Digital maturity in manufacturing safety: from compliance to a connected safety ecosystem

Hello, everyone, and welcome to our webinar on digital maturity and manufacturing safety. So I really wanna welcome everyone today because most of you are already used to some of Eco Online and some of the products we do. Today is not a product showcase. It is a practical guide on digital maturity. And to help me on this conversation, we have Bruce Armbuster with me from all four. Bruce, I’ll let you introduce yourself because I don’t think I can justify that properly. No. Thank you, Daryl. And and, again, welcome, everyone. I’m excited to be here today. Bruce Armbruster. I am the EHS practice, director here at All four. I have over thirty six years of experience helping manufacturing and industrial facilities develop and implement successfully, compliance management program. So really excited to be here and and share some of my insights with you today. Back to you, Daryl. Thanks, Bruce. And for myself, I’m Daryl, a senior solution consultant. I work with online for four and a half years and previously more in IT space with AWS consultancy firms, helping customers understand where their needs and the best solution is gonna fit them as well. So where we’re gonna be going on and what terms the big biggest risk for you guys right now and how we can help. So moving on, I want to kind of ask a question to you guys. And does this sound familiar? Most manufacturers I work with still sit somewhere between reactive and partially connected. Not because they haven’t tried, not because digitalization is difficult. Usually, it happens at one tool at a time and in response to whatever problem was lightest that quarter, essentially. We’re all very reactive in that part. So with that, they go to paper, spreadsheets, emails, and see if it gets managed after something’s already go wrong. You look at the next step, your first digital step, is trying to find everything in one place. When you go to stage three, which some of you may be familiar with as well, partially connected. Several tools running in the background, but data sets in silos. The adoption is patchy, and it goes from site to site as well. So stage four is that connected ecosystem that everyone wants to get to. Unified adoptive systems, visibility across every site, and the ability to actually predict the risk that’s heading as well. But to get us on that journey, I’m gonna go to the next slide and pass you across to Bruce who will give us a bit more detail around that. Again, I I appreciate it, Daryl. And, again, excited to be here. Again, what I wanna get into today is is because digital solutions are critical to creating and sustaining a mature EHS compliant system. But what I think happens often is people forget the importance of having a strong foundation. This is a step that gets skipped way too often, and it ends up in creating, as you would think, an unstable migration into a in any type of digital platform. And and what happens is people believe that the digital tool will solve their problems. But the reality is the digital tool is not intended to solve your problems. It’s to amplify what you’ve already built and make it better and make it more efficient and more successful. So, again, when we jump into a digital solution too quickly without the foundation in front of us, what happens is we tend to accelerate and expose the weaknesses that exist in our existing foundational systems. So let’s move on to the next slide, and we’ll talk about it. Right? So it really is that foundation first. How many of you would go and build a a a skyscraper without a strong firm foundation that was able to support and stabilize everything that you put on top of it. And that’s really what we’re talking about. Right? That systematic compliance programs that really build the expectation and give the people the ultimate tools of what they’re going to do. So these are the your written management systems, defining roles and responsibility for the people who are working within those systems, workflows, even the paper forms. Right? It’s it’s hard to create a good digital solution if we don’t know what the expectation is. What do the forms what are they supposed to look like? What information are we trying to document? Why are we trying to document it? Why is it important to us? Right? All of those things need to be determined and identified upfront. Now as you implement the digital solution, it can grow and change, but that foundation is going to be the base that holds everything together. Right? It is truly the foundation for a successful system. Let’s go ahead and move on. So, again, the misconception. I talked about this a little bit earlier. Our EHS compliance problem will be solved once we implement a digital platform. Everybody says, hey. You know what? I see all my competitors doing this. Maybe that’s what I need. I need that digital solution because it’s gonna make things easier. People are going to adopt it, and we’re going to be getting better data. We’re gonna be working through it. But the problem is that without those foundational systems, people are gonna be confused. They’re going to be lost, and they won’t understand what the expectation is. It’s very difficult to hold somebody accountable when you haven’t clearly established what the expectation is. So that foundation will allow us to define the expectations and actually define the tools and the roles that people will be using as we move into the digital solution. Because the digital solution, again, is a tool that supports those management programs. So, again, recognize that foundation comes first, and then we build into the digital. And Daryl mentioned it earlier. Right? Most people are sort of in between that that foundation step, that reactive step, and then the the the digital getting into the digital. And even now, we may be some form of digital or electronic when we start talking about things like spreadsheets. Right? But those spreadsheets are based on a foundational practice. Right? Maybe a permit condition, maybe, a KPI that you’ve established. So defining what those are is gonna be very important. Meg, go ahead and let’s go to the next slide. So the question that often I often get asked is, how do I build a foundation? What does it look like? What do I need to do to establish my foundation? And and how do I go about that? So it’s not just about having a policy or a binder that sits