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If you want to succeed as a safety leader, it’s not enough to focus solely on logistics and data management — you have to get good at ‘soft skills’ as well.

Soft skills are attributes like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving that enable you to engage with and motivate your researchers to care about safety (they also help in interactions with colleagues and management!).

Without these skills, even the most savvy safety professionals will find themselves fighting a losing battle to get their workforce to carry out safety practices.

To help you hone your craft, we’re writing a series of articles each highlighting a different soft skill. Today’s topic is listening.

The importance of listening skills for EHS leaders

If EHS leaders want to be heard, they should start by truly listening.

To understand why, let's wind back the clock: Traditionally, communication between leadership and employees was a one-way street. Your boss told you to do something, and you did it (and grumbled about it behind their back).

But today’s workers — millennials especially — want the opportunity to offer suggestions and input. According to a 2015 Randstad engagement study, over half of employees (58%) believed their company would be more successful if they listened to employees’ ideas. In short, employees want to have their voices heard — and leaders can benefit from listening. Considering how much chaos is often present in research environments, more listening is never a bad thing.

So, how can you become a better listener?

5 ways to be a better listener

We’ll review how to:

1. Build rapport
2. Practice active listening
3. Repeat what you heard
4. See it from their perspective
5. Stay curious, not judgmental

1. Build rapport

When you've got a million things on your to-do list, making small talk probably isn't one of them — but pushing your agenda right off the bat can come off as cold and adversarial.

Instead, it's worth taking a few minutes to connect with your researchers before you start a conversation about safety. An easy way to do this is by asking about their research. Not only will this help you understand the work they’re doing and why, but it also gives you and the researcher context to talk about the importance of safety.

What’s more, seeing that safety leaders care about them and their work fosters researcher engagement and increases motivation.

2. Practice active listening

Think about a time when you felt someone wasn't listening to you. Maybe they were fidgeting in their seat, glancing at their phone, or tuning you out altogether. Or maybe they just barked orders at you without taking your points into consideration. Either way, when someone isn't listening, it’s clear that what you're saying goes in one ear and out the other.

Now, think about a time when you felt heard. What was that conversation like? What did the listener do that made you feel listened to? What was their body language and facial expression like? How did you feel?

The latter is called active listening, and it’s a skill that can be refined with time and practice.

When trying to practice active listening, one helpful trick is to think through the conversation you’re about to have before you have it. Why is it important? What are you hoping to achieve? This kind of pre-investment can help your attention stay high.

3. Repeat what you heard

It's known in psychology as the "echo effect": By repeating people's words back to them, you can build likability, trust, rapport, and social cohesion.

Repeating what you heard shows that you’re actively engaged in listening — not just planning what to say next.

What's more, when you repeat what you heard (or think you heard), the speaker has the opportunity to clear up any misunderstandings on the spot.

The goal here is to not just mindlessly parrot back what the person said, but rather to restate it in your own words. This demonstrates that you were really listening, and also increases the chances that if there’s a misunderstanding, it can be identified and addressed in a constructive way.

4. See things from their perspective

EHS and researchers won’t always see eye to eye. They have different ideas, goals, and opinions based on their backgrounds, experiences, and priorities — and that’s a good thing.

Decades of research show that considering different perspectives leads to better decision-making and problem-solving, greater innovation, and even financial gains for organizations.

Next time you disagree with one of your researchers, it’s worth taking the time to step back and try to see things from their point of view. Are you feeling defensive or out-of-sorts? Is there an efficiency or convenience perspective that may cause them to weigh the value of safe practices differently? Are they afraid of feeling judged by their peers or direct supervisor for following proper procedures?

5. Stay curious, not judgmental

Research suggests that we can read others’ facial expressions in as little as 23 milliseconds. Our faces reveal our thoughts and feelings — both positive and negative — long before we open our mouths (and while we’re doing it!).

When people sense they're being judged, they're less likely to say what’s on their mind. Instead of voicing their safety concerns, for example, researchers who fear judgment might say what you want to hear but revert to cutting corners as soon as your back is turned.

On the other hand, approaching conversations with an attitude of curiosity helps you ask better questions and also helps researchers feel comfortable sharing their ideas and opinions — which is especially crucial when safety is at stake. Letting go of judgment can be particularly challenging, but you’ll find that when you do, conversations often go much more productively.

