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The yellow jacket is now ubiquitous, driving the 'builder’s cleavage' off the agenda as the icon for the working man. Little wonder then that the highly visible jacket, chosen because it is so evident and therefore promotes safety, has been used as the name of a health and safety management application.

The H&S management software package covers all types of accident or loss, property and environmental issues, enabling companies to monitor practices on construction sites and workplaces and even through supply chains, ensuring that they all comply with the ever increasing number of regulations and standards.

YellowJacket is a cloud based application, with all of the regulatory information constantly in a process of being updated and added to - it's a growing industry in its own right. That means that up to date information can be accessed at any time, and from any location, using any device from workstations to mobiles using the mobile app.

Inspections and audits can even be carried out offline, with the results instantly updating the central server when you re-enter a WiFi zone. Access is via a simple dashboard that can be customised to suit individual requirements, and which provides instant access to all data and management reports.

YELLOWJACKET
Working within the construction industry, you have probably already heard of or use YellowJacket health and safety software. The software was, in fact, responsible for the safe delivery of The Shard, the Olympic Stadium and Birmingham New Street Station amongst other notable projects.

The application was developed by Mace and is a cornerstone of Mace's ‘Safety first. Second nature’ programme. Today, Mace and more than 400 of its supply chain companies use YellowJacket across a diverse range of commissions. Worldwide, it is used by hundreds of clients in 67 different countries.

Originally designed for the construction industry, it is apparent that the techniques used in YellowJacket are applicable in many situations across a whole variety of sectors. This encouraged Mace to add some flexibility to the application, so that it suits individual requirements (e.g. retail, infrastructure, facilities, hospitality, logistics, construction), as well as any organisation that wants to improve its safety record, meet its quality standards or reach its environmental targets.

MANAGING PERFORMANCE
How can you possibly manage on-site safety issues from behind a computer screen? How can you stop someone falling off a ladder? The obvious answer is that you can't, in the first instance, but you can log the incident, record how and why it happened, and share that with colleagues.

You can then build up a record of the frequency with which people fall off ladders, which you would spot on the next management report, prompting you, or somebody else, to do something about it.

A farcical example, I know - but one that illustrates the way in which the system works. You don't have to wait until the poor person falls off their ladder, but you can record instances where working practices might contravene standard H&S practice, or where waste material from the factory floor is being burnt in old oil drums at the back of the factory, against environmental regulations concerning the disposal of waste and the unauthorised burning of hazardous materials.

Safety and the environment are two critical issues on building sites. Observations can also be made on other issues; occupational health (the workforce have been inhaling noxious fumes); property (items have gone missing); quality (window frame paint is already peeling and security, fences have been breached). The principal advantages of YellowJacket, then, is that users can spot trends and prevent issues and accidents, managing the consistency of data and facilitating compliance with regulations throughout an organisation or its supply chain.

The data that backs this up is gathered through observations, audits and inspections, using floorplans showing specified locations on all devices, including mobiles. In this way the exact location of an observation or action can be recorded, along with relevant images using the mobile or laptop’s built-in camera - and uploaded directly to the server so that they can be seen in real-time by managers and other members of the team.

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