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ROI Summary: • Multiple forms merged into one work Stream™ |
“Folks weren’t intimidated by using it, because it’s nimble. We used to only get information when people were injured on the job. Now we’re getting information about near misses.” – Robin Coyne, Director of Health, Safety & Environment at Central Garden & Pet, describing data she obtains to calibrate the company’s nationwide health and safety programs.
Walnut Creek, California—As one of America’s leading manufacturing and distribution companies, Central Garden & Pet conducts commerce with major retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart. The company has more than 50 locations in the US, as well as contracts with pet and garden supply companies in the United Kingdom. With a staff of 5, Robin Coyne, Director of Health, Safety, & Environment, oversees incident investigation and safety training programs for about 5,000 employees.
Challenge: Legally-required paperwork
The company’s manufacturing & distribution centers are industrial spaces where employees could get injured while handling products. Before employees can perform their job, they must take safety training, so everyone knows whether hearing protection, eye protection, or any other special precautions should be taken. But, no matter how much training someone has, accidents can occur. These incidents used to trigger a lengthy paperwork process, shaped by legal requirements. Each document is critical to the health of the company.
The Health and Safety Team used to collect information during incident investigations with paper and pencil. The process was labor intensive and involved multiple stakeholders. Every incident required input from employees, supervisors, and witnesses who were rarely in the same room. Injured employees could have gone home, or to the hospital, while supervisors were overseeing a cleanup process and their daily activities. It took time to track down who was where to get them to complete their account of what transpired. Complicating the matter, everyone’s verbal communication styles and penmanship skills varied. Interpreting handwriting in the reports was laborious, which led to tasks falling through the cracks. The time required to complete the process was cumbersome, inspiring employees to seek technology to modernize this business process.
Central Garden & Pet digitized to mobilize
Pulpstream accepted the challenge and digitized the company’s health and safety processes into create a cohesive, digital work Stream™. Mirroring the old paper report style and process flow, Pulpstream evolved these complex processes in a matter of days. The forms felt familiar to employees; and having them available on their cell phones felt as intuitive as updating a Facebook page. Whether the employee preferred to use an iOS, Android, or Microsoft Surface device, the work Stream™ is accessible within a native app. Having the processes in a native app increases report accuracy. For example, instead of using words to describe what happened, employees can take photographs and attach them to the report, without switching between apps. Typing on a digital form eliminates the need to decipher handwritten descriptions of audited areas. Employees can focus on creating accurate, detailed reports—even if their device has no signal or wifi. If an employee is off-site, supervisors can notify them via text that they need to complete a report. Digital signature integrations ensure that all reports are legally sound.
Analytics dashboard increases nationwide data transparency
The Data Insights dashboard is accessible from a desktop web browser, enabling executives to review data about work environments at a glance. They can see extensive trend report data, sliced by time, location, or type. If they need to update a process to remain compliant with OSHA mandates, they can easily customize their work Streams™ within a matter of minutes. Managing corrective actions is as easy as sending a text message. Complying with new laws to electronically file reports is as easy as clicking a button.
As a bonus, Central Garden & Pet employees found the Pulpstream app so easy to use that they immediately create reports about incidents—before anyone has time to change their story. The company now has reports about “near misses,” which can be used to improve safety training programs. From incident reports to safety-training programs, the company modernized their legacy business processes with Pulpstream, bringing unprecedented efficiencies to their enterprise.