Your takeaway

• The best way to show researchers you’re interested in them is by listening and making an effort to learn more.
• When discussing safety with your researchers, challenge yourself to stay curious and try to see things from a new perspective.
• Remember that researchers want to be safe, but their ideas and priorities for safety may be different from yours.

True safety starts with communication — not blind compliance. By focusing on listening, safety leaders will gain a better understanding of researchers' perspectives, and researchers will gain a better understanding of their risks and how to mitigate them. Keep these principles in mind, and you may learn more than you expected and change some minds along the way. Listening skills will be valuable in a wide swath of situations, such as navigating an EHS software implementation.

And remember — people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

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Maintaining an accurate chemical inventory is a never-ending job, and one with little margin for error – any disagreement or inconsistency could lead to major problems for health, safety, and sustainability.

That’s why a chemical inventory system is a must for any organization looking to take control of their chemical inventory.

A good chemical inventory system offers a number of advantages that will help you simplify chemical ordering, storage, use, and reporting while reducing the potential for human error. While there may be different ways of reaching these effects, if your system isn’t hitting these notes, it should be a sign that something isn’t working right.

Here are three major advantages of a good chemical inventory system:

Eliminate tedious, time-consuming tasks

There are only so many times you can watch your day be subjected to death by a thousand cuts. A good chemical inventory system allows you to easily keep tabs on all the orders coming into your labs, as well as amounts of every chemical by lab space, building, department, or division.

The most obvious advantage of investing in a good chemical inventory is the time savings you’ll notice. On a per-case basis, it might not seem like much, but all the time you spend searching for answers to questions like “How much more solvent can I order?” or “Where are our expiring peroxide-formers?” can really add up.

To be able to answer these questions quickly and with confidence, you need to move beyond binders and spreadsheets and start harnessing the power of modern inventory software (which, in most cases, also needs to be fueled by a high-quality database).

With good chemical inventory software, you can instantly locate your high-hazard chemicals like peroxide formers and sort by expiration date. Or check your inventory against flammable liquid limits. You can even convert between metric and imperial units without having to whip out your calculator. Situations like building code assessments, lab cleanouts when a lab gets dissolved (pun intended), and chemical safety assessments can either eat up a week+ of time with a poor system, or be handled in the space of a few hours with a high-quality solution (we’ll stop with the puns now).

Maintain a state of high audit readiness without extra work

There’s nothing more panic-inducing than scrambling for answers while an auditor breathes down your neck. In addition to the obvious benefits of streamlining management and reporting, good chemical inventory software gives your team a leg up in the event of an audit (and a lot of room to breathe).

Because your information is already up-to-date and organized, you can create real-time reports with just a few clicks. This will save your team days or weeks of preparation on each chemical audit. As we mentioned above, good software also enables you to answer questions quickly and with confidence. This comes in handy when auditors have questions beyond the scope of your reports. With software, access to information about every chemical across your organization is at your fingertips, so no matter what the auditor asks, you’ll have the answer instantly.

Plus (and this is a big plus), having a chemical inventory system in place gives auditors confidence in your data. In the same way that an IRS auditor is much less likely to question orderly records than she is to take a fine-toothed comb to a shoebox stuffed with receipts, an auditor focused on chemical safety will be less likely to scrutinize your chemical inventory if you can show that you have your house in order.

If, on the other hand, you’re still using spreadsheets, auditors may be quick to see potential issues and press for more information.

Support your inventory management style

There are two main inventory management styles: decentralized, where you rely on individual labs or groups to manage their own chemical inventories, or centralized, where a small handful of staff manages the data from a central location. It’s also not uncommon for organizations to use a combination of both management styles.

Which approach you use will depend on a number of factors, like your organization’s size and resource availability. No matter which method you choose, it’s important that your inventory system supports your style of management.

Some chemical inventory systems only support one method or the other, which can cause errors, frustration, and bottlenecks.

A good chemical inventory system allows individual scientists or centralized inventory specialists to compile information while sharing the same knowledge base. It should even allow you to walk some of that middle ground as your needs require. A good system also provides the ability for appropriate EHS personnel to go in and make changes or updates where needed. With a system like this in place, teams can work together seamlessly to yield more accurate chemical inventory data.

