QHSE: four letters, a major challenge for your company

This is a sensitive question: how do you understand the QHSE policy within your company ?

To fully grasp the importance of Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE), an area of technical expertise, we're going to take a look at some useful definitions, what's at stake for the company, the tasks of QHSE officers and the new solutions available to you.

A full programme to get you ready to tackle QHSE with complete peace of mind!

🎁 Bonus: Kizeo Forms and Appvizer offer you a guide with the Top 5 forms to digitise so you can work safely and protect your teams as you should.

See all software Environment, Health and Safety (EHS)

QHSE: definition and issues

Definition of QHSE

The Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE) policy is an area of expertise that includes the identification of and compliance withproduction standards, with particular attention to the working environment of employees, equipment and respect for the environment.

It is also known by the abbreviations :

• HSSE: Hygiene (health), safety, security, environment,
• QSE: Quality, Safety, Environment,
• HSE: Health, Safety, Environment.

Sometimes seen as a constraint, it also represents a support for teams and an ethical choice, guaranteeing customer satisfaction, competitiveness and the company's image.

QHSE fields of action

The main areas of action are the prevention of various occupational hazards and compliance with quality, health, safety and environmental standards.

In line with the company's overall strategies, QHSE management supports :

• human resources (HR) management
• quality management
• safety management
• environmental management (or sustainable management).

It therefore calls on cross-disciplinary knowledge that concerns the entire company.

The integration of QHSE systems into company policy is referred to as an integrated management system, or IMS, based on the ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards.

The challenges of QHSE management

There are two ways of dealing with the various risks:

• by acting on their probability of occurrence (with prevention measures) ;
• by acting on their seriousness (by implementing protection systems).

There are therefore a number of objectives:

• improving production quality,
• Maintaining production levels and business performance,
• respecting the physical and mental integrity of employees,
• compliance with the standards set by the State and by the various organisations,
• compliance in the event of an inspection by the labour inspectorate or occupational health authorities,
• taking account of different types of disability, particularly when it comes to evacuation procedures,
• making the company accountable (respect for the environment, etc.),
• raising awareness among the various players in the company and among suppliers, customers and partners,
• reducing costs (workplace accidents, legal penalties, etc.),
• improved health and safety (well-being, quality of life at work),
• successful internal audits,
• obtaining certifications or labels to promote the company,
• staff buy-in and changing attitudes (good practice) to quality, safety and the environment.

Health and safety at work: a focus on occupational risks

Health and safety are two important aspects of QHSE management. They are mentioned in the French Labour Code, notably in article L4121.

Occupational risks vary depending on the job and the sector: nuclear, metallurgy/siderurgy, electronics, aeronautics, chemicals and petrochemicals, food processing, cosmetics, quarries and mines, health, construction, etc.

They can result from the work itself, but also from stress factors, fatigue, etc. These are known as direct or indirect risks. The INRS (Institut national de recherche et de sécurité pour la prévention des accidents du travail et des maladies professionnelles, an association set up under the aegis of the French social security system) lists them on its website.

There are four main families of occupational risks

• accidents at work, which occur in the course of work;
• occupational illnesses, resulting from exposure to a physical, biological or chemical hazard;
• commuting accidents;
• psychosocial risks, related to working conditions, such as stress, burn-out, boredom, etc.

Source: Manager santé et sécurité au travail, Dunod, INRS, Eurofound 2010

Hard work is defined as exposure, above certain thresholds, to one or more occupational risk factors likely to leave lasting, identifiable and irreversible traces on employees' health.

Source Juritravail.com

The players involved in health and safety at work

• Employers must do everything possible to ensure the best possible working conditions;
• Employees must alert their employer or the authorities to risky behaviour;
• The CSE (formerly the CHSCT), made up of staff representatives and chaired by the employer, raises awareness and protects employees, in order to prevent dangers and limit risks;
• the QHSE manager.

What is a QHSE manager?

The job, QHSE training

The QHSE officer (or QHSE coordinator, QHSE prevention officer, QHSE manager, QHSE system manager) is responsible for employee safety, training in prevention, compliance with standards and the reliability of the company's installations.

Other jobs :

• Quality control manager,
• environmental manager
• compliance or safety manager,
• quality health safety and environment manager.

There is a wide range of training courses available:

• at engineering school (e.g. ESAIP),
• work-linked training (e.g. IFOCOP),
• Continuing training leading to a qualification under the CPF (e.g. AFNOR offers a 6-day course),
• online (e.g. EazySAFE).

Quality, health, safety and environment manager: job description and salary

What is the role of a QHSE officer in a company?

