BetaKit ? Synaptor Launches Apps to Tackle Workplace Safety

Synaptor is tackling a space that traditionally hasn?t seen much innovation ? workplace safety. The Perth, Australia-based startup helps companies manage health, safety and environmental (HSE) risk through a suite of web and mobile applications. The company, which has seed funding from former colleagues, currently offers a paid web application and two free iPhone apps, with two Android apps and an iPad app planned.?The web and mobile apps offer safety observations, maps and training management, and each component has both a web module and complementary mobile application.

Synaptor?s founders have worked with clients like Shell and Chevron to build custom HSE risk management systems and controls for the workplace. It was while doing work for a client that they decided to build an alternative to paper-based solutions. ?Synaptor was founded when a large client asked us to build yet another mind-numbingly boring and inadequate paper-based safety tool ? enough is enough, we decided,? founder Justin Strharsky told BetaKit. ?We built Synaptor to free workers from the tedium of OHS paperwork and to enable supervisors to manage risk in real time.?

The company?s apps help employees record data in the field, while the web modules help managers, and are available via a monthly subscription (Strharsky said the subscription cost scales with the size of the company). Employees can use the Observations app to take notes on safety in the field, like photos or notes on safety hazards. The observations automatically sync to a secured database. The Maps application allows workers to see any hazards on their work site, and allows people to send information about safety. There?s also a training aspect, so companies can store their training records in the cloud and send automatic reminders before certifications expire.

Synaptor?s target market is ?small and medium-sized enterprises operating in industries that expose their people and the environment to risk,? said Strharsky. These include mainly oil, gas mining and construction companies. Since their launch, the company has 250 individuals and over 30 worksites using the tools.

Since a number of companies do not provide their employees with smartphones, Strharsky had to find a way around this limitation. Providing employees with phones to use one job-related app can raise security and productivity concerns for some employers, but Strharsky believes the market is already beginning to address and resolve these concerns.??I was able to tell my client about a couple of services for securing and provisioning mobile devices for business use,? he said. ?Clearly Apple is also aware of this need; they launched their Apple Configurator utility this week.?

Even though workplace safety regulations vary on a country-to-country basis, Strhasky believes the use of his app won?t be affected since the fundamentals are all essentially the same.??Employers are generally required to provide tools to enable employees to identify hazards, assess risks, and select controls,? he said. ?Synaptor Observations is a robust way to carry out and document hazard identification in the workplace.? The apps and web modules are currently only available in English.

Synaptor has worked with several industry partners, including Australian development agency The Frontier Group. The mobile apps use?Chargify?to handle payment, and the?Maps app?relies on push notifications, and so leverages the?Urban Airship?API.??The rise of web technologies like those offered by Chargify and Urban Airship meant that I could focus on my core business,? Strhasky said. ?I didn?t have to struggle to solve problems that they already have.?

In industries where safety is key, it?s important for employers to ensure their staff can efficiently and effectively document and share their findings in the field. But getting traditionally non-tech savvy workplaces on board with smartphone apps and web modules might be difficult on a large scale, especially since companies aren?t jumping to equip their staff with devices. Strhasky believes that as his apps prove valuable to companies, more will jump on board.??Companies will adopt new technologies when they see a compelling business case for doing so [and] we already are seeing that the Synaptor tools provide that business case for some.?

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Source: http://betakit.com/2012/03/16/synaptor-launches-apps-to-tackle-workplace-safety

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