Your takeaway

We've given you a lot to chew on, so here's a quick recap:

• A good chemical inventory software should enable you to answer questions quickly and with confidence, freeing you up to focus on high-value tasks.
• The more quickly and completely you can answer questions about your chemical inventory, the more smoothly audits will go and the less likely that auditors will scrutinize your records.
• In order to reap these benefits, you should prioritize a chemical inventory system that supports your style of chemical inventory management while helping your entire team work efficiently.

Of course, these are only a few of the many advantages a good chemical inventory system should offer. There are plenty more that should be present, so keep an eye out for future articles that dive in to some of the other key benefits.

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Today's federally funded research programs are innovative and fast-paced. But the software they're using isn't.

That's because most laboratory safety, inventory, and reporting software simply doesn't meet federal security guidelines — which means it's not an option for government agencies.

Instead, they’re stuck with decades old software that does not improve and only becomes more obsolete as time goes on.

Getting information out of these outdated systems is like pulling teeth. Researchers spend too much time on tasks that take them away from their research, and EHS teams spend too much time on tasks that take them away from meaningfully improving safety. In some cases, these two groups may even be working from different sets of data!

In fact, our risk analyses show that EHS staff are forced to waste as much as 50% of their time on administrative tasks that software should be doing for them.

SciShield changes all that.

SciShield has partnered with Rackspace to provide its solutions to Government Agencies on FedRAMP authorized IT infrastructure.If you are a federal agency or local government organization, you can use SciShield to collect, organize, and report on your laboratory data and activities to ensure compliance.

Why do EHS teams & researchers at government agencies use SciShield?

Government agencies and federally funded research programs have already made the move to SciShield.

SciShield simplifies data entry and inventory, reduces administrative burden, helps you stay compliant, and keeps your data secure. Even better, SciShield is scalable so you can start with a single and add on functionality as your organization's needs evolve.

Teams use SciShield to:

✓ Track chemicals

✓ Report on chemical inventories

✓ Manage radioisotopes license limits

✓ Track radioisotopes

✓ Place radioisotopes requests online

✓ Manage radioisotopes waste disposal

✓ Register biological materials

✓ Oversee rDNA use

✓ Report on biosafety

✓ Deliver training

✓ Manage equipment

✓ Search SDS library

✓ Prepare for lab and chemical audits

✓ Assign and track inspections

...and much more.

How can you get started with SciShield?

We are passionate about reducing administrative burden and increasing productivity. Please contact us to learn more about our government software solution and the various purchasing vehicles available to you.

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In science, some risks are worth the rewards — like the risk of trying a bold, new approach to a problem. These risks can lead to great discoveries and improve the lives of those around us.

Other risks are not worth taking — like the risk of neglecting safety and, specifically, the risk of neglecting proper priorities, practices, and training.

Ignoring these basic principles can have serious consequences for your researchers and your organization as a whole. But fixing them is no simple task.

Lab safety incidents are a frequent occurrence

Every year, hundreds of researchers are injured in laboratories.

What’s worse is that for every high-profile incident, scores of others get relatively little airtime (and those are only the ones that are reported). It's hard to know exactly how often incidents like these occur, since no one agency or association systematically tracks safety incidents and near-misses at academic labs. It's part of the chaos that is unavoidably inherent in research environments.

What we do know: In a lone report from back in 2011 following an explosion at Texas Tech, the US Chemical Safety Board cited “preliminary information” on 120 different university laboratory incidents over the previous decade.

In other words, at least one significant incident occurred in an academic laboratory every month. And that’s just an extremely conservative estimate from the limited data available. It’s hard not to imagine that the true number of laboratory safety incidents every year could total well into the hundreds.

Prioritizing scientific freedom over safe science can have serious consequences

It’s generally agreed that there's a discrepancy in safety between academic and industrial labs, although again, solid data is scarce. In a recent article examining the difference, Science magazine recently interviewed lab safety experts, including SciShield CEO Nathan Watson. The verdict? It all comes down to coordination between priorities, practices, and training. Industry is often able to assemble these three facets in concert, while academic labs usually attempt to or are restricted to implementing them piecemeal.

Faced with pressure to publish papers and compete for limited funding, researchers in academic labs may be more likely to skip safety practices like donning protective gear or completing a risk assessment.