As a mediator, controller and communicator, the QHSE officer coordinates projects and supports the company's employees while ensuring their safety, in order to meet customer and regulatory requirements.

He can refer to the general principles of prevention and protection as defined by the INRS:

• avoiding risks
• assessing risks
• combat risks at source,
• adapting work to people, not the other way round,
• take account of technical developments,
• use less harmful products and better protective equipment,
• plan prevention,
• give priority to collective protection measures while guaranteeing individual protection,
• give appropriate instructions to employees (guides - CARSAT among others, safety training and SST - rescue and first aid at work, user manuals, safety instructions, methodology, etc.).

The QHSE manager also contributes to the development of the company's brand image and the acquisition of new markets, both of which are crucial to its competitiveness.

The tasks of the QHSE manager

1) Designing and negotiating QHSE policy:

• defining the steering plan with management, in line with the company's objectives (production, sustainable development, etc.) and constraints, regulations and customer requirements, taking into account :
  • objectives
  • resources
  • the budget;
• technological, competitive and environmental monitoring,
• drafting procedures and instructions to be followed,
• integrating reference systems into an SMI.

2) QHSE implementation and management:

• Defining and choosing methods and tools to improve products, processes, safety, risk prevention and environmental protection,
• training managers and technicians, raising staff awareness,
• leading meetings to identify problems and find solutions,
• Preparing internal and external audits (suppliers, etc.),
• reporting following site visits and audits,
• communicating and promoting the QHSE policy.

3) Analysis and monitoring:

• monitoring, in accordance with the specifications and standards in force, the traceability and compliance of :
  • raw materials
  • installations
  • processes,
• drawing up an improvement action plan,
• checking control and prevention procedures,
• analysing risks and opportunities,
• monitoring statistics against objectives, etc.

Internal recruitment or outsourcing?

To carry out a health and safety risk prevention mission and ensure compliance with occupational health policy, a company can recruit a QHSE officer.
However, consultancies and design offices can also provide QHSE audit and prevention services on a subcontracted basis.

Technology at the service of QHSE

There are a number of solutions on the market to help you analyse, monitor and manage the compliance of your employees' working conditions and safety, as well as the hygiene and quality of your products and services.

In SaaS mode, they enable you to run a risk management system, facilitated by cutting-edge functionalities that are always up to date with new regulations.

Why integrate new technologies into the day-to-day work of QHSE? Because there are so many benefits in the field:

• online and mobile management
• real-time monitoring of analyses, recommendations and statistics,
• time savings and traceability in process reviews,
• management of the company's strategic documentation,
• automated reporting,
• create, update and publish the mandatory Single Document,
• constant updating of changes in standards and regulations,
• assessing the company's level of compliance, etc.

Focus on 8 SaaS solutions

Quality, Hygiene, Safety, Health and the Environment are all linked. While some solutions are global, others focus on certain areas in particular.
There is also software that allows you to dematerialise your reports during audits or on-site inspections. We have selected seven examples for you.

AppQual, the complete, customisable QHSE software package

AppQual is a complete solution for digitising your QHSE system by centralising and sharing your action plans and documents in just a few clicks.

Suitable for SMEs, ETIs and groups in all sectors, AppQual facilitates the work of QHSE managers and at the same time improves staff involvement and quality of life at work thanks to a range of features such as :

• information sharing thanks to an ergonomic, easy-to-use tool that all employees can access in real time;
• easy monitoring of incident handling by employees, with automatic notifications at key stages (assignment of an action, closure of an incident, etc.);
• the "indicator" search function for fast, efficient multi-criteria searches;
• better identification of root causes thanks to integrated tools (Ishikawa, 5 Whys, 8D, etc.);
• user-friendly navigation and data transparency for greater confidence within your company.

CollMan Prevention, the complete risk prevention software package

CollMan Prévention is an intuitive, easy-to-use risk prevention management software package that makes it easier to manage your QHSE while raising the level of prevention awareness among your employees.

Suitable for SMEs and SMBs alike, the solution makes your risk management considerably easier and frees up your time for action on the ground. With almost 30 years of expertise, it offers you a host of benefits:

• You can simply measure the progress of your prevention culture using a wide range of functions: update of the Single Document and personalised access for each employee, display of progress made through actions, etc.
• You automatically benefit from the new features introduced by the Health at Work Act: prevention file, 40-year archiving of the Document Unique, dedicated access for all players, etc.
• You benefit from a customised, intuitive interface where each stakeholder has access to the information that concerns them, with personalised support.