on the shelf. It means that you actually dig into your written programs and you look at what you’re trying to accomplish. What are you trying to achieve? These are the tools that the people are going to use. Now those tools are gonna change maybe from a book or a paper form, and they’re gonna turn into something eventually that will be a digital tool. Right? Maybe they’re filling out those forms that were once in paper now on a tablet or on a phone. Right? And that’s gonna allow us to become more efficient. But that foundation, right, that structure comes from those foundational programs. So, again, these are the things that the people need to execute. These are the things that people need to do. It’s that clear expectation that is really gonna be so the first thing that we wanna do is make sure that we have comprehensive written programs. Let’s go back and look at our programs. What state are they in? Do they accomplish really what we want them to accomplish? Right? Do they contain the elements that we need to be successful? Make sure that we’re reviewing those and that they’re approved and that we have good buy in. Right? And then from there, we can talk about including the practical implementation tools. What do we need to implement these programs? Many cases, the program should be very simple and the work instruction even simpler. It’s gotta be something that you can hand to somebody. One, maybe two pages at the most, but it’s really an instruction. What do I need to do? When do I need to do it? And how do I do it? And from there, give me the tools that allow me to do it successfully. And, initially, before we get into the digital tool, it may be in a paper form. We have to walk, maybe even crawl before we can run. And so it’s very important that we have that foundation. Define all the different various requirements. Make sure that you have programs and policies and procedures that will identify and address the ongoing compliance obligations. And then one of the most important things is who’s gonna take charge of this? Who owns this? Right? Somebody has to be responsible. And the whole idea of that underlying foundation is not only going to establish what to do, how to do it, and the expectation with it, but you’re going to assign responsibility because that responsibility is gonna help you maintain and address accountability as you go forward. Now once you have this in place go ahead and we’ll go to the next slide. You have that foundation. We can actually put that into a digital tool, and you see that support structure that underlays this building, it allows you to build something quite spectacular. Right? You can have a very tall skyscraper and it’s not going to crumble when it gets challenged by the the simplest force. And what’s beautiful about this is with a written program, you have set that foundation so strong that it gives you a system that’s actually sustainable. Because if anybody leaves or moves on or gets promoted from your organization, the system remains. It’s sustainable. It’s continuous. There’s continuity. And these types of systems are even broader or more powerful when you’re talking about a larger enterprise organization because that foundation allows you to have continuity between all of the different operations. And as you have that, then you build this digital platform that actually brings you to a place where you can actually get good data. People adopt it. You have good you have better buy in from the people who are using it because they already understand the why. They know what they have to do. They know how to do it, and you’ve just given them a better tool to allow them to do it more efficiently. And then because of that tool, you have data. And that data, if people are using it because you set the good foundation, is gonna allow you to be predictive and analytical when it comes to how do you change and shape your programs to make them even more efficient. Let’s go ahead and go to the next slide, please. So these are sort of the questions that I’d like you to think about a little bit. Simple diagnostic, again, looking at, hey. Where are we at in this process? Do we have what we need? Where is our foundation at? And how do we go through creating that? So do you have written EHS programs? Right? Do we have a thorough process to make sure that we’re identifying the programs that we’re obligated to comply with? And then how do we comply with them? If an employee is looking for this information, how do they get it? Is it sitting on somebody’s shelf somewhere? Do they even know it exists? Right? Do we have a documented compliance calendar that identifies what we need to do, when we need to do it, and how it gets done. Are the roles properly defined? Have we defined what to do, or have we given people a procedure when they find a deficiency? And if they do find a deficiency, how do we document it? And how do we document the corrective action? And how do we make sure that the corrective action gets done? Do you have any baseline performance data that would serve as a benchmark as we move into a digital tool? And most importantly, has your leadership formally committed and do they truly believe in the importance of the EHS compliance implementation program and what that means for the organization? That support is essential to that foundation. And sometimes we have to go back and we have to explain that to them and and share time with them to help underscore the importance and why we’re doing this, but it is an important part of what we’re looking at. So for your next steps, I want you guys to really take a look at your existing programs. Where are you at? What are you doing? How are we doing it? And where maybe can we help you actually even get a little stronger? Megan, go ahead. And so, again, this is where we can come in and help you. We can help we work with Eco Online, and we really want you guys to have solid programs, solid foundation because that’s going to make what you do with a digital solution and a digital platform that much more successful. It’s not the digital tool that’s going to save you. Right? It’s going to identify more weaknesses. Without that foundation, that platform won’t work. But with a strong foundation, that platform is going to allow you to truly soar and make programs that are continuous, that are sustainable, and will bring you to a level of compliance that probably you’ve never even imagined that you could achieve. So thank