The consequences of laboratory incidents range from minor to life-altering injuries, to loss of property, litigation, reputation damage, and in the most serious cases, death.

Laboratory injuries will often have a dramatic impact on an organization’s bottom line. Statistics from the National Safety Council suggest that a single injury costs organizations on average $32,000. That figure doesn’t even take into account property damage costs, such as the time and expense to repair buildings and replace equipment.

Of course, protecting researchers and students from harm is not just good business practice — it’s also a moral imperative. Laboratory incidents have resulted in life-changing injuries and death, and that’s a cost organizations can’t afford to overlook. It's why they have EHS in the first place.

Most lab “accidents” are preventable

Traditionally, organizations have accepted injuries and “accidents” as an unavoidable reality. In part, this may be due to driving factors like budgeting processes that require the use of industry frequencies of incidents, making an injury baseline an accepted norm.

Yet decades of investigative reports show that most lab safety incidents are entirely foreseeable and preventable. Worse yet, they are usually not the fault of a single researcher but rather the result of a systemic failure to prioritize good safety practices and training.

Here’s why that’s significant: We’re facing a paradigm shift where it’s increasingly accepted that events in your labs, whether good or bad, are within your control.

As organizations stop classifying safety incidents as “accidents” (i.e. unexpected spontaneous events) and start viewing them as the avoidable result of poor practices or safety culture, they’re increasingly able to address the underlying issue before it causes an “accident”. And that means improved safety, fewer incidents, and greater accountability.

Watson told Science he sees organizations actively working to improve safety practices in their labs and safety culture across their campuses. It’s no small task.

This new paradigm revolves around three elements that have to be mindfully implemented in concert. It’s not enough to have 2/3, or to have all 3 but have them be disconnected or independent from one another.

1. Priorities: Establish shared responsibility for safety at all organizational levels.
2. Practices: Apply priorities to develop new expectations and safety standards in all labs.
3. Training: Reinforces safe practices as a normal and integral part of the research workflow.

With all three of these mutually reinforcing activities performing together, you may just start to see a resilient safety culture begin to develop, and, more importantly, stick around.

Of course, change is not without its challenges. One roadblock, says Watson, is the fear that improving safety will raise costs, increase administrative burdens, or both. While it may be true that improved safety programs could require a higher budget (which, if we’re being honest, they’ve needed and deserved for years), it is critical to look at the hidden and actual costs of a safety incident when calculating risk.

Your takeaway

Priorities, practices, and training are powerful tools against laboratory safety risks. If your organization fails to follow these principles, it can have devastating or fatal consequences for researchers and reputation. And the time where you can claim it was just another “accident” is rapidly dwindling.

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A few months ago, we met with the EHS director at a research organization (let's call him Greg).

As we talked with Greg about how hard it was to keep up with the pace of research and how much time EHS staff and researchers were spending on administrative tasks, it became clear that his organization had outgrown its current software system.

Then Greg brought up a problem that almost all organizations experience, and one that's also easily solvable:

"We just don't have the funding we need for new software," he said. "How can we get senior management to give us more resources?"

Our advice: The resources are already there, you just need to know how to unlock them.

Why most people struggle to unlock software funding

Asking your boss for money for your software initiative can be intimidating. According to management researchers Kathleen Ryan and Daniel Oestreich, 70% of employees are afraid to speak up or suggest improvements to their company.

Even if they do get up the courage to approach senior management, most people aren't sure exactly what to say or how to say it (it's the same reason so many people never ask for a raise, either). Of course, there are real risks to having a small safety budget.

Or they convince themselves that new software is out of their reach because of their organization's size or budget. They tell themselves things like:

"They won't even give me enough staff. There's no way they'll give me money for software."

"I can't negotiate.

"I'll just keep using the system that I have. It works well enough."

And they settle for broken, outdated software that doesn't meet their needs. But here's the good news: You don't have to be a brilliant negotiator to get senior management to say "yes" to your request — and your organization doesn't have to be rolling in money.

So, what's the key to unlocking resources for your software initiative? How do you make your boss happy to hand over the cash?

It's a simple tool called a gap analysis.

Gap analysis = the key to unlocking resources

In short, a gap analysis measures the "gap" between where your organization is now and where it needs to be.