Daxium, the tailor-made QHSE application

Daxium is a web-mobile solution that enables QHSE managers to monitor the correct implementation of the processes and rules in place, using a highly customisable tool:

Aimed at all types of company, Daxium's flexibility means that you can rely on powerful software that offers a wide range of possibilities:

• a tool for building a library of customised applications tailored to the company's needs, without any knowledge of IT development,
• task planning and optimised monitoring of field team work,
• dashboards to obtain and analyse data in real time, and make the right strategic choices,
• easier communication and document sharing between QHSE managers and operators (transfer of documents and photos, real-time information on observations in the field, etc.),
• a wide range of functions: form creation, electronic signatures, dynamic maps and plans, QR codes, workflows and process automation, etc.

Ermeo, operational software for QHSE

Ermeo supports QHSE teams in their day-to-day control and safety tasks, via tablet or mobile phone in the field, or on a computer in the office.

Ermeo SaaS software is designed to standardise your inspection processes, make them more efficient and reduce the risk of error, thanks to :

• Digitalising inspection forms, work orders and work orders, making it easier to collect information from the field quickly and reliably from within the application;
• optimisation of equipment inspections and assessments thanks to pre-filled, customisable forms;
• functionalities to speed up the anomaly management process, from reporting anomalies to dealing with them;
• integration of the solution with all business software via an API;
• optimised audit performance and management, with data analysed and accessible in real time on the web platform and in dashboards.

Kizeo Forms, dematerialising your reports

Kizeo Forms allows you to digitise and improve the management of your interventions. No more paper, no more data loss and no more associated costs!

The collaborative application adapts to your sector of activity, enabling you to :

• On-site checks can be monitored on the move by field teams, even when offline,
• standardise and unify reports by defining mandatory fields in the back office, etc,
• real-time synchronisation of information for smooth communication throughout the company,
• automated sending of reports to stakeholders (customers, partners, etc.),
• essential tools such as electronic signatures and site geolocation,
• customisation of the tool to generate reports that reflect the company's image, in particular by importing existing documentation.

🦺👷 Make security rhyme with dematerialised forms!

Yes, yes, there's a link, we'll explain. A company that manages to identify security breaches as quickly as possible, and even better, to prevent them, is a company that protects its field teams. Take a look:

• Pre-configured forms make your job easier.
• In the field, for example, you can use a mobile phone to fill in a PPE (personal protective equipment) revision form.
• You can keep track of the PPE in question and replace it, so that your employees are always well protected.

No follow-up = guaranteed risks! And between you and me, you don't have the time to draw up forms one by one. That's why Kizeo Forms prepares them for you and centralises all your field data.

What's more, it seems that dematerialising forms improves the quality of projects by 71% and the chance of retaining employees by 64%. Why go without?

Quality SaaS, quality management

Quality SaaS explains the benefits of adopting software dedicated to QHSE issues in this video :

The publisher has over 15 years' experience and offers SMEs in particular:

• Compatibility with all sectoral standards and requirements,
• powerful, intuitive management of the management system,
• comprehensive document management (collaborative drafting, validation, signature and controlled distribution),
• planning and monitoring of audits and reviews,
• skills and training management,
• the ability to customise and scale up according to requirements, etc.

Red-on-line, the complete solution for your QHSE compliance

Red-on-line helps companies meet their environmental, health and safety obligations and control the risks in these areas. How do we do it? Here are some of the answers in this video:

The platform supports environmental health and safety managers in all their tasks through a multi-faceted, integrated offering, including :

• software solutions with 8 modules available, dedicated in particular to monitoring, risk assessment and incident management;
• tailor-made regulatory repositories, to ensure compliance with the regulations affecting your business;
• support from experts, lawyers and engineers specialising in QHSE;
• international coverage, with 15 languages available and 84 countries covered;
• flexible monitoring tools to track overall or site-specific performance;
• effective technical support and help with deploying the solution.

Sistéos, health and safety management

Sistéos presents its audit module in the following video:

This solution is also one of the market leaders because it offers SMEs, ETIs and large groups :

• control of all legal and regulatory requirements,
• integration of existing procedures and protocols, and legal constraints specific to your business sector,
• personalised management of objectives, action plans and dashboards,
• provision of standard files (single document, fire permit, HSCT report, etc.),
• a modular solution, with functions that adapt to your business,
• multi-media availability (tablets, smartphones, computers), etc.

See all software Environment, Health and Safety (EHS)

The importance of controlled QHSE management

Yes, quality, health, safety and environment management may seem like a legal and regulatory constraint.
But if it is put to good use, it can go beyond the legal framework of compliance with QHSE standards to involve employees as well as customers, suppliers and partners alongside the company.

More than just a control tool, the QHSE solution is a truly transparent HR communication tool, in line with the trend towards well-being in the workplace and quality of service, which are increasingly at the heart of today's concerns. And it's compliant too!