What is a PPE Management App?
A PPE management app is a mobile platform that enables employers and employees to discuss and perform PPE maintenance. As part of an organization’s safety program, a PPE management app can also function as a digital hazard assessment tool.
Importance
While the importance of PPE in worker protection should not be taken for granted, PPE alone is not enough. According to the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), PPE is merely the last level of defense. There are other effective ways of controlling exposure to hazards that work complementary to PPE, such as elimination (removing hazards), substitution (replacing hazards), engineering control (isolating people from hazards), and administrative control (changing procedures). The reason why people advocate the use of PPEs is that, at times, removing or replacing a hazard isn’t feasible. This dilemma is especially prevalent in the construction industry, where High-Risk Construction Work (HRCW) is part of the job.
Though some may not even entertain the thought of using an app to check and manage PPEs, the reality is that PPEs are often crucial to the health and safety of workers, especially in the absence of other controls. With PPEs having the capability to prevent accidents and even infection, employers should pay due diligence to their proper care and maintenance.
Here are some ways businesses can use a PPE management app to further protect employees from harm:
Assess the Need for PPEs: Using a PPE management app, you can easily identify the type of PPE required for certain tasks. Since the purpose of PPE is to reduce employee exposure to hazards, it’s necessary to first perform hazard assessments before enforcing PPE use.
Keep PPEs in Good Condition: A PPE management app also can help you maintain your PPEs, so they last a long time and remain as effective as they were when newly purchased. This can be achieved by conducting regular inspections where employees can snap a photo of any defects in the PPE and even annotate it to ensure that whoever reads the inspection report immediately knows where the problem is.
Manage PPE Inventory: With the right PPE management app, you can also track the number of usable PPEs by asking employees in the field to input the PPE count daily, as well as find out why some PPEs are no longer fit for use. In addition, using an app ensures that you’re always updated on what exactly your employees need to get the job done and how to track PPE usage.
Schedule Regular PPE Inspections: Without an app, it can be difficult to constantly remind employees to check their PPEs, especially when you can’t be there in person. With a PPE management app, you can assign scheduled PPE inspections to employees, who will receive a notification once it’s time to conduct the inspection.
Create and Assign Corrective Actions: Once a problem has been identified, employers can use a PPE management app to immediately create corrective actions and assign them to the relevant personnel. Additionally, even if there’s nothing wrong with the PPEs, you can still raise issues and create action items to collaborate with employees and managers in further strengthening the effectiveness of your organization’s PPE program.
Features
Top PPE management apps must have these features:
Smart Forms – Create smart templates and convert your existing paper forms into digital checklists.
Inspections – Conduct PPE inspections from anywhere at any time with a PPE management app.
Asset Tracking – Manage and track PPE usage with an asset management system built into the same application to better streamline operations.
Fast Reporting – Automatically generate PPE inspection reports to help solve problems quicker.
Insights and Analytics – Turn your PPE inspection data into actionable insights for enhanced workplace safety.
Integrations – Connect your PPE management app to business software systems such as Tableau, Sharepoint, and more.
Workflow Automation – Automate the boring stuff—from scheduling PPE inspections to report creation and sharing.
How to Pick the Best PPE Management App
To help you choose the best PPE management tool, here’s a quick overview of our best 8:
PPE Management App | Free Version | Paid Plan | Mobile App |
SafetyCulture | Yes | $24/seat/month* | Yes |
CORE EHS | No | Contact vendor for pricing | Yes** |
Sortly | Yes | $24/month* | Yes |
erplain | No | $29/month* | No |
Bulbthings | No | Custom pricing | Yes |
Benchmark Gensuite | No | Contact vendor for pricing | Yes |
Aptien | No | $90/3 users/month | No |
itemit | Yes | Custom pricing | Yes |
* billed annually
** Android only