operating heavy machinery. If I was Mother Nature, I would make sure that everyone had this surprisingly perfect knowledge of how to operate powerful machinery. OK, maybe not perfect, but at very least everyone would know how to avoid hurting people.
Unfortunately, this is impossible. Why am I all of a sudden so altruistic? I’m not. I witnessed my first car accident this week. To answer some basic questions, no, no one was hurt. No I was not behind the wheel, and no I was not the one who was hit. But I could have been.
The situation: I was crossing the street on a rainy Monday, saw the walking light turn green and started to cross the street when the person standing beside me stopped me. For a split second, my thoughts went “Oh my goodness, this crazy person is holding me back. I’m going to be late for work and probably robbed.” But no. The moment he stopped me, a car made a right turn, while its driver was looking left and BOOM, it hits the girl who was crossing the street in front of me. If I had crossed the street, it would have been me.
There are actually two direct causes to why this accident happened. The obvious reason is the driver. She was careless to not look both ways. The more complicated cause would be the fact that the rules of the road are not perfect. While a driver is making a right turn, they tend to keep an eye on incoming traffic, rather than what’s in front of them. This is a perfect example of why you should be taking safety into your own hands: the rules don’t always cover every possible hazardous situation.
In every industry, there are safety rules and regulations. Sometimes, it is simply a set of inspections that must be done periodically. While these rules may seem enough to be compliant, how you go about following them is your choice. Performing inspections when necessary is the most basic step of being safety compliant. However, these rules have not been perfected.
How you perform your inspections, maintain records, or keep track of your equipment can not only help you be compliant, but also take safety compliance to the next level. It can help you perfect the system for everyone involved. You can help prevent accidents and ensure safety, even if the regulations don’t cover it all. Paper based safety inspections, is the token example of something that just works and keeps you compliant, but can also allow hazardous situations to fall through the cracks of an imperfect system.
Using a digitized system to perform your inspections and maintain your records is the first step of taking safety compliance to the next level. Not only does it keep you compliant, but it also keeps all you ahead of the game. Having a digital system prevents the loss of data, therefore allowing you to have the most up-to-date inspection records without losing records in an endless road of filing cabinets. Unfortunately, rules and regulations don’t cover this possibility, but will still hold you responsible for any accidents caused by a loss of records. So why take the risk?
Performing your inspections digitally also allows you to complete inspections in a timely fashion. This way, your customers can continue with their daily duties and you can avoid overspending your man-power with a paper-and-pen system. By saving them time, your inspectors can be more accurate during an inspection and avoid a mistake due to a time limit.
With digital methods, you can take safety compliance into your own hands, and ensure that your customer, your inspectors and your company can all rest assured. Even though the rules and regulations may not cover all possible situations, you can sleep calmly at night knowing you have taken the safety inspection system one step further and stayed ahead of the game.
