For all New Zealand businesses, taxation, GST, ACC payments and employment agreements are a non-negotiable responsibility of business owners.

The introduction of the new health and safety legislation in April this year has become a more robust, non-negotiable, no excuse compliance issue as well that is going to make businesses think twice about ignoring it.

The future of Health and Safety and compliance management will be an evidence based approach, based on the availability of records for a business to quickly prove due diligence, if and when the business is called to account.Many businesses still use a 20th century approach of hard copy record keeping that are usually filed in a myriad of different ways: spreadsheets, filing cabinets and record manuals, diaries etc. - does this sound familiar?

IS THERE A BETTER WAY?There certainly is - by using a web or cloud-based software management program. This will allow your business to store all its H&S and other records in a central hub with the ability to retrieve them quickly, in real time.There are a number of these types of programs available on the New Zealand market, all offering a variety of features and functionality.

If the business is planning to elevate its H&S systems into a 21st century model to meet the future challenges, then what attributes should you be looking for?

• A credible program should:
• ¥ Filter and produce alerts, reports and profiles of your data, with photos and the ability to email and to assign actions.
• ¥ Record and produce personnel information with contact details and any other information for the engagement of the employee
• ¥ Provide PPE information, who has got what, cost, distribution date, size and replacement date
• ¥ Provide training records to show who is trained in what
• ¥ Produce hazard and control registers with a method to risk rate and prioritise the hazards
• ¥ A facility to record incidents and accident records, reports and associated costs
• ¥ Have a contractor/supplier management and selection process built in¥ Have a document management system
• ¥ Have a chemical management module for recording chemicals and to meet the requirements of the HSNO Act
• ¥ A key selection criteria should be the ability of any program to be able to produce a concise and informative report for the PCBU or the company’s management board.

SELECTION OF A PROGRAMWhen choosing a health and safety management program, ask the following questions,

• ¥ Is it just for health and safety or does it include any other management systems that will benefit the business?
• ¥ Does the provider have experience or credibility in H&S and other compliance management systems?
• ¥ Is it easy to use, with minimal steps to produce reports?
• ¥ Is the total cost or cost structure for the program easy? (No hidden surprises/charges)
• ¥ Are there other ongoing costs for updates or other modules?
• ¥ Does it have a robust and secure backup system?¥ Does the provider have the ability to service the program with a help desk?
• ¥ If it can be used on a tablet device or IPhone?

CONCLUSIONWe now live in a changing world of health and safety and it is now, more than ever, part of that change in the business arena. On line health and safety management programs are fast becoming the future for the security and the business owner’s peace of mind and for the protection of your business.If your business is not prepared or you are in denial about H&S in your business, I suggest you consider the risk of H&S non-compliance to your business.

For a review of a proven and cost effective health and safety software solution visit the free no obligation 30 day trial at www.Hasmate.co.nz

Gordon AndersonHasmate ltdThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.