Category Archives: Software Features and Tutorials

How Intelex’s New ESG Product Experience Can Help Reduce Your ESG Data Complexity

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Introduction

Just a few years ago, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) was more an aspirational goal than it was a source of risk or strategic concern. Many organizations would issue sustainability reports to let the market know they took concerns about climate change and the environment seriously. Others would submit environmental data to voluntary frameworks to improve their brand and benchmark their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) efforts against their competitors.

Today, the world is very different. ESG has quickly moved from marketing campaigns to a serious legislative and regulatory obligation with significant consequences for corporate reporting and data management. Two recent developments demonstrate the serious nature of these obligations.

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) came into force in January 2023. While the EU (European Union) is the primary focus of the directive, any global organization that operates in the EU or has a supply chain that includes the EU … Read more...

How Document Control Software Helps You Meet the Requirements for ISO 9001:2015

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ISO 9001:2015 eliminates the distinction between records, processes, and manuals. Intelex Document Control Software helps you meet ISO 9001:2015 requirements
ISO 9001:2015 eliminates the distinction between records, processes, and manuals by using the category documented information to describe all of them. Intelex Document Control Software can help you meet the requirements of ISO 9001:2015.

Unlike previous iterations of ISO 9001, ISO 9001:2015 does not prescribe specific approaches to document governance. Instead, it is up to each organization to determine its approach to the maintenance, retention, and disposition of documentation.

ISO 9001:2015 eliminates the distinction between records, processes and manuals by using the category “documented information” to describe all of them. The phrase maintain documented information describes working documentation that requires regular updates, such as procedures and work instructions. The phrase retain documented information refers to document types such as records that provide evidence of past conformity with requirements.

ISO 9001:2015 has requirements for documented information throughout the standard. The table below collects all the references to required documented information.

Clause
… Read more...

The Hidden Benefits of Document Control Software

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There are a multitude of hidden benefits that an organization can enjoy when document management becomes a part of their operations.

A knock on the door from an OSHA or FDA official is usually enough to send the average EHS manager into at least a mild panic. That sound usually means a dreaded regulatory inspection is upon them, bringing with it nightmarish visions of hefty fines, shutdown orders or costly reputational damages to the organization. 

Some of these managers, however, tend to accept the predicament with considerably more calm and confidence than others. That’s because they know that when their uninvited guests inevitably ask to see documented proof that procedures were properly followed and regulations were adhered to, they will be able to produce that documentation in a quick and efficient manner. 

They will be able to do so because they will have been using document control software as part … Read more...

The Data Collection Components of a Safety Management System

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Safety Management Systems report essential business information, ensure compliance requirements, help to manage risks and improve operational performance.
Safety Management Systems report essential business information, ensure compliance requirements, help to manage risks and improve operational performance.

The scope and maturity of a safety management system (SMS) to manage safety risk in the workplace varies by industry type, location and company because some are more regulated than others and that dictates the level of maturity and robustness a system requires. However, there are common components every SMS has, including:

Incident Reporting to capture, track, investigate and report on all incidents and near-misses, including injuries and illnesses, spills, property damage and vehicle incidents.

Audit Management that includes scheduling, tracking, data collection and reporting for all internal or external audits to simplify and ensure compliance across all company locations and operating jurisdictions.

Document Control that improves document management across the complete lifecycle of an organization’s compliance efforts and activities. It’s important to control access to sensitive files, forms … Read more...

Artificial Intelligence Stakes its Claim in EHS Management

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ehsAI’s cloud-based platform applies NLP algorithms to interpret and extract EHS requirements from regulatory documents.
ehsAI’s cloud-based platform applies NLP algorithms to interpret and extract EHS requirements from regulatory documents. This output can be exported into EHS software systems such as Intelex EHS Management Software to manage requirements and tasks and ensure timely execution.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology, in the context of EHS management, seems a perfect fit in an essential area: the need to wade through a morass of complex and ever-changing regulations, compliance, permits, consent decrees and other critical EHS documents. It’s a human-intensive and often error-prone task that, if done improperly, risks fines and other penalties for failure to comply.

Document deconstruction – to identify the actions that EHS professionals are required to take – is difficult, time-consuming, complicated and expensive because of the manual grunt-work need from many people to pore through and analyze EHS documents. 