During a gap analysis, you'll evaluate your current systems to identify areas of success, highlight challenges that need attention, and suggest solutions to those challenges. We may even be able to help you secure the funding benefits of Loss Control Credits.

Instead of pushing or negotiating, you're helping your boss see your software initiative as a smart way to improve productivity, gain more time in your day, ensure compliance, and reduce risk.

Data-backed liabilities (and opportunities)

Today's laboratories and research facilities face more risks and need EHS software more than ever.

Just take a look at these statistics and you'll see what we mean:

• 46% of researchers have sustained at least one injury in the time they've been conducting research in a laboratory setting, despite reporting feeling relatively safe (UC Center for Laboratory Safety)
• Time and hassle are the most significant barrier to improving lab safety (UC Center for Laboratory Safety)
• Effective software has been proven to reduce the time researchers spend on their top 15 common safety tasks by an average of 60.5% (2018 SciShield Researcher Productivity Survey)
• 75% of organizations using EHS software were able to identify points of risk in their operations, versus 34% of organizations not using software (LNS Research)
• Workers at technology laggards were 450% more likely to want to leave to go work elsewhere (Unisys)
• 40% of workers said they left a company because they lacked access to state-of-the-art digital tools, while 80% of workers said that use of the most up-to-date tools influenced them to join a company (Randstad)

SciShield can help with your gap analysis

It's clear that EHS software is both essential and unbeatable for reducing risks, improving lab safety, and even attracting and retaining talent. Unlocking resources to purchase EHS software hinges on leveraging your knowledge of your organization's risks and critical deficiencies, and identifying the right ways to save. Do that effectively, and you'll be in a much better position to get the software you need.

That's where we come in. Our team of researchers and EHS professionals (and expert negotiators) have years of experience solving critical challenges in laboratory risk management. We'll perform a free gap analysis to help you unlock resources for EHS software.

Your gap analysis report will:

• Evaluate your current systems to identify areas of success
• Highlight challenges that need attention
• Use industry best practices to offer ways to reduce risk, drive productivity, and simplify reporting.

Over the last few months, our gap analysis reports have helped four different schools unlock 10X their original funding for software.

Click here to set up your free gap analysis today.

Have any other questions questions?

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*An update*

So what happened with our EHS manager, Greg? As soon we shared the findings of our gap analysis, it was easy to get senior management at his organization to say "yes" to new software.

Now, Greg starts his morning out by spending 15 minutes in SciShield reviewing activity that would have normally taken him 2 Advil and more than an hour to get through. He has time to focus on what's really important to him: supporting his EHS team on the problems they encounter instead of arguing with them about using the most recent version of a spreadsheet or email list.

The best part? Researchers' complaints about safety requirements have dropped to a near whisper. Greg told us he's even overheard a few people comment about how easily they were able to take care of an overdue training course on their own.

The resources for your EHS software purchase are out there, and unlocking them is easier than you think.

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It's a common scenario: a software project overruns the budget, drags on forever, or gets canceled before it ever gets completed.

Over half of major software projects fail to deliver on their promises, according to a report by the Standish Group.

In nearly every case, the reasons for failure are avoidable. How do we know? 98% of SciShield implementations are successful.

Below, we'll show you the main reasons EHS software implementations fail, and how to set yourself up for success:

Not using vendor suggested configurations

When implementing a new software, configuring the system around your existing processes seems like a smart way to go. The problem, as many organizations discover, is that automating a bad process simply delivers bad results faster.

Rather than shoehorn your current workflows into the system, be open to changing them. An experienced vendor who works in your industry day in and day out will know the best ways to get the job done, and their software will be designed around those practices. By using the vendor suggested configurations, you'll improve your processes and get the most out of the system.

Too many customizations

Unlike configuration, which involves changing parameters within the software, customization involves making changes to the software's underlying code. Heavy customization can lead to several problems during implementation, and is often a sign that your vendor is looking for quick fixes instead of long term solutions.

To understand why, imagine you're cooking a new dish. Stray too far from the original recipe, and you might have to throw the whole thing out and order pizza.

Similarly, if you customize a software too much, it's no longer the software you bought — and you won't get the results you heard about in testimonials, ratings, and reviews. Furthermore, every additional customization makes it harder for the vendor to maintain and troubleshoot your software, which can lead to higher costs for you.

