Avert Sécurité: Feedback from Thierry Renaud, Occupational Health and Safety Manager of the Industry division of the industrial group REEL.

When you chose to test the free version of Avert inOne, what were the safety issues and priorities for you?

We had just established, within REEL, the principle of ensuring feedback following hazardous situations. This feedback was based on paper tickets, pre-filled, not very practical and often misplaced by the teams. We had to find other alternatives to “loose paper”.
At the same time, we were implementing ISO 45001 certification. The deployment of an app for managing hazardous situations such as Avert inOne, a modern and innovative solution, was seen as a very positive point by our auditors for the renewal of our certification (the La Rochelle factory has been ISO 45001 certified since January 2019).
 
Why did you want to use a digital solution to manage the reporting of hazardous situations ? 

We were only using paper tickets that were pre-filled and which very often were left in the locker rooms or got lost, as well as verbal feedback that was, by nature, not formalised.
Faced with the problem of lost notebooks, a fairly large mobile maintenance workforce and given the now widespread use of smartphones, the establishment of a digital solution seemed to be the obvious route to take.
 
You chose Avert inOne, why?

We tested the free version of the Avert inOne app for a few weeks at the same time as 3 other solutions from different publishers. For us, the fact that Avert inOne was developed and managed by Apave meant that we knew we could trust it. The ability to customise the app, an Intranet part for remote management and costs which were in line with our context tipped the balance in favour of Avert InOne.
 
Why did you choose to use an advanced version of Avert inOne, rather than the free version?

The ability to customise the application to include our specific risks and our type of organisation was decisive. 
This customisation focused on 3 key points: the addition of our company logo, integration of our organisational structure with several sites (in particular to pre-register our Quality Safety Environment representatives as automatic recipients of hazardous situations depending on the site) and the customisation of risk categories, to fully match our activities. We selected 12 risk categories: electrical, lifting-handling, manual handling, working at height, hazardous products, wearing PPE, welding-grinding, storage, noise, machinery, falling objects, other risks. 
Customisation of the app also facilitated the subsequent training of our employees and their ownership of the tool.
 
How did the deployment of Avert inOne go in your company?  

After a scoping meeting for our internal need between the various departments of the division, and discussions with Apave to customise the app, we were able to put the solution in place very quickly.
Ultimately, installation and distribution to the employees’ smartphones were made over several weeks. The HSE managers of our Business Units have successfully deployed the application within their BU, despite deployment in the midst of a health crisis.
 
How many people currently use the advanced version of Avert inOne?

All of the Division’s employees can install the app and currently around 115 people use it on a daily basis, mainly the maintenance staff working for our customers and the factory staff. All profiles are represented, from the unit director to the factory operator or staff working on our customers’ premises.
Deployment is not yet completely effective for the office teams for whom there remains a perception that their exposure to risk is less. 
 
What benefits do you derive from using the advanced version of Avert inOne, for users and at the level of the management team and HSE?
 
We have seen a very significant increase in feedback from our customer sites. On 1 September 2020, we recorded 52% more feedback than on 1 September 2019, despite a few complicated months due to lockdown and the Covid-19 crisis.
Combined with a proactive policy, the tool perfectly fulfils its mission. It has demonstrated how useful it is for a workforce that does not return to the agencies every evening, and for whom, due to their itinerant occupation, paper documents are not well suited.
Proof of the employees’ commitment, some users have also taken advantage of the app to report back suggestions for improving organisational aspects!  
For the management team, a lot of time is saved in tracking information and classifying and monitoring corrective action. Digitisation has significantly improved fluidity and responsiveness. The possibility of simplified reporting is also an advantage. 
 
Today, would you say that Avert inOne is part of your risk prevention policy? 

Yes, since our security policy is based on systematic reporting of hazardous situations and these events are of course taken into account and processed by the teams on the ground, Avert inOne is an integral part of our risk management tools
 
How did the collaboration with Apave go?

Apave is a guarantee of professionalism and quality, so we had full trust in Apave’s ability to assist us. The proximity with the people involved and their availability made it possible to move quickly in customising and implementing the app.
 
What would you say to one of your peers who is hesitant about using the Avert inOne solution?

For all companies wishing to support their risk prevention policy, the application is perfect. Implementation, monitoring and coordination are fairly simple. And the associated gains can be significant in a constraining H&S workplace environment. Not using it means depriving yourself of a simple and effective tool.

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