With the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure safe and hospitable working conditions for workers; it sets and enforces standards whileproviding training, outreach, education, and assistance. While regulatory bodies such as OSHA have tried to implement various safety measures, workers’ safety is still paramount in the construction industry. Recent studies on construction safety management have even asserted that most accidents on sites could have been reduced and some even eliminated if there existed an effective and consistent safety management process of identification, planning, education/training, and inspection functions. Understanding this need to bolster job safety, Safety Badger was developed as a mobile solution that allows for real-time risk assessments to reduce uncertainty and supports workers with quick responses to their safety-related queries.

Built to be the future of job site safety and regulatory compliance support, Safety Badger is invaluable to contractors who have employees stationed at various construction sites. In just minutes after downloading, Safety Badger allows workers to contact a team of safety experts in real-time, from anywhere at any time. Users present an issue via a text message or a picture to a safety coach, who then advises on the correct operating procedure to address and mitigate the problem. Contrary to most consultants who have to show up in person to help users overcome their challenges, Safety Badger is not only accessible from anywhere in the world, but it also helps educate the user on how to avoid similar issues in the future. By providing quick, real-time responses to issues, Safety Badger is the first to market a solution that promotes transparent back and forth communication between a safety coach and the user.

In addition toits ease of use and transparency, the solution prioritizes user privacy and confidentiality above all. “Interactions between the user and the safety coach are kept confidential such that nobody else can log in and check what question was asked and how it was resolved,” says Joseph Coniglio, President at Safety Badger. The app also updates users on the latest changes in regulations in the construction space, and it also provides toolbox talks and training videos on specific construction equipment. Additionally, clients can also incorporate their personalized codes from safety manuals into the app.

Coniglio explains how Safety Badger can prove helpful in a sudden safety inspection from OSHA. Usually, a combination of anxiety and lack of knowledge to dea with the situation can incapacitate a contractor and could lead to the incurrence of heavy fines. With Safety Badger, a user can immediately use the app to contact an expert who walks them through the entire procedure for the inspection. With each OSHA violation costing more than $13,000, prompt litigating advice from a safety coach is invaluable to contractors. Interestingly, the app has proven handy even to the other end of the construction safety spectrum—quality inspectors.

A year ago, Safety Badger had partnered with a quality inspection company in New York City. The company had sent one of its workers to inspect an HVAC unit on a 40 story building. Upon reaching the rooftop, the worker noticed a sign warning of harmful radiations from satellite dishes and antennas. Using Safety Badger, she took a picture of the situation and awaited advice from an expert. Within eight minutes, she received a response saying that it was harmful to inspect the unit without a PPE kit and that the inspector would have to ask the building owner to de-energize the systems before she could carry out her work. Safety Badger’s nimble response saved the inspector from potentially harmful radiation, expedited workflow immensely, and also educated the worker on handling a similar situation in the future.

What truly sets Safety Badger apart in the construction industry is that the solution is managed by veterans in the safety and regulatory compliance space. While an in-house team of software engineers developed it, the vision is fuelled by highly credentialed safety experts who have worked across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Sri Lanka. These safety experts include CSPs, Engineers, Industrial Hygienists, USEPA, AHERA, Asbestos Management Planners, and Certified OSHA Outreach Trainers, among many more. “With the app, we have perfected the pairing of digital and in-person consulting. We have the ability to move beyond the solution and provide safety consultation in man.