Many small to medium sized businesses do not have full-time IT or WHS/risk staff so, when they look to implement software to help them manage risk and WHS, they need something that integrates easily with their existing systems and is immediately useful.
This is where OSHatWork® fits in. It runs within the MS Office suite that so many organisations use, and the way it looks and works will be immediately familiar to anyone who has used MS Access.
OSHatWork makes day-to-day tasks easier by providing users with data storage, lookup, reporting and analysis facilities in all the critical areas including: risks, hazards, chemicals, audits, inspections, incidents, first aid, vaccinations, health checks, training, certification and competency.
For an SME that doesn’t have an employment history database, OSHatWork has the added benefit of handling this data too.
New facilities being added in Version 5, which is due out later this year (and is a free update for all users), will cover records of: meetings (like toolbox talks), events (such as trade shows and socials), and planned equipment checks and maintenance.
With all this information in the database, there will naturally be lots of things scheduled, such as:
- training courses to attend;
- expiring certifications and competencies to be renewed;
- audits and inspections to undertake;
- hazards to address;
- corrective actions to complete;
- medic visits to be made for vaccinations, health checks, and medical certificate reviews;
- meetings to prepare for and follow up on;
- equipment checks and maintenance to be performed; etc.
OSHatWork will generate reminders for all these (and more) so that nothing is missed.
There are still many SMEs who store data in MS Excel spreadsheets or in MS Access databases that they’ve created themselves. A database is a far better solution than spreadsheets if it has been properly designed. Unfortunately, if the person creating the database is not fully conversant with relational databases, normalisation and top-down design, the end result can be difficulties with data duplication, redundancy, consistency, update, retrieval and reporting, as well as with ongoing software maintenance and enhancement.
The justification for the DIY approach is often cost, but OSHatWork offers very low-cost licences. In fact free licences are available to businesses who would have only one OSHatWork user at a time. (Free licences for charities allow simultaneous multi-user operation).
Many organisations (from small businesses with 25 staff through to public hospitals with thousands of staff) have been using OSHatWork for over a decade so it is a tried and trusted, and well-supported, system. New features continue to be added to keep pace with the evolving risk, WHS and HR professions.
With the low (or no) cost of OSHatWork, and the comprehensive feature set, there is no reason for SME’s to be expending significant time, effort and dollars building and maintaining their own spreadsheets or databases.
There is more information, and a form to request a free licence or trial, on the OSHatWork website: www.oshatwork.com.
Add Comment