One of the most integral roles you can fill in any company is that of environment, health, and safety (EHS) manager.
EHS site management is a major commitment that demands much from an EHS manager, as the responsibility ultimately lies with you when it comes to compliance, keeping workers safe, and keeping a worksite productive. This job gets even more complex when it comes to managing more than one site, but it’s not impossible. Here are some quick ideas on EHS site management for multiple-site managers.
Delegate Responsibly and With Diligence
Any management position can be made easier by delegating some of your duties to assistants. This is just as true for EHS site management and is especially useful for managing multiple sites at once. At the same time, because worker safety and site productivity are crucial safety goals of EHS compliance, any tasks you delegate in order to make your own workload more manageable have to be assigned to safety professionals who understand EHS site management inside and out.
Sourcing workers with the proper EHS management skills can be a challenge, especially in companies with tight budgeting and resource overheads. Cross-training select workers in EHS compliance in addition to their existing roles can be one solution, but this will require both diligent training and careful oversight. The combination of an inexperienced EHS management assistant and lax follow-up on your part can easily be a recipe for disaster, which is why this solution may not be the most ideal for harried EHS site management specialists.
Rely on Advanced Tools
One of the more effective solutions, and one that does not suffer from the same drawbacks of delegating responsibility, includes a reliance on advanced EHS management tools. EHS software can often streamline managing not just one worksite but multiple sites thanks to organizational functionalities. Advanced features such as cloud-based mobile connectivity are ideal for site-hopping EHS managers who need to be able to access information about a particular work location whether they’re on-site or not.
Yet not all EHS software platforms are created equal. It’s important to choose one that provides you the capabilities you need to keep tabs on multiple worksites while doing so at an affordable price. It’s highly recommended to do some research into the best mix of affordability and functionality that will work well when applied to your own EHS site management responsibilities.
The Last Word on Managing Multiple Sites
Because of its supreme importance, you can never spend too much effort on EHS site management. At the same time, though, you can certainly spend too much effort on the wrong things. You can also suffer from that all-too-common malady of not having enough hours in the day to get everything you need done, especially if you’re managing multiple sites.
This makes finding feasible solutions that help you manage these sites more effectively, such as careful delegation or using the right EHS software platform, such a crucial choice for being a successful EHS manager.
Further reading: Why Companies Are Switching to Mobile Safety Solutions
