Hazards That May Be Affecting The Safety Of Your Operation
June is national safety month, and safety is a big concern of most significant operations teams. Here’s something you may know, but perhaps haven’t considered in the context of your operating record.
In a typical operation, safety is a prime goal because there are often plenty of ways accidents can occur due to high temperatures, high pressures, large/heavy rolling or moving equipment, cranes or machines that move heavy objects and much more.
There are several things that a good, centralized operating record can provide that can enhance insight and/or oversight regarding safety procedures. How? By providing standard forms that must be completed. Consider this short list of examples:
- Pre start safety routines (PSSR)
- Job/Task Pre-work Assessments
- Job/Task Notes
- Job/Task Post-work Attestations
- Incident Reports
And, more, of course. But a good, centralized operating record – a log book – can add features that not only keep a record of these details but also provide notifications, personnel signatures/attestations, and managerial sign-offs. Often these include details about equipment status, required and obtained LOTOs, PPE requirements and much more.
The thing is, almost everyone knows they need to be documenting these things, and most have some method of doing so. Far too many rely on paper for this. But, paper records leave a lot to be desired. Here are some simple reasons why:
Paper is not permanent – it can be damaged, illegible, stained or ruined, lost or misplaced and more.
Paper can be repudiated – anyone can write anything at any time on paper. With paper there is simply no way to know who did what, when.
Paper isn’t easily shared nor distributed – sure a piece of paper can be copied and passed around, but with an operating record the content of a single paper form is always in one place. And, if you want to read it remotely, good luck… I hope you have a scanner or fax machine lying around.
Paper does not facilitate automation – whether it’s a workflow for approvals or whether it’s important notification rules, paper provides no help to systematic procedural operational improvements.
Paper is horrible for historical purposes – perhaps “better than nothing”, but not much better than that. Whether for audit reasons or for operational analysis and reporting, paper is a terrible source for operational history.
Paper doesn’t easily facilitate content lifecycles – Paper isn’t good for any record or data that goes through a resolution lifecycle, for example. Consider the aforementioned pre-start safety routine… it’s very possible that a supervisor or lead operator may need to approve or reject the results of a pre-start safety routine… maybe a follow-up is needed prior to approval. Or another case is a resolution lifecycle for a plant issue. Paper just doesn’t facilitate the efficient tracking and resolution of items.
A modern, cloud-based LogBook can certainly help with all this. Forms can be designed that facilitate appropriate safety related assessments. Sign-offs can be designed, and procedures can be established that are enhanced by the electronic operating record itself.
At LogBook, that’s what we do every day. If you want to enhance both the efficiency of your record keeping and improve the safety of your operation, give us a call or drop us a note on our Contact page. We’re ready to help.
Stay safe out there!