Why Use an OQ Compliance App? Top 5 Benefits

Compliance has become a front-and-center topic for many companies, particularly as fines continue to rise and reputations are put on the line. At Energy Worldnet, we’ve seen just how far an Operator Qualification (OQ) compliance app can go to keeping you out of hot water.

With more than 1,400 clients in North and South America, there’s a lot to be said for staying inside the lines — at least when it comes to formal regulations. We look at the key benefits of an OQ app and why it’s so important to have some type of systematic and ongoing review system.

The 5 Core Benefits of OQ Compliance Apps

The goal of a compliance app is to make your work both faster and more accurate. It also needs to be built with your business in mind. When you find the right company, an OQ compliance app can provide the following:

1. Real-Time Access to Qualification Records

Quality starts with qualifications and having access to all the relevant data can make it easier to understand who should be doing what and when. It’s easy verification that makes it possible for operators to get set up in the field faster than you might have thought possible.

2. Mobile Performance Evaluations

Being able to evaluate worker performance on the go is undeniably convenient. More than that, though, it’s often necessary to write down all the details at the moment that may be forgotten later on. Small mistakes can be easily discounted after they occur. Managers might not think that they’re even worth documenting. Yet it’s often small mistakes that lead to much bigger safety violations.

3. Better Data

Data is on the lips of everyone these days, but the truth is that companies everywhere aren’t really harnessing information at the level they need to be. Too often, managers miss the trends that reveal how and why certain projects aren’t going as planned, or why certain employees seem to be struggling in their day-to-day. An OQ compliance app shows you exactly what’s going on, so you can make smarter long-term decisions.

4. Preparation for Changing Regulations

Recommendations can turn into regulations pretty quickly. What seemed like a future problem ends up becoming a logistical nightmare that threatens the whole operation. The right OQ app makes it possible for you to prepare now with news, updates, and an optimized format. It helps you check off all of the things that need to be done and start getting everyone into better habits long before the laws officially switch over.

5. Streamlined Transitions

When anything changes on the job, compliance has a tendency to be pushed aside. Whether it’s a key stakeholder taking time off, a delayed schedule, or an outright cancellation, you still need to stay on top of compliance in the midst of all that chaos. The right app can help you streamline it all, so there’s less hassle, mess, and waste.

Stay on Top of It All

If you’re subject to PHMSA’s standards, the expectations are pretty stringent these days. There may have been a grace period where you were unlikely to face formal consequences for certain violations, but that grace period is over. Your workforce has to be qualified in order to ensure everyone’s safety. Ideally, you should surpass compliance standards to really stay out of hot water. An OQ app is designed to help you go the extra mile, so there’s no question of whether you’re staying on top of your responsibilities.

Manage All Your Records

Chances are, your current record management system is more disjointed than you want to admit. An OQ compliance app can go a long way toward improving your organization by keeping more information in one place. Plus, when you work with a company like Energy Worldnet, you can further reinforce record management with enterprise-level connections. This solution makes it possible for you to bring all of your records into one place, so there’s no chance that OQ data winds up anywhere other than where it should be.

When you can access what you need, you can see what task qualifications the employee has. You can see what training they’ve undergone and what certificates they’ve earned. You can instantly see if training has expired and whether that’s a deal-breaker for a particular job. The mobile performance evaluations give you the chance to see how the employee has progressed on the job.

Make Your Audits a Breeze

Audits can be an inherently scary time for managers and decision-makers, but they don’t have to be. When all of the information is organized and easy to see, it becomes a snap for auditors (both internal and external) to sign off on an operation’s safety.

This is particularly true if you need to customize your OQ compliance app. You can build your own list, depending on program needs, and enforce different requirements with employees. For instance, you might label a certain type of training as preferred while making another one required. Having this kind of reference at your fingertips means less time wasted and fewer chances of error.

Energy Worldnet works with companies who want real solutions. If you think that you could use a little boost in the efficiency department, we’re here to provide technology that can keep up with busy sites, changing laws, and evolving projects.