Speaking at the EHS Congress 2022 in Berlin, Sue Parker-Tantush, former Head of Health and Safety at the Co-Op, put forward the case for using software tools in a health and safety programme.
Adopting new tech is often seen as a financial risk, with companies unwilling to experiment in new, untested, technology solutions.
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In fact, a recent study from Sphera revealed that only 49% of those surveyed have adopted a tool into their H&S programme. Sue Parker-Tantush has a proven track record of leading companies through this process, most recently with Co-Op, the UK’s largest cooperative, and she shared these insights at a session at the EHS Congress, beginning with a difficult request for the audience.
“Stop for a moment and think about that one incident that always plays in your head; a vision that you can’t unsee,” Parker-Tantush told delegates, “This is why you need to use incident management tools.”
She shared the benefits which included:
Parker-Tantush warned that adhering too tightly to the firm’s business case could also hinder progress. “Think of the bigger picture,” she urged.
One of the biggest insights came from around bullying and harassment and why certain incidents affect men more than women. She explained that the ‘have a go hero’ tends to be male.
She went on to explain some of the challenges that exist around the vast rafts of data that such systems produce and the importance of filtering that output, “You’ve got to use metrics, but you’ve got to be able to analyse the data properly,” Parker-Tantush explained.
However, she also urged concise dialogue with those at the top, “Ask your board what they want to see in the system”.