you, Daryl, for the time. I’ll give it back to you. Honestly, you can talk away, Bruce. This is great. And the questions you’re asking customers is what everyone should be asking. Doesn’t matter how digital mature, in my opinion. They’re fantastic questions asked when I’m playing a new system. So I think that’s relevant across the board. So but thank you for that. It was great to hear. And and, yeah, we work with all four on these different areas to help these gaps to create a better ecosystem for organizations across board. And when you look at the next slide and we move across, we’re gonna go back to what Bruce said earlier on, and we’re talking about those foundations. When you come to those foundations here, I’m gonna tell you about a manufacturer. I want you to keep in mind, they thought they were digitally mature because they had an electronic key permits in place. They had our cycle in place for chemical safety. Two solid systems from the outside, and then thought they looked digitally mature. But safety incidents reporting was still manual, inconsistent. I’m feeling through the cracks. Going back to what Bruce said before for earlier, by asking those diagnostic questions to understand where are you at from that and really taking back to the basics to have a strong foundation? When we dug in, the real problem came from three things. Tool friction, no clear ownership, and the workforce trained on how to use the system, but we’re never told why it actually mattered to help the organization as a whole. And that distinction between implementation and adoption is everything. So if you go and look at what we have, at Eco Online in the next slide, I want to walk you through our framework. And I wanna frame what Eco Online three actually covers because the connected platform we’re talking about has four main pillars that we focus on. And that unified instant inspection management, chemical safety around chemical manager, cycle, and SDS authoring, the LMS around training and compliance and contractor management, and then our ESG for different types of reporting and management as well. This really helps keep clear on what we need to be doing as an organization to help our customers make sure we get the best of what they need and how we can assist them as well. So on the next slide, we’re looking at three different levels that we’re gonna focus on here. And here’s what digital maturity model ties it all together looks like across those four different modules. Most organizations start in reactive. Point solutions, spreadsheets, siloed data, low engagement. Does that sound quite familiar from what we heard earlier from Bruce? Because their foundations weren’t in place. Level one is compliance. Meeting your obligations conforming standards like Cosh, OSHA, REACH, and mandatory disclosures that I put here is mostly paperwork, risk assessments, and so the reports, ESG reports, all that comes into play around getting compliance, getting that tech. When looking at visibility level two, you’re starting to spot trends and patterns, finding opportunities like waste reduction, doing real risk analysis. The impact is due to starting to cut costs and managing process proactively because you can see the causation, not just the outcomes from what you’ve done from your foundations. Then lastly, where we wanna get for customers is to be predictable. Predictability is running those scenarios, forecasting, anticipating dependencies before they become incidents. That’s where real value sets. Looking at the resilience of your organization, competitive advantage that you can create, and a genuine feedback loop from engagement with the rest of your team. And running underneath all three levels is our crisis management because no matter how mature you are and I’m going back to your higher customer thought they were initially mature. Always need a plan when something goes wrong, and having that plan ahead will help you do that. So if we go to the next slide, I want to address where this is that’s grind us really. Money and risk because that’s the language every stakeholder we have to talk to in the room understands. And there’s a number here of two hundred and sixty thousand. Believe it or not, that’s the average cost of unplanned downtime per hour. A forty percent of safety ends happen during start ups and shutdowns, which is just five percent of operating time. Accidents are twelve times more likely during those trans transitions. And when downtime does happen on plant, it costs fifteen times more than planned downtime. So this isn’t a peripheral risk setting. In EHS Teams Corners, it’s a core business risk sitting on the production line. So having connected EHS catches hazards proactively and prevents incident driven shutdowns, which is exactly where we’re headed. So you actually what can you actually do about it in this point? So what does that compliance actually mean in practice that I mentioned earlier? Go back to our manufacturer. When we dig in, we find those three things underneath those problems, and we’re understanding how that can help them in terms of, first, having clear ownership, helping them create accountability, having set training, and having the workforce across that. Go back to what Bruce said about those diagnose diagnosis questions to understand how people take a role and get that in there as well. So in my experience, those things will help bring major major set in your organization, how you can help save your costs and keep your people safe, more importantly. So if we go to next slide, I’ve got two examples. And let me show you what compliance visibility and predictability will look like in a real manufacturing context. So Hadley Grip, global steel manufacturer, multiple sites, hazardous substances, loan workers, growing ESG obligations, all managed through fragmented paper based processes. Used to work construction myself, I understand how difficult that can be. But rather than solving each problem separately, they deployed three different solutions together. Chemical management cycle for crush, stay safe for no worker, and ESG for sustainability. We just didn’t give them a hand the tools and tell them that’s the functionality. We understood what they needed and understand what their outcome needed to be. So additional cost records that work workers actually use, real time low worker oversight to make sure no one’s been missed with the cracks, and carbon accounting to cut