More and more companies are acquiring dedicated Quality Safety Environment software. Their functionalities allow to rationalize and optimize QSE or QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety, Environment) practices. The choice is not to be taken lightly since this investment, if made wisely, can save time, money and serenity. With a complete QSE software, a single action, such as an audit or a procedure, will allow you to act on all three QSE areas at the same time. In other words, it will kill three birds with one stone.
Opting for operation in SaaS (Software as a Service) mode, rather than on-site (on-premise), also offers many advantages to the company. It’s a solution that maximizes the return on investment of such a tool and frees you from certain cost and operating constraints.
What is a QSE software ?
Quality Safety Environment (QSE) software is used as a management and communication system for data related to quality, safety and the environment. They are mainly used by companies for :
– Centralize all processes and reference documents ;
– Define responsibilities;
– Monitor indicators ;
– Identify and assess risks;
– Highlight the mitigation measures;
– Ensure the follow-up of non-conformities, incidents and complaints;
– To allow an effective management of corrective and preventive actions;
– To accompany the realization of the management review.
This integrated management approach makes it possible to implement effective prevention and action measures in the three areas mentioned above. Thus, it makes it possible to work on the respect of requirements related to customer satisfaction, the physical and mental integrity of employees and to limit environmental impacts. This integrated QSE approach enables compliance with both ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environment) and ISO 45001 (health and safety) standards.
The essential criteria for finding the most suitable QSE solution
Far from being just a legal and regulatory constraint, QSE management can also bring operational benefits to employees and management.
To choose the QSE or QHSE software that best suits the company’s needs, it is important to compare the following essential functions.
1- Meeting Quality, Safety and Environmental requirements simultaneously
Rather than having to manage the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 standards separately, a comprehensive software package makes it possible to achieve joint compliance in all three areas. This is an integrated management system (IMS) that saves time, money and consistency.
2- Provide quick and easy access to all documentation
The software must have a clear and easy-to-use digital library to facilitate access to documentation. It is essential that the QSE tool has a search to find the information in 3 clicks.
3- Provide intuitive reading of processes, procedures and guidelines
Far from technical language, the QSE solution must enable employees to easily understand processes, procedures and directives. It acts as a bridge between legal texts and employees.
4- Enable easy reporting of incidents, non-conformities and improvements
Employees have often been accustomed to filling out complicated forms in paper form. To encourage and motivate them to the QSE system, the software must support the incident reporting and improvement suggestion process.
5- Alert and assist employees in QSE related tasks
The software must allow everyone to be alerted to certain tasks to be performed (procedure to be updated, document to be validated, etc.). In addition, it can also relieve the employee of other tasks through a documentation validation workflow or automatic notifications.
6- Adapt to all users by being user-friendly
To be a global and comprehensible solution for everyone, the QSE digital environment must be easy to use. Simple and intuitive ergonomics make handling quick and efficient.
7- Allow automatic and general update
Like the company, standards evolve and must be able to adapt to the context. Ideally, any updates that can be made are automated, along with the resulting repercussions.
8- Easily sort data by Quality, Safety or Environment
Centralised management of the information relating to the three QSE themes is an advantage only if the sorting and consultation of the data can be organised separately if necessary.
9- Provide access to fixed and mobile material
In an ultra-connected and mobile world, it is unthinkable to be limited to a fixed station to consult the QSE software. Thus, accessibility from the company’s computers, tablets and smartphones is essential.
10- Manage confidentiality and access
Like any professional tool, it is essential to be able to define what each employee can see, thanks to accessibility parameters. It is therefore important that the QSE software allows to manage the confidentiality of personal and professional information internal to the company.
11- Ensure traceability and history
It is essential to be able to easily access the old versions of all elements (procedures, processes, risks, indicators, job descriptions, etc.) and to find evidence of audits and controls performed.
12- Facilitate audit, including automatic reporting
Carrying out audits makes it possible to regularly take stock of quality, safety and environment. Generating automatic reports saves valuable time for the system manager and auditors.
13- Provide quality support and online training
As part of the continuity and adaptability of the QSE or QHSE tool, it is essential to have access to an online training service. The latter often includes essential telephone support, but can also be supplemented with training videos for complete accompaniment.
Why choose QSE software in SaaS ?
The SaaS (Software as a Service) refers to an application or software made available remotely by a provider that hosts it. Accessible via the Internet, this category of Cloud Computing generally includes support in addition to access to the software.
This type of accessibility exists for QSE software and has significant advantages. Indeed, 80% of companies undertaking their digital revolution opt for SaaS, regardless of their profession.
An on-premise installation of the software, that is to say directly on the company’s servers, requires a heavy investment on the part of the company. On-site solutions are installed on the user’s premises and therefore directly executed and managed by the user. They can be costly to run or update, and can be difficult to install.
In order to choose the right SaaS solution, it is important to consider the following comparative elements:
14- Data accessibility and security
Delivered over the Internet, SaaS is accessible from any location by a connected device. Moreover, the external location of the servers in a suitable environment guarantees the optimization of operations and better data security.
15- Supported Outage Management
Failure, such as failure times or data loss, must be managed by the supplier of SaaS QSE software. It is therefore up to him to carry out the backups and the restoration of the data.
16- Easy update
Changes and new releases are deployed in real time, as are patches. In addition, maintenance and repair requirements are directly managed by the supplier.
17- Lower price than on-premise solution
No costs associated with maintaining the server, since the data is not stored on the company’s servers. As a result, infrastructure costs are distributed among clients and benefits increase with the arrival of new users. In the long term, subscriptions and associated costs are flexible according to customers’ needs.
18- Network effect for customer benefit
The network effect also makes it easier and faster to integrate suggestions that will turn into new features. When these are deployed, they benefit all network clients.
19- Quick Setup
A SaaS solution ensures faster implementation, as it requires no installation.
20- Support for technical problems
Depending on the contract between the customer and its Cloud provider, precise deadlines for responding to requests for information and incidents may be stipulated. The SaaS provider with many customers, it offers a better quality of service by pooling costs.
Thus, choosing QSE software in SaaS becomes obvious for many companies. But to take the appropriate software, it is essential to carry out a comparative analysis based on the 20 criteria seen previously. Selecting a software provider that combines real field experience with time and customer-validated expertise means maximizing the chances of making an investment that is beneficial to the company, regardless of its industry.