Fortunately, EHS professionals and implementation partners agree that today's software systems can probably meet 80-85% of most companies' needs out of the box, according to NAEM.

No buy-in strategy

The NAEM EHS Software Buyer's Guide has shown that 71% of organizations expect the EHS function to take the lead in software selection and implementation. Other decision makers include executive management and IT

But in most research organizations, these decision makers aren't the only ones using the software. Getting buy-in from researchers and other employees involves more than just implementing the technology and telling everyone to "get on board". A successful buy-in strategy will have several key elements:

• Commitment: If your team is divided, make sure everyone comes together and commits to the chosen solution prior to the start of implementation.
• Clear success criteria: Define what's important for each role and user persona — not just for the leadership team.
• Realistic expectations: Software offers many benefits, but it's not a magic bullet. Make sure your team is realistic about what software can and cannot do for your organization.
• Role-oriented user testing: After configuration, user testing for all roles and personas provides an opportunity to bring forward any issues before you launch.
• Early adopters: Look for an early adopter user base to roll out the product so you can adjust decisions on a smaller scale.

Poor data integrity

Ever heard the saying "garbage in, garbage out"? It’s not just a myth – a research summary published by the University of Hawai'i found that 88% of spreadsheets contain errors. If you simply import this bad data into EHS software, you'll get bad insights — which can lead to bad decisions.

To avoid this, it's important to make sure the data going into your new system is clean and accurate. While your software vendor can help, ultimately you know your data best and must take charge of your data quality.

On a similar note: Accept that your data will never be perfect. Lab spaces change every day, so talk to your vendor about how best to work with the data you have today.

No vendor-side dedicated project management

Project management is the process of planning, monitoring, and delivering a project that meets specific goals — and it's essential to your software project's success.

For advanced implementations, your vendor should put you in touch with an implementation manager. This person will help outline your requirements, formulate an implementation plan, make sure your project stays on track, and keep the lines of communication open.

Lack of software-side support

When you think of software support, you might envision submitting a help desk ticket when you can't log in. However, good support involves more than troubleshooting.

Does the vendor have a customer support team available when questions arise? Do they have a posted turnaround time for issue resolution? Is their team proactive about reaching out to customers and making sure everything is going smoothly? And perhaps most importantly, do they make you feel comfortable reaching out for help?

No continuity of vendor support

Based on NAEM’s research, it’s not unusual to be back in the market for additional functionality or a replacement within five years of purchasing an EHS software training system.That's why it's so important to look for a vendor who's committed to your long-term success — not just getting the sale. The vendor's continuity strategy should involve ongoing meetings to ensure the original success criteria are being met, review any changes in your organization's needs or strategy, and make adjustments when needed.

Insufficient training

First: A thoughtfully designed system eliminates the need for extensive training and documentation. Look for software that provides a clean user interface and streamlined workflows so that researchers can get into the system, do what they need to do, and get back to their research in the shortest time possible.That said, no matter how user-friendly a system is, training is necessary to help your team feel confident performing tasks independently. Find a vendor who offers different levels of training for different users, such as quick start guides (like the ones that come with a new TV), job aides, and other hands-on training.

Long customer time-table

According to NAEM, the process of selecting and implementing a software system takes the average buyer about 18 months. Unfortunately, some teams have experienced implementations that drag on for years or are never completed. Other projects come up, life gets in the way, and your software implementation gets pushed to the bottom of the list.

That's why it's so critical that you and your vendor have a mutually agreed upon implementation timeline. This timeline should take into consideration factors like competing projects, staff availability, and PTO. Once you both sign off, everyone knows that you're driving toward that timeline.

Too much change, too fast

There are two approaches to software implementation: "big bang" or "rolling". A "big bang" implementation — the traditional approach — occurs all at once, which can cause a shock to the organization.

A rolling implementation, on the other hand, occurs one at a time. This method offers several advantages. As the name implies, a rolling implementation starts slowly and gathers momentum like a snowball rolling down a hill. The success of each implemented builds confidence and energizes the team, leading to higher adoption rates across the company. And instead of buying every out of the gate, a rolling implementation lets you dip your toe in and add on when you're ready.

