AMRC Health and Safety app

The University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) is a global leader in advanced machining, manufacturing, and materials research, particularly in the aerospace and high-value manufacturing sectors. This unique collaborative venture between industry and academia has set a benchmark for research centre worldwide.

In the old days, managing health and safety at AMRC was akin to navigating through a maze with lots of twists and turns. Prior to their visit to AMRC sites, contractors were required to complete health and safety forms to ensure their compliance to work on the site. These forms underwent review by administrators before all data was painstakingly transferred to an Excel sheet. The subsequent process involved a barrage of back-and-forth emails and spreadsheet updates to send the review to the EHS team, solicit visitors' signatures, allocate unique IDs, and assign approved stickers. Finally, at the conclusion of this cumbersome process, any outdated versions of the spreadsheet were promptly eliminated.

• A complicated process filled with confusing versions of Excel spreadsheets that even experienced staff find puzzling.

• The huge waste of time for AMRC staffs when going through manual process of exchanging numerous emails back and forth.

• The oversight risk when the completion of the RA form got lost in the process, and visitors might come to visit the sites without being approved.

We set out to tackle inefficiency head-on, creating an app that revolutionises health and safety management. Using Power Automate, we streamlined the process, allowing seamless completion of forms, signature collection, ID assignment, and other risk assessment tasks in all the AMRC buildings, within one easy-to-use app.

Using Power BI, we also crafted a real-time dashboard that offers crucial metrics for effective site management, including visitor counts and pending approvals, ensuring the safety of the whole area.

• Ensured Compliance: Every visitor now reliably completes their RA before entering AMRC premises, safeguarding AMRC’s sanctity of health and safety protocols.

• Say goodbye to spreadsheets: The replacement of Excel significantly improved efficiency of site management: from redundant steps to a more straight-forward and timing-effective one.