• “That was way too close”
• “Thank God I only lost a finger”
• “I almost didn’t go home to my family”
• “I ruined that person’s life”

We wish we could have prevented these things. Thoughts like this are far too prevalent in the workplace, but it doesn’t have to be this way. This should and can be avoided. It’s difficult to notice when you are in the moment, but when safety is present it leaves room for happiness. Here’s how:

It removes the “Did I forget?” stress

When asked, many frontline workers in the mining industry lose sleep over shift changes. They lay awake at night wondering if they forgot to include a critical piece of information in their report and hope that nothing bad is happening to their lineup replacement. Sofvie’s health and safety software negates this worry in a big way. Not only are shift reports standardized with prompts to make sure that all of your notes go in the right place, it’s also retrievable. Whenever the needs should arise, Sofvie users are able to search and find logs to confirm information. Frontline workers are instantly able to verify if information is logged so they can get to sleep, or take corrective action if critical information needs to be communicated.

Collaboration and Comradery

It’s well known that frontline workers have a habit of “passing the buck” when equipment is damaged or another issue occurs. With Sofvie, accountability is transparent. Reports are time-stamped and pushed to the immediate view of supervisors. Because of this,  frontline workers have no other choice but to take ownership of any incidents.  The unexpected benefit of this is that frontline workers not only put in extra effort to avoid damage or incidents, they are also looking out for each others’ backs! You read that correctly. Workers change their methodology to include eagle-eyed scrutiny of workspaces. This results in less incidents, less damage, and a proper teamwork spirit. 

Ability to focus on emotionally rewarding, quality work.

Everybody wants to head home feeling as if their work made a difference. When that’s not possible, workers carry a feeling of inadequacy as well as fear of a poor performance review. With Sofvie many tasks achieve new levels of efficiency, providing more time to focus on quality and productivity. With so many photographs being involved in reports, the first place you will notice this phenomenon is equipment inspections. Vehicles and surrounding areas are now clean, free of tripping hazards, and in the best presentation possible. This behaviour extends to every facet of work. When stress isn’t part of the day, we’re happy. When we feel like part of a time, we’re happy. When we are proud of the work we do, we’re happy. Peace of mind, team spirit, and a renewed focus on quality all contribute to individual happiness.  This is great news when we consider what Ken Burns (author on 10 books covering the topics of human performance and safety) cites as larger obstacles to a zero harm workplace – Overbearing, critical and negative-focused supervisors – and what workers really want, outside of salary, from their employment. These are significant rewards for any individual as well as the organization, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. When individuals work and feel like this, it becomes culture. Great culture promotes a great reputation, which retains and attracts top talent. When you have top talent, productivity and quality improves. It’s all part of a desirable growth cycle. However, there is such a thing as feeling too safe. When we feel that there are no threats, our guards are down. We stop being on the lookout for hazards and become complacent. This is when accidents are likely to occur. The best approach is balance. Harness a culture that makes everyone happy with the work they are doing, and bolster this environment with people who are constantly protecting themselves and those around them. Work with Sofvie to discover how your health and safety framework can be put to work and maximize your workforce’s chance at happiness and safety.