15 Ways to Use Digital Forms to Improve Safety at Work

According to the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada, employees filed more than 250,000 workplace injury claims in 2017. Luckily, technology has not only improved communication in the workplace but has also improved workplace safety.

Digital forms are one way to reduce injury and improve safety in the workplace, and they are more than just electronic versions of paperwork. They can be filled out on various devices, such as desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Additionally, users can include things such as photos and videos in the digital forms for more thorough reporting.

Various types of digital forms exist, but these 15 examples demonstrate how organizations can use technology to improve efficiency and safety at work.

1. Preventative Maintenance
Equipment damage, malfunction, wear-and-tear, and regular maintenance are easily tracked using digital forms. Take photos and track usage to alert required personnel of needed repairs, service, or replacement.

2. Fleet Management
If each employee completes preventative maintenance forms for vehicles, then managers can quickly analyze the condition of an entire fleet, estimate annual fleet maintenance costs, and negotiate contracts with suppliers.

3. Site Inspections
Use digital forms to record site hazards such as spills, improper storage of chemicals, and inappropriate use of equipment.

4. Incident Report
If an incident occurs on site, a digital form can be used to track details of the event, including where and when it occurred, who was involved, and how and why it happened.

5. First Aid Kit Checklist
A routine check of a first aid kit using a digital form ensures each item is there, in adequate supply, and unexpired. If deficiencies are noted, purchasing agents can be notified.

6. Environmental Impact Assessments
Work towards sustainability goals by monitoring metrics like carbon output and weekly waste with digital forms.

7. Site Rosters
Use drop-down menus in digital forms to track all personnel on a job site. Connect information like phone numbers, photos, and schedules to provide even more information to the site supervisor.

8. Safety Checklist
Sometimes a simple checklist is all that is needed to help ensure employees use the necessary safety precautions, procedures, and PPE before, during, and following completion of a task.

9. Behaviour Observations
Employees’ behaviours can be monitored and tracked to identify potential unsafe and undesirable actions. The digital form not only alerts managers of employees to watch, but it also provides a record of behaviour patterns.

10. New Employee On-Boarding
Digital forms can be used to quickly and efficiently obtain all required information and signatures from new hires to complete their on-boarding packages, including sign-off on company policies, and completion of government and HR forms.

11. Employee Satisfaction Surveys
Employees can use digital forms to complete satisfaction surveys containing Likert scales to give quantitative data, and comment boxes to elaborate. With the capability of digital forms, management can later aggregate the results to make improvements quickly.

12. Consent Forms
Occasionally, an organization will participate in an activity that involves more risk on the job than usual. Protect employees and the company with easy-to-use digital consent forms.

13. Prevention of Workplace Violence Forms
Digital policy forms such as this make conduct rules clear, helping to decrease incidents in the workplace. Videos or links added to the digital form can be used to provide education and reinforce the policy, making it much more than just a sign-off document.

14. Drug and Alcohol Testing Forms
Random drug testing at some worksite and for some positions can be common. Using digital forms to instantly gather and store testing consent can be incredibly beneficial should an incident occur or an investigation take place.

15. Travel Logs
Employees enter drive times, stops, and vehicle information into digital travel logs. Any red flags in the entries can immediately alert the company of potential safety issues during the trip, not once they are back at their home base.

These are just some of the ways that your company can use and benefit from digital forms.