Millennials Are Reinventing and Expanding the HSE Market in the Midst of Digital Disruption

Much is written about the millennials, from being lazy to entitled, to having the need for constant validation, and to being flaky. The generation born at the cusp of a millenium between the early 80s to 2000, however, has bred a generation comfortable with technology.
Although the millennials are popularly known for their love of avocado and memes, there is a movement of millennials disrupting industries and changing institutions in the background. The millennials’ “laziness” may even be one of the keys to the changing paradigms that are making processes more efficient.
Millennials have digitised HSE processes—they have moved HSE processes from the pen-and-paper towards an online, real-time way of sharing information

The Millennial Work Landscape

The millennial generation currently makes up the largest percentage of today’s workforce. They’re changing up the workplace culture just by being clear about their expectations from the workplace and their employers. Other than that, why do they matter? As a generation, the millennials are redefining the consumption patterns across industries and the major economies. Growing up in an era of constant discontinuity, technology is actively changing how we live, how we consume, and how we work.
Tech disruptions and millennials go well together and have created a new workflow and a new work culture. This generation strives in flexibility—from work structure to location to office hours to work tools. They’re also connected to the internet all the time. This flexibility with work tools and being used to being always connected, has given birth to generating instant data instead of the traditional pen-and-paper work model.
Related article: Common pen-and-paper frustrations in construction QHSE workflows.

A New Norm in HSE

Because of the current digital disruption, industries are simultaneously experiencing the digital revolution, the mobile revolution and the social revolution of course. The millennial generation expects convenience and accessibility of technology in daily activities including at the workplace. In HSE, this need for instant connectivity for work purposes has completely changed HSE processes. The past two years, HSE processes have continually grown to become digital.
Millennials have digitised HSE processes—they have moved HSE processes from the pen-and-paper towards an online, real-time way of sharing information to ensure transparent collaboration, timely updated progress and risk assessment, quality control, and ultimately, more reliable outcomes. This has led to a new and better way of doing HSE with a daily impact on the work of everyone involved.
HSE digitisation has greatly improved HSE performance across all industries. In construction, a huge improvement to construction safety is credited to the following:

1. HSE digitisation has streamlined processes. Cloud-based mobile applications allow companies to digitise and streamline all safety processes fully.
2. HSE digitisation has enabled best practices sharing. Reporting and sharing best practices on mobile devices impart safety knowledge and increase safety awareness.
3. HSE digitisation has allowed accurate monitoring of safety wearables. Allowing the digital monitoring of safety wear and equipment could prove invaluable especially for workers carrying out hazardous jobs.
4. HSE digitisation has enabled proper crisis management. Informing site supervisors and management immediately through devices once an accident has occurred saves time during critical situations.
5. HSE digitisation has enabled predictive analytics. Once processes are digitised, data collected can be analysed to identify safety-related trends.

Further reading: Applying construction technology solutions for a safer worksite.

A Booming HSE Market

Following the integration of a digitised HSE system, improvements in HSE performance across all industries has greatly increased. A digitised HSE also translates to better revenues. Because of the visible and quick benefits to companies, more and more companies are digitising their processes and digitalising their HSE systems. Here are just some of the additional benefits:

• Increase in productivity
• Solution to manpower shortage
• Lower operating costs
• Revenue growth
• Staying competitive

The HSE market is continuing to grow across all sectors. Because of the HSE boom, more companies are hiring more millennial graduates to help out with their HSE team. For a thorough step-by-step guide on digitising your QHSE processes, we actually wrote  a book to help you through. Download The Clear and Complete Guide to a Digitised QHSE Organisation for free today!