Vancouver, Canada-based ehsAI has developed an AI technology based on machine learning and natural … Read more...

Bulletins Deliver the Information Workers Need Exactly When They Need It

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Bulletins represent the most effective way to disseminate information to workers, especially those who are working remotely.
Bulletins represent the most effective way to disseminate information to workers, especially those who are working remotely.

What are bulletins? Great question! Bulletins are a form of communication akin to targeted, bite-sized public service announcements (PSA) meant to deliver relevant information and training to workers  – usually via mobile devices – in the moments when the information has maximum value. Bulletins can be simple text or media rich, real-time or scheduled, require a follow up action or just require opening and sent to an specific group or sent in mass. The key differentiator, however, is that bulletins allow the sender to monitor the engagement of the receiving group: Did everyone see the bulletin? When? How did they respond if they had multiple response options?

So again, what are bulletins? In essence they represent the most effective way to disseminate information to workers, especially those who are working remotely, and … Read more...

CapEx versus OpEx: What’s the Best Way to Fund Your Software Purchase?

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Software Purchase CapEx vs. OpEx

The sheer number of EHSQ software solutions in the market can make the software buying journey very complex. In addition, getting buy-in from internal stakeholders can be equally as challenging. With the introduction of cloud-based or software as a service (SaaS) options, where the licensing component is considered an operational expense, comes an additional consideration: whether to view the expense as a capital expenditure (CapEx) or an operating expenditure (OpEx).

Purchasing EHSQ software–and this is true of most large procurement projects– requires a lot of research and preliminary work to ensure that you are making the best long-term decision. Not only can the process be long and arduous, there are also many factors to consider and many scenarios to examine. In fact, when it comes to deciding which software solutions to select, technology and technological capability are merely one aspect of the final decision. As such, one of the most important … Read more...

The Business Case for Document Control

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Knowledge management is the heart of any business enterprise. Having ready access to accurate and up-to-date information strengthens decision making capabilities, aligns everyone in the organization around learning, and supports a culture of innovation. The ability to effectively manage documents is also a central element of most quality management systems, including ISO 9001:2015, Baldrige, and EFQM.

Graphic of a worker looking at different types of documents

Documents are “the means… to communicate legitimacy, work requirements, instructions, methods and results.” (Pho & Tanbo, 2014) Because they are so central and elemental, document management systems also unify the people within an organization (and sometimes also across boundaries of the supply chain ecosystem) around shared processes. They are used to manage the internal flow of information, and also to advance sustainability targets by substantially reducing paper usage. Together, they can:

  • Create new documents or edit existing documents
  • Keep track of document versions, and what changes were made in each revision
  • Collaborate with people
… Read more...

Five Tips for Intelex Application Design Success

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By Jeremy Milam

The secret to designing a new custom application in Intelex is breaking the process down into small steps. Let’s take a closer look at the planning aspects involved with designing a new app.

Graphic of workers looking at software userfaces

Requirements gathering

Requirements gathering is probably the most vital piece of the process. It is very important to get the application stakeholders in a room and ask some key questions. One of those questions is: “How (if at all) are you currently capturing this data – are you writing everything down, using spreadsheets, or using another application?” This gives stakeholders a chance to give the pros and cons of their current system.

Data/reporting outputs

Data and reporting outputs are vital to getting buy-in from stakeholders. At the end of the day, that’s what people want to see. Even at this early stage with no data in the system, you can be thinking about how … Read more...

The Difference Between CapEx and OpEx Software Purchases

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The reality is that enterprise software purchases are complex. The purchase process can be long and drawn out and include dozens, if not hundreds of factors. When it comes to making decisions around which solutions to go with, technology and technological capability are merely one subset of these factors. How to pay for new software is another and equally important element of a purchase decision you should keep in mind as well.

This is especially the case when it comes to today’s software landscape. The cloud and SaaS have created new purchase options beyond traditional owned perpetual software licensing. This in turn has also opened up new options when it comes to the financing models used to pay for software that buyers can now consider.

You’re probably not an accountant and may only have a modest understanding of the benefits of accounting for technology investments as an operational expense versus … Read more...