If you’re not utilizing the correct EHS analytics technology, it can be pretty clear. Perhaps your tool lacks the necessary visualization features, is too difficult to understand for your users, is time-consuming to use, or simply cannot manage all of the data you require in real-time. Maybe you’re using an in-house tool that’s too expensive to keep up with. Knowing you have an issue, however, does not ensure you will be able to solve it quickly. Here are five specific considerations to help you choose the finest EHS analytics solution for your company if you’re thinking about switching your tools or approach to data analytics.
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1. Where did you get your data?
A data layer, a transformation layer, and a visualization layer are three common components of business intelligence (BI) solutions. Data can come in a variety of formats from a range of systems. Depending on your storage type, you may only require a visualization layer, transformation only, or all three levels to be handled by your BI tool. You want to make sure your new tool can handle everything from flat files to Excel, relational databases to data warehouses.
If you’re working with flat files, spreadsheets, or a relational database like SQL Server or mySQL that isn’t designed for reporting, think about how a business user will comprehend how everything fits together. In this instance, you’ll need a solution with a strong backend, such as Qlik or Power BI, to save your raw data in an efficient manner and develop a Data Model that organizes all of the various sources into a common language that users can comprehend while working with the data. Because all of the information that business users require is immediately available in the tool’s storage, this step will dramatically improve the performance of your dashboards. In the next section, we’ll go through data models in further detail.
If you currently have a data warehouse in place, such as Snowflake, Redshift, GBQ, or Azure, you or your IT team have most likely already created business logic and a data model for your data. Only a light transformation layer and a visualization layer are required in this situation. You can continue to utilize Qlik, but you should also investigate other visualization-focused products like Looker or Logi Analytics, which rely on your existing backend for performance.
If you’re fortunate enough to have your EHS data managed by a single SaaS platform like CloudApper Safety, you may be able to rely only on the software vendor’s dashboards and other BI tools. This can save money on maintenance and reduce the need for IT support.
2. How will you modify your data for reporting purposes?
The next step is to think about how you’ll modify your data for reporting purposes.
When collecting EHS data, you’ve probably spent a lot of time thinking about how to make it easy to input, how to map integrations effectively, and how to make sure the data is as precise and thorough as possible. All of these procedures are necessary for having high-quality and reliable data, but you must go one step further to ensure consistency across all of your dashboards.
Your input data is almost certainly stored in spreadsheets or databases, with field names that correspond to what users want to see when they enter entries. When you want to look at trends across all of your data, though, things get a little more tricky. Assume you wish to know the audit findings trend by date. Which of the following dates is correct for your trend: the ‘Created date,’ the ‘Due date,’ the ‘Audit completion date,’ and the ‘Finding completed date’? Worse, you could have entries entered by various users in different places, each using slightly different wording for the same field.
The ‘transformation layer’ enters the picture at this point. You’ll want to develop linkages between different sources when you bring all of your data together – how do you know that a certain audit is linked to a specific result, for example? You’ll also be able to limit down your data to the most critical fields for business analysts (you can probably get rid of information that won’t be needed to answer your EHS process questions).
The transition layer can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. A combination of an ETL (Extract, Transform, and Load) tool, such as Informatica or Pentaho, is one example. These applications connect to your data sources, run business logic, and then put the findings into a data warehouse. If you already have a data warehouse, you’re already using an ETL tool. A built-in transformation layer from your BI product is another option. Qlik, like the data layer covered in the preceding section, is a tool with built-in transformation capabilities. If you don’t want to deal with the overhead of a separate ETL tool and data warehouse, or if your data volumes aren’t large enough to benefit from those tools, this is an excellent option.
3. How will you present your data?
When it comes to your data, a picture really is worth a thousand words. It saves time and improves communication when you and your stakeholders can readily notice trends and understand the state of your EHS programs at a glance. Complex graphs and charts might leave your business susceptible to misunderstandings and inquiries, depending on the amount of data literacy in your organization. Finding relevant and effective visuals that are also easy to understand can help your EHS analytics plan succeed. If you can answer these questions, finding the proper tool will be much easier:
- Will everyone design their own dashboards?
- Will the EHS team develop a central dashboard that everyone may use to filter information in their own unique way?
- Is it possible for a data analyst to generate customized dashboards for each department?
Make sure the EHS analytics tool you’re considering corresponds with your planned approach once you’ve decided if a self-service model is a good fit or if it’s best to have a centralized source conduct the initial creation. Some tools are easier to use for end users, while others require a thorough understanding of the underlying data model and, more than likely, the initial construction by someone with experience.
With highly dynamic dashboards, certain tools can provide the best of both worlds. Someone who understands the data model well, for example, may design highly dynamic dashboards using a platform like Qlik that provide the business user with simple but strong filtering choices and the opportunity to explore the data.
4. How will you keep data safe?
When it comes to your data, security is a top priority. If you’re thinking about utilizing an EHS analytics platform, be sure it has robust security safeguards in place to prevent data from leaving your company. Furthermore, you must take care to guarantee that data supplied internally is only accessible to those with the appropriate permissions for that data or facility. For example, you could want supervisors to be able to observe trends in injuries in their areas of responsibility, but you’ll certainly only want a few people in your organization to see a complete list of injured personnel, and you’ll likely want to keep sensitive PII off the dashboard.
If you intend to give multiple groups within your organization access to the EHS analytics tool, ensure it has the flexibility to accommodate the necessary user permissions. Some data may be sensitive and should not be shared widely, while other data may be widely available. If this is the case, you’ll need to devise a strategy for determining who in each department, division, business unit, and area should have access to certain types of data. One option for easing the administrative effort of retaining access for diverse users over time is to create roles.
You should also think about inbuilt security mechanisms in addition to user permissions. You’ll want to know if the data is encrypted and what access rights database administrators have to the data, for example. Ascertain that your preferred EHS analytics provider offers security policies that are compatible with your enterprise. IT may be a valuable partner in this process, and involving them early on can assist you in finding an EHS analytics platform with the security features you require.
5. How will you distribute these dashboards to others?
The last thing to think about when looking into EHS analytics software is how you’ll share your dashboards and metrics with others.
If you’re going to make centralized dashboards, don’t forget to think about how you’ll share them. Do you want to give links to the EHS analytics tool, and if so, do you have the licensed seats to do so? Will you export data and provide it to your stakeholders in slides or spreadsheets, or do they need to be able to dive into and examine the data on their own? If you’ll be integrating reports into other programs or websites, ensure the tool you chose can do so with minimal manual effort. You’ll also want to make sure the tool has a responsive design or a mobile version if users will be conducting analysis on a tablet or mobile device.
Steps to Follow
Finding the proper EHS analytics solution will require some time and effort up front, but it will be well worth it once you have the data you need to be compliant and the insights you need to make informed decisions.
To learn more about how CloudApper Safety may help you shift from reactive to predictive performance by using the power of your data, click here.