The past principles and practices of safety management have served us really well and they will continue to do so particularly for simple tasks where individuals or small groups are carrying out things where the risks are well-known and not much is changing in the environment.

However, what happens when a procedure doesn't fit the situation?

What happens if something unexpected strikes and there's no rule to cover the situation?

What happens if we chose to go outside the procedure to get things done?

Experts agree that improved safety contributes to profitability in many ways. Costly incidents are avoided. Employees naturally become more emotionally and physically invested in their work. Workforce turnover goes down, while productivity and quality go up.

For someone running a small to medium sized business the letters SMS, standing for safety management system can be a forbidding acronym. The SMS for a large and complex organisation can be a document of many thousands of words over hundreds of pages, prescribing a bewildering array of meetings and procedures. But the power of SMS as a concept means it is scalable. A small organisation can reap safety and business benefits from a much simpler SMS. All you have to do is stick to it.

If you are going to bother adding a Safety Software application to your construction business, you had better make sure it’s going to be about something, the same way that buying your loved one (or friend) a current-model iPad had better be about something.

“Oh, uh, neat. I can watch Netflix in bed easier?”

“Or check your stocks! There’s a stock app—”

“—I don’t own any stock.”

SMS stands for “Safety Management Systems” and construction safety compliance is best managed with Construction Safety Software that allows you to -- you guessed it -- manage your construction safety management system.  If you're running a construction business, you likely need Safety Software. Why? You know that successful construction businesses identify and manage all safety risks that have the possibility to impact on your business objectives. Oh, and there is a fair amount of efficiency that comes from accessing integrated data for multiple purposes. 

But here’s the straight fact: whether your construction company is eight people or eighty, passing notes through an Excel sheet to track those interactions isn’t feasible, because you’re a consistent business with a predictable growth curve for the foreseeable future. That Excel sheet, or whatever system you use to catalogue and analyse your safety processes, is an ugly relic that needs to be left behind.

Sound familiar? Then it’s time for an update. You can taste it in the drinking water. You’re a smart, modern construction business owner, safety professional or site manager and you need an SMS . If you're still on the fence about whether this technology is for you, read on to find out which questions to ask yourself when evaluating your need for construction safety software.