If you own a business in a highly regulated industry, you understand how crucial it is to comply with federal, state, and local regulations in the workplace. Noncompliance with environmental, health, and safety laws can lead to harsh fines and legal consequences.

Environmental, health, and safety (EHS) management platforms cater to industrial and nonindustrial businesses, including food and beverage, utilities, oil and gas, construction, retail and healthcare companies. EHS software helps these organizations ensure regulatory compliance and streamline reporting and information management on a centralized platform.

This buyers guide covers the information you should know before purchasing an EHS platform for your organization.

What is EHS software?
Common features of EHS software
Benefits and potential issues of EHS software
Key considerations for purchasing EHS software

What is EHS software?

EHS management software helps businesses adhere to EHS compliance standards. These solutions provide organizations with the tools needed to appropriately assess and manage occupational risks to employees and the general public, such as hazard exposure, spills, explosions, and equipment and machinery failures.

EHS management software also assists companies track and respond to workplace incidents, such as occupational hazards and deviations from permitted conditions, manage workplace and product safety, and maintain regulatory compliance.

EHS management systems are typically used by companies that operate within highly regulated market sectors, including the mining, gas, manufacturing, or oil industries.

Common features of EHS software

Occupational health management	Monitor and manage cases of on-the-job injuries and related remedies. Keep track of employee work-related injuries and corrective treatments. Gauge if employee health statuses meet applicable federal and state Occupational Health and Safety (OSHA) requirements.
Reporting and analytics	Record, analyze, and view various environmental, health, and safety metrics such as workplace incidents, water consumption, energy consumption, risk profiles, and compliance performance over time.
Risk management	Identify and evaluate existing practices that can lead to potential risks. Create a plan of action to mitigate risk. Report risk factors in a centralized database.
Audit management	Generate customized audit forms to ensure all workplace inspection tasks are carried out and reported appropriately. Plan and schedule all EHS-related audits to ensure organizational compliance with applicable EHS policies, laws, and requirements.
Corrective and preventative actions (CAPA)	Investigate the root cause of errors in company products and processes. Take action to prevent the recurrence of errors.
Document management	Collect, upload, store, and share documents in a centralized location. Allow stakeholders to access documents as and when they need them.
Incident management	Identify unplanned service failures, disruptions, or injuries. Address incidents appropriately and on time.
Inspection management	Conduct work site inspections to remain compliant with industry standards. Manage and control inspections to eliminate the risk of noncompliance.
OSHA recordkeeping	Maintain records necessary for compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements.
Training management	Track employee progression through training programs. Ensure that all employees have met the training requirements to work in their field.

Benefits and potential issues of EHS software

Ensures regulatory compliance: For companies that operate in the oil, gas, manufacturing, and mining industries, a lack of regulatory compliance can result in steep fines and even loss of life. With an EHS management system, companies can properly identify and monitor risk factors, keep track of inspections, report incidents, and ensure their employees are properly trained. This helps organizations adhere to federal, state, and local regulations.

Streamlines reporting: For EHS professionals, health and safety reporting can be quite time-consuming and often runs the risk of human error. EHS software helps businesses streamline the reporting process by automating certain fields of reports. This allows reports to be filled out quickly, so employees can return to more pressing workplace duties.

Although EHS management software proves useful for businesses that seek to better adhere to industry regulations and streamline reporting, it has limitations:

Security breaches: If you plan on purchasing a cloud-hosted EHS management platform, it's important to be aware of potential security concerns. EHS management software handles sensitive company information that could damage a business's public reputation if accessed and exposed by unauthorized users. To thwart these concerns, be sure to choose a reputable vendor with strong data security measures in place.
Compliance management limitations: Organizations that operate in the construction, mining, agriculture, and maritime industries often have more complex/stringent federal and state regulations that they must comply with when compared to other industries. Not all EHS software offers advanced compliance management features such as automatic alerts that notify your team of the status of compliance tasks or a calendar that keeps track of upcoming compliance checks. Check with your vendor to ensure your software of choice meets your organization’s compliance needs.

Key considerations for purchasing EHS software

Pricing transparency: Not all EHS management software vendors are transparent about the pricing of their platforms. Before purchasing an EHS management solution, ask your vendor to provide a pricing estimate that includes the cost of software configuration, maintenance, and additional fees mentioned in the fine print. This will help you ensure that your solution of choice falls within your budget.
Mobile application availability: Does your EHS management solution offer a mobile application? If your business operates from various locations, it's important to choose an EHS management platform that allows your team to record and access data remotely. This way, employees can conduct risk assessments, report incidents, and take proper corrective action from their mobile devices in real time.
Integrations: Most businesses that are looking to purchase an EHS management platform often have a multitude of platforms already in place within their organization. Ask your vendor if their platform integrates with your existing tech stack. Common integrations for EHS management software include enterprise resource planning (ERP), work order, and payment processing software.

Sources

Products evaluated for the pricing calculation were taken from Software Advice’s EHS management software directory, sorted by number of reviews. The pricing ranges exclude freemium versions of the products. The features highlighted were identified based on their relevance and the percentage of products in Software Advice’s directory that offer them.

Frontline EHS Alternatives

Top 15 Alternatives

Benchmark Gensuite EHS

Benchmark Gensuite EHS

SafetyAmp

SafetyAmp

KPA Flex

KPA Flex

SafetyCulture

SafetyCulture

TrueContext (formerly ProntoForms)

TrueContext (formerly ProntoForms)

HSI Donesafe

HSI Donesafe

Sofvie

Sofvie

ETQ Reliance

ETQ Reliance

ComplianceQuest

ComplianceQuest

VelocityEHS

VelocityEHS

EHS Insight

EHS Insight

Contractor Foreman

Contractor Foreman

Contractor Compliance

Contractor Compliance

Jolt

Jolt

iLobby

iLobby