twelve weeks down to six. That’s what adoption should look like, and that’s what the platform should be delivering for someone who’s digital mature. This is a great example of that of someone who’s got their foundations in place. On the next example, I’ve got a real manufacturing and maintenance organization, Harsco Real, run everything through spreadsheets and email chains. No single line of sight across risk. They deployed EHS software, chemical safety management, ESG together. And the shift they summed up in one phrase was a safety and sustainability operation they can actually see, manage, improve at any time. So when an auditor came onto their site, they can get it in lifetime. Where previously, it would take them weeks to get the information they need to do that. The word prove matters enormously here. Whether it’s a HSE inspector or an ISO auditor or your own board, proof of demand is what visibility actually delivers here. And the compliance becoming visibility in practice, and that’s what’s available today. So when we look at the next slide, this is an example of some manufacturers we’re working with, and this is the platform with the architecture that can turn predictability into something real. That’s the concept. So the foundation we’re looking at with them at the moment is chemical management e permits. This is where most of them are already operating and your existing investment to build on them for not around it. So we’re helping them what they have already with contractors and what they have with their SDSs as well. What we’re helping them next is to look at visibility around EHS, the unified incidents, inspections, cruise of actions across sites in real time. So no more Friday afternoon spreadsheet assembly, which I just do have today as well, which is not fun for anyone. And above that, we have LMS for competency. So having a standardized contractor training, proof of concept in thirty seconds at any audit. And we had a customer who had this, and they had five thousand people turn up to site for an insight induction. They had to shut down the whole road. Having that prepared ahead of time and have it digitized will help you do that. And that’s an example of someone who’ll have their foundations in place. And what I have on the top here is Stacy for protect oh, sorry. And at the top, I have Stacy here for protection. So real time monitoring and for loan and distributed workers, the most exposed and often least visible people in that operation. And underneath all that will be crisis. To make sure if something is detected within there, they can cooperate and recover from any situation. So what I’m trying to get at here is point solutions don’t solve systematic risk. Each layer that I’m doing here is feeding the next. That’s what makes the connection as an ecosystem, not just a collection of tools. Because every time you have to go through the e permits, you have to record that interactions in EHS. Are they trained? Has to be recorded in LMS, getting on-site if something happens to them, goes to stay safe for crisis. They can always see what is happening. And then we look to the next slide as well. Manufacturers pulling ahead are just running safer operations. They’re running more competitive ones. They have fewer incident driven stoppages, which means more production time. They have instant proof of competency, meaning order ready without scrambling, like I mentioned by my Friday day bedsheets. Workers who feel protected stay longer. And that’s critical in a tight labor market and demonstrate ESG standards, doors with customers and investors. Safety is to be framed as purely a compliance cost. That framing is very outdated, and it’s actively hurdling business that’s still operating that way. Compliance, visibility, flexibility, that’s the journey from reactive to strategic that we’re working with lot of our customers and with our partners like all four. And it’s the same journey we’ve walked through today. So on the last slide, wherever you are in that maturity curve, we we can meet you there together with our partners at all four as well. So three ways take the next step, book a maturity assessment with an AE and find your biggest gap to make that right next move. Talk to us now forward to understand where we can give help you build your foundations to make it the right fit for your organization. So download the manufacturing safety best practice guide we have. It’s a practical reference you can share with your team. And lastly, just just talk to us about your biggest gap, and we’ll show you what we think is the right path forward and from where you are today. So yeah. So we wanna make sure we can help you. So thank you, and I’ll have a look at any questions we have, if any, Bruce. And as we’re waiting for questions, Daryl, I’ll just chime in and say that, you know, it it really is about getting good data so that you can be analytical and predictive. And the way to get good data is to make sure you’re asking the right questions and you’re getting people’s buy in. And I think that’s really that that adoption that user adoption is so critical to this. And by having the foundation, you’re gonna make it much easier for people to participate and adopt because they’re gonna understand what they need to do, what that expectation is. So it’s really powerful. And and, you know, you mentioned spreadsheets earlier. Spreadsheets are nice, but who’s got the most current one, and where is it up to date, and where do I store that at, and who’s got the right data? Yeah. It’s a current thing we hear most customers. They have their Excel and SharePoint. People copy it. They make a new one. It’s the most up to date. They have no idea anymore, and they don’t know what the version is. It’s it’s a common thing you see across the board. So it needs to be addressed for a lot of customers, but, we can help with that. Well, I don’t see too many questions, Bruce. So it looks like they’re quite happy. But if anyone has anything, please feel free to reach out to all four. They go online to see how we can help you with any of those maturity gaps within your journey. And like we don’t with many manufacturers in different industries, Chris, I think we can help anyone in any stage of their journey they’re on. I I would agree. I’m looking forward to it. Same here. Well, I’ll leave it there, but thank you everyone for joining us, and we’ll see you in the next one. Take care. Be be well and be safe.