About SciShield's implementation strategy

Our company was founded by researchers, for researchers. We pride ourselves on our product being easy to use, with thoughtfully designed workflows built around industry best practices. We're committed to helping you succeed through ongoing project management, support, and training. We're perpetually learning and improving, so that each implementation is better than the last.

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Running a safe and efficient research program requires getting really good at how you use your resources and how you spend your time.

One of the best ways to do that, as many organizations, universities, and research institutes have found, is by using software to digitize and centralize their EHS data.

They're able to complete tasks faster, identify gaps in their safety programs, and enable researchers to focus on their research — because they have a single source of truth for their researchers and EHS management.

Not convinced yet? Let's look at 10 reasons to digitize and centralize your laboratory EHS data, according to industry research and our customers.

10 Reasons to Digitize & Centralize Laboratory EHS Data

1. Understand your risks

A survey of over 3,000 EHS managers by LNS Research found that 75% of organizations using EHS software were able to identify points of risk in their operations, versus 34% of organizations not using software. That's because, unlike paper records, software provides you with real-time risk data. You know the minute one of your researchers' training expires or when certain chemicals are added to your laboratories so you can respond appropriately.

2. Create fast and accurate reports

When you have to go looking for information in multiple locations, reporting is time-consuming. Instead, a digital, centralized system puts all your laboratory EHS data at your fingertips. That means you can run up-to-date radiological inventories or inspection reports in minutes.

3. Respond to audits swiftly

What happens if an auditor requests information about training, lab hazards, equipment, or assets? If you don't have a centralized data system, a request like that can shut down your team for days. Worse, you may not be able to locate the information at all. With software, laboratory audits go smoothly because you're always prepared.

4. Find the information you need

How do you know which of your laboratories are working with particularly hazardous substances? Or if all your researchers have the appropriate training for the equipment they use? Using a centralized database lets you zoom in and find exactly what you need — without digging around or interrupting your researchers.

5. Ensure knowledge continuity

EHS departments lose around 20% of their employees every year. If you don't have a formal system in place for maintaining data, that means 20% of your organization's safety and compliance knowledge could simply walk out the door with them. With software, on the other hand, information that used to be stuck in people's heads now lives in a central database.

6. Protect your data

Not only are paper files easily misplaced, they can be destroyed by a fire or even a leaky pipe. Unfortunately, spreadsheets aren't much better: data can be accidentally deleted, saved over by a colleague, or lost if your computer crashes. Ultimately, your best option for protecting your data is a software system that provides nightly backups, disaster recovery, and can't be destroyed by a spilled cup of coffee.

7. Allocate your resources wisely

As you collect all your inspections, activities, and findings in a centralized database, you'll get a clear picture of trends and gaps in your safety and compliance programs. That way you can make sure you're prioritizing your personnel and funds where they'll make the biggest impact.

8. Communicate with your team

Instead of wading through email, good software lets researchers and EHS staff communicate right within the system. For example, you can send a targeted message to only individuals with animal contact. Or email specific lab groups to make sure your chemical safety communications reach the right people. Team members can reply within the system so everything is on record and in one place.

9. Save time

Researchers and EHS staff are spending too much time filling out forms, compiling reports, and chasing down items that are due. Software can automate many of these time consuming tasks, freeing everyone up to focus on what they do best. In fact, the 2018 Researcher Productivity Survey found that SciShield reduced the time researchers spent on their top 15 common safety tasks by 60.5%.

10. Reduce costs

All of the above benefits — increased productivity, reduced risk, better resource allocation — translate into significant cost savings. The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) concluded that a direct, positive correlation exists between investment in EHS and its subsequent return on investment. Furthermore, OSHA found that organizations implementing effective safety and health programs generate a return of $4 to $6 for every $1 invested.

Your takeaway

Digitizing and centralizing your laboratory EHS data can help you run a safer, more efficient research program and deliver a proven ROI.

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eLabNext’s digital lab platform can now connect to Cellenics, a cloud-based analytics tool that can process, analyse, and visualise single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data. With the Cellenics add-on, biologists can effortlessly generate publication-ready figures from count matrices in just a few days without writing a single line of code.

