Why workplace safety should be a priority for all businesses
Ensuring that your workplace is a safe, healthy and happy place for people to be is an essential part of running a business. No matter the size of their team or the scale of the industry, all employers have a legal obligation to protect their people and their workplace from incidents and accidents. At the same time, workers also have a responsibility to follow safe working practices and look after themselves and their colleagues.
As well as keeping employees and equipment safe from harm and damage, safety management contributes to a happier and more productive workplace. When employees see that their safety is a priority, they are more likely to engage with important safety activities like incident reporting and staff training. Good safety management that proactively reduces risk also leads to fewer sick days, fewer compensation claims and fewer legal proceedings, making for a more productive and efficient workplace.
Prioritising workplace safety says a lot about your company to other stakeholders, too. If you can provide evidence that you are meeting or exceeding industry regulations, you can avoid costly fees and penalties. As well as demonstrating compliance with legal standards, a positive workplace safety record will enhance your standing with clients, customers and the wider public. Having a strong safety record is a boost to your business’ reputation, both internally and externally.
Of course, Safety Leaders like you understand the importance of workplace health and safety; it’s part of your job to ensure everyone else in your organisation understands it too. Unfortunately, there are still some business leaders who think that the benefits of investing in a positive safety culture are outweighed by the cost and stress associated with putting the right processes in place. That may have been true in the past, but thanks to the safety technology available today, we know this is no longer the case. Not least because some of these tools are completely free to use.
How can safety software help?
Health and safety technology is key to making your safety management process more efficient, more accessible and fit for the modern workplace. Instead of wasting time manually processing data or risking things being lost through messy filing, inefficient processes or human error, safety software can make things easier, faster and more accurate.
With digital safety tools like online incident reporting, central digital dashboards and remote action tracking, you can easily find and analyse safety data from across your organisation. You can automate reminders about risk assessments and audits, plus receive timely updates from employees about safety events from any location in your business. Safety software makes collaboration and communication easier, giving teams the power to report incidents and track actions in real-time. Having all of your safety data in one place makes it easier to spot safety trends, both positive and negative, allowing you to get ahead of risks and reduce the likelihood of accidents. Digital safety tools also reduce the need for paper files, so not only do they help keep your workforce safe and save you time and money, they also help to save the planet!
What to look for in free health and safety software
One of the biggest barriers companies face when it comes to adopting digital safety tools is cost. Luckily, there are free health and safety software options out there. Free health and safety software gives businesses the chance to test out these tools and discover what works best for them, all without the financial commitment that many associate with health and safety technology.
If you are thinking about trying free health and safety software, there are some key features that you should look out for:
1. Make sure that it’s easy to use. Is the functionality smooth or glitchy? Is it easy to set up? Does it have a user-friendly interface? Is your data clear and easy to understand? How do you communicate with tech support if you get stuck? With any new technology, you want to make sure that you can get going with it straight away and that you know who to reach out to with questions or queries.
2. Ensure that it’s accessible to everyone who needs it. While many safety software companies offer free trials, these are often limited to one user at a time. If you know that your wider team should be making use of these digital tools, make sure that they can access and use them for free. Bonus points if reporting safety events can be done remotely via a mobile device, or even offline.
3. It can help you demonstrate compliance. One of the top benefits of digital tools compared to manual processes is the ability to view all of your safety data in one place. Check that your free software can empower your to access a digital audit trail to supporting compliance with the HSE.
If you’re ready to upgrade your health and safety management, Notify Technology’s free software can offer you all of these features – and more.
What is the best free health and safety software?
Notify Technology has two free health and safety apps that can help you get started on your digital safety journey. Our free Incident Reporting App and free Audits and Inspections App. Each of these has a range of features to help you save time, engage employees and ensure consistent and accurate safety data is being collated.
Notify’s Free Incident Reporting App
Incident reporting is a fundamental part of workplace safety practices. With the right technology, you can make it easier for employees across your business to report incidents when they happen, leading to faster response times. By making it easy to report incidents, employees will feel more engaged in safety and more likely capture safety events – giving you vital data to help you prioritise improvements.
Notify’s Incident Reporting App is available on Android, iOS and Web, giving users access on both mobile and desktop devices. It can also be accessed via QR code, removing the need for downloads on the go.
