At Dura Vermeer, everything revolves around safety, from design to maintenance. To ensure this, they have been working with SafetyFirst since 2017, available through Dura Vermeer's own SAVE app. Naomi Erol, safety coordinator at the Infra division, explains how the organization has made significant strides in recent years in digitization, information-driven working, and workplace engagement. "Safety is truly our top priority, and we actively manage it every day. Thanks to SafetyFirst, we can now substantiate this much more effectively and make targeted improvements."
"This creates an entire development process in which we can also have input."
“We’ve been working with SafetyFirst since 2017, but in the past year, we’ve made quite a few changes to the SAVE app,” says Naomi. “The SAVE app was originally created and remained unchanged for years, until last year. The app has seen significant growth in usage over the past few years, and our needs have changed, which requires a different approach.” Together with SafetyFirst, we opted for a dedicated server environment. This meant faster implementation of changes, more customization, and input into functionalities. “We want to use a professional approach to implementing our wishes in the app. Our wishes are developed, then tested, and after acceptance, it’s put into production. This creates a complete development process in which we can also have input,” says Naomi.
“We have so many projects, from large to small, and once you know what’s going on, you can act more quickly and adjust the controls more quickly.”
A dedicated Power BI dashboard visualizes trends in reports and incidents. “We use the data from the app to manage safety. The app primarily helps us gain insight into what's happening on projects. We have so many projects, from large to small, and once you know what's going on, you can act more quickly and adjust the controls more quickly. Imagine that inspections on a specific project often reveal that the construction site layout isn't up to par. Without a good dashboard, it's difficult to respond adequately. If an incident isn't reported, we can't act on it. This problem can occur in multiple places and could indicate the need for process changes. By collecting and analyzing all this information, we learn a tremendous amount and can implement targeted improvements.”
“This way, we can truly demonstrate trends without having to fiddle around with Excel.”
"We can also visualize the data very effectively and incorporate it into our reports," explains Naomi. "We've automated everything ourselves, allowing us to show in our reports, for example, that the workplace design has improved by a certain percentage as a result of certain measures. This way, we can truly demonstrate trends without having to fiddle around with Excel."
The SAVE app has become a household name within Dura Vermeer. Many more reports are being filed, both positive and negative, says Naomi: “There's a real upward trend. Reports about unsafe situations are the top category, but also safe reports, because reporting things that are done well and safely is encouraged. We also reward those who report safe situations with, for example, a safety cake or a small gift. This applies to both our own staff and the partners we collaborate with who report things in the SAVE app.”
"We also reward those who report safe situations with, for example, a safety cake or a small gift.
Dura Vermeer uses six top safety risks (collision hazard, structural safety, electrocution, hazardous materials, lifting and transport, and falls from height). Based on our top risks, the reporting form in the app has been modified to actually report on these. Naomi: “We are currently working with SafetyFirst on improved functionality for the inspection form, so we can make it interactive. We want to highlight the top risks more clearly in the interactive inspection form, so they are visible at every level of the work process, without having to record them twice.”
“We have better insight into what's happening. This allows us to act faster, learn better, and ultimately work more safely. And that's what it's all about.”ю
Naomi has a tip for organizations that are just starting to use the SafetyFirst app. “When you start setting up the app, think carefully about what information you want to extract from it. Work backwards from that point. Start small, scale up, and avoid an overly complex reporting structure. Less is more.” Naomi is clear about the results of the collaboration for Dura Vermeer: “We have a better understanding of what's happening. This allows us to act faster, learn better, and ultimately work more safely. And that's what it's all about. We want everyone to come home safe and sound, every day.”
Movares
Hollandse Delta Water Board
Arcadis
%201.svg)