Uncovering heterogeneity with single-cell techniques

Increasingly, the heterogeneity in complex biological systems is being interrogated through single-cell sequencing technologies. This knowledge is advancing scientists’ understanding of basic biology, disease states, and the safety and efficacy of therapeutics. ScRNA-seq has been essential for powering these insights, enabling researchers to discover minor yet meaningful cell populations with robust biological impact. Single-cell methods further help comprehensively characterise cell and gene therapies that revolutionise the treatment of many diseases, including cancer.

Yet, processing, analysing, and visualising scRNA-seq data can be complicated, particularly for scientists who don’t have experience with coding or operating complex bioinformatics pipelines. This barrier limits the impact of single-cell techniques, making data analysis and visualisation inaccessible to many scientists in the life science industry.

Effortless exploration of scRNA-seq data

By partnering with Biomage, eLabNext has integrated the Cellenics tool as an add-on to its comprehensive, all-in-one digital lab platform, eLabJournal. Cellenics enables scRNA-seq data to be uploaded with the simple click of a button. Once uploaded, researchers can perform in-depth processing, quality control, and examination of their data, including differential expression, biomarker, and pathway analysis. Cellenics offers a user-friendly interface explicitly designed for biologists, with pre-loaded plots that make it easy to visualise results or export them for manuscript preparation.

Faster collaboration through integration

Integrating directly with eLabJournal, the Cellenics add-on makes it easy for research partners and collaborators to share raw scRNA-seq data, processed data, or data visualisations. eLabJournal helps improve laboratory efficiency and elevate research by providing an infrastructure for data management. In combination with Cellenics, eLabJournal makes analysis, management, visualisation, and sharing of scRNA-seq data less complicated and more straightforward.

About Biomage

Biomage hosts a community instance of Cellenics, an open-source, cloud-based analytics tool for single-cell RNA sequencing data developed at Harvard Medical School. The platform provides a fast and user-friendly interface that allows biologists without bioinformatics or coding expertise to analyse single-cell datasets. Cellenics is available to academic, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical partners for streamlined single-cell transcriptomics data processing, analysis, and visualization.

Learn more about Biomage and Cellenics at https://www.biomage.net/

Cellenics contacts

For information about Cellenics® open source project, contact Dr Jaclyn Mallard at Harvard
Medical School: jaclyn_mallard@hms.harvard.edu

For information about Cellenics® deployment, technical and user support, contact Biomage:
hello@biomage.net

‍Today, eLabNext, an Eppendorf Group Company offering a flexible Digital Lab Platform which combines the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) and Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN), announced that its platform can now integrate with LabTAG, a high-quality product line of sample identification products available through GA International. The partnership between GA International and eLabNext provides the scientific community with a complete sample management system, allowing researchers to accurately and safely identify and track samples, manage reagents and equipment, improve lab workflows, and future-proof lab operations by combining reliable labeling with efficient data management. 

LabTAG labels are designed to remain adherent and legible even after long-term storage in liquid nitrogen, ensuring reliable sample identification and data integrity in biobanking and research applications. They are used throughout medical research and clinical laboratories, making them a natural fit with the eLabNext platform.

“We chose to partner with eLabNext because of their outstanding reputation in providing flexible and user-friendly LIMS solutions that cater to the diverse and ever-changing needs of modern laboratories,” said George Ambartsoumian, Founder and CEO of GA International. “Moreover, eLabNext’s LIMS and ELN software are fully compatible with various printers and identification solutions, including our vast catalog of products. Our collaboration with eLabNext enhances our ability to deliver comprehensive identification solutions that streamline lab operations and ensure accurate and efficient sample management.”

“LabTAG has a rich history in research labs, biobanks, and healthcare as a worldwide leader in cryogenic and chemical-resistant labels,” comments Zareh Zurabyan, Head of eLabNext, Americas. “Our platform's full compatibility with LabTAG products, various printers, and sample identification solutions creates an end-to-end laboratory sample management strategy. 

‍

About GA International

GA International has over 25 years of experience as a leading manufacturer of specialty labels, supplying laboratory identification solutions to biomedical research labs, biobanks, hospitals, and other healthcare institutions. Since its inception, GA International has become a worldwide leader in cryogenic and chemical-resistant labels, with a strong dedication to R&D and customer service.

For more information about GA International, please visit www.ga-international.com/

Press contact:

Name: Ishan Wadi, Marketing Leader‍

Email: ishan.wadi@ga-international.com

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