With the free app, users can report near misses and upload positive observations, two aspects of incident reporting that are sometimes forgotten about. Near miss reports will provide information on where you need to prioritise safety improvements or training, while positive observations highlight good safety practice and encourage employee engagement.
Notify’s free Incident Reporting App also includes one Management User license, giving safety managers or senior leaders access to a basic dashboard overview of their safety data. Managers can also set up incident notifications, allowing them to see when and where reports are made. They can also view and search for specific incidents, view incident details and export incident reports in PDF form, allowing them to be outside of the app too. Finally, managers can add their comments to incident reports, allowing them to acknowledge when employees share important safety information – closing the feedback loop.
Notify’s Audits and Inspections App
A robust safety culture is a proactive one, so safety leaders need the right tools to assess and update their safety policies and procedures on a regular basis. This is where Notify’s free Audits and Inspections App comes in.
Like our Incident Reporting App, the Audits and Inspections App is available on Android, iOS and Web devices. This means it is accessible whenever and wherever you need it.
When it comes to audits, we know that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. With that in mind, our free Audits and Inspections App allows you to create and publish your own report templates that can be used across your organisation. Once you’ve decided on your template, you can create checklists and allocate specific action items to your teams.
This collaborative approach to audits and inspections will help you ensure that accurate and consistent data is being collated and sorted in one easily accessible place.
Why you can trust Notify for free health and safety software
At Notify, we’ve spent years helping organisations across the UK and beyond simplify safety management and prove their safety impact. From manufacturing to construction, our free and paid tools are used by teams ranging from 50 to over 10,000 employees.
We’re not just another software provider, we’re a dedicated partner in creating safer, smarter workplaces. Our solutions are developed with real safety professionals, and our platform supports compliance with key standards like ISO45001 and RIDDOR reporting requirements.
Don’t just take our word for it:
- Epta UK increased near miss reporting and reduced accidents by switching from paper to Notify’s digital tools.
- NWF Agriculture saw a 230% rise in hazard reporting and significantly reduced admin time using Notify’s apps.
- Product Care Group reported a 200% increase in positive safety observations, thanks to our mobile-first approach.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! With Notify’s Incident Reporting App, any employee can report a near miss or a positive observation using their mobile device or via their desktop. Mobile technology is a great way to engage your wider workforce with health and safety, no matter the size of your team or the industry you work in. With our easy-to-use mobile apps, anyone in your organisation can capture safety data quickly and accurately, in just a few clicks.
When you’ve spent some time using our free software and are getting as much out of it as you can, you might want to think about upgrading to include some of our more bespoke, in-depth features.
Using our Incident Reporting app? It could be time to move to paid if:
- You want to start reporting injuries or accidents or you want to create a customised incident type for your business (e.g. quality or environmental)
- You want to investigate near misses and accidents
- You want to move RIDDOR, AFR and LTI reporting to a digital platform
- You want to be able to allocate actions to anyone, inside or outside of your organisation
- You are changing your organisation structure and need a tool that reflects the complexity of your business
- You want to add another module to your package, e.g. Audits and Inspections, Action Management, Risk Assessments
- You want to make use of Notify’s Safety Intelligence and turn your data into insights
- You want to integrate other software
- You want to have your own Customer Success Executive to provide your business with dedicated safety support.
Maybe you’re using our Audits and Inspections tool? It’s time to move to paid if:
- You need multiple people to be able to create and edit forms
- You want to schedule audits
- You want to be able to allocate actions to anyone, inside or outside of your organisation
- You are changing your organisation structure and need a tool that reflects the complexity of your business
- You want to add another module to your package, e.g. Incident Reporting, Action Management
- You want to make use of Notify’s Safety Intelligence and turn your data into insights
- You want to integrate other software.
It’s easier than you think! When you’re ready to move to a paid version, our pricing packages move with you. From small and medium businesses to larger enterprises, we have several different subscription levels. So, whether you need a couple of new features or want a full safety technology upgrade, we have a range of options to suit your needs and your budget.
We believe that the right technology can change the way you tackle workplace health and safety for the better, and we think our free health and safety software is some of the best out there. Whether you’re a small business and are looking to save a bit of admin time, or a safety team in a large organisation that has outgrown paper files and complicated spreadsheets, Notify has the best free health and safety software for you.