Form builders vs. Ideagen Plant Assessor. What's best?

When managing machinery safety and compliance, the tools you use can significantly impact the effectiveness and efficiency of your processes. Form builders are versatile tools designed to meet a wide range of needs across industries, allowing businesses to create custom forms for data collection, reporting and compliance management.

However, when it comes to the specific and complex demands of machinery risk assessments, Ideagen Plant Assessor is the industry-leading solution in Australia.

This article explores the strengths and limitations of form builders in the context of machinery risk assessments and highlights why using Ideagen Plant Assessor's is best practice for ensuring safety and compliance of your fleet.

Hazard identification

Form builders are excellent for creating custom forms tailored to various hazard identification processes. They allow users to design forms that capture data on a wide range of potential hazards, making them flexible tools for general safety management. However, when it comes to identifying hazards specific to machinery, these tools may fall short.

Ideagen Plant Assessor is built with machinery in mind. It comes pre-loaded with a comprehensive database of more than 120,000 machines compiled by industry experts, ensuring you identify all possible hazards on the machine. Ideagen Plant Assessor’s platform guides you through a thorough hazard identification process just by answering yes or no questions, ensuring no stone is left unturned.

Legislative requirements

Form builders like those offered by Ideagen Damstra and Ideagen Lucidity can be customised to help businesses meet legislative requirements. They allow users to design forms that capture necessary compliance data, ensuring consistent, thorough documentation processes are in place. However, this approach places the onus on the user to ensure that their forms are comprehensive and aligned with current legislation.

In contrast, Ideagen Plant Assessor is continuously updated to reflect the latest legislative requirements related to machinery safety. This feature ensures all assessments conducted through the platform align with current laws and regulations. Ideagen Plant Assessor’s built-in legislative compliance features remove the guesswork and reduce the risk of non-compliance, providing peace of mind to users.

Risk ratings and hazard controls

Risk ratings and hazard controls are critical components of any risk assessment. While form builders can be used to create fields for entering risk ratings and documenting controls, they rely on user input to define the parameters. This can lead to inconsistencies in how risks are assessed and managed.

Ideagen Plant Assessor provides standardised preliminary and residual risk ratings and hazard control measures specific to the machine. This is powered by the Machinery Compliance Engine (MCE) which determines the ratings based on the type of machinery being assessed and the controls based on the hierarchy of control and relevant legislation. This level of specificity ensures machinery risk assessments are not only consistent but also aligned with industry best practices.

Machine specific

One of the primary limitations of form builders is their generalist nature. While they can be customised to suit various industries and applications, they lack the machine-specific focus required for thorough machinery risk assessments. Users must manually input machinery details, and there is limited built-in functionality to account for the unique risks associated with different types of equipment.

Ideagen Plant Assessor, however, is designed specifically for machinery risk assessments. This machine-specific focus allows for more accurate and efficient risk assessments; you can quickly access any machine from the database and complete an assessment without having to build it from scratch.

Risk management reports

Generating detailed risk management reports is another area where form builders and Ideagen Plant Assessor differ significantly. Form builders allow users to create custom reports based on the data collected through their forms. While this flexibility is useful, it requires users to ensure all necessary information is captured correctly.

Ideagen Plant Assessor offers automated risk management report generation tailored to each machinery risk assessment. The platform produces comprehensive risk management reports that include hazard identification, preliminary and residual risk ratings and recommended control measures. These reports are formatted to meet industry standards and can be easily shared with stakeholders, making them a valuable tool for managing machinery safety.

Efficient processes

Efficiency is key in any risk management process. Form builders, while versatile, can be time-consuming to set up and customise, particularly for complex applications like machinery risk assessments. Each form must be carefully designed and users must ensure that all necessary fields and functionalities are included.

Ideagen Plant Assessor streamlines the machinery risk assessment process by providing a ready-made solution tailored to machinery. The platform’s user-friendly interface and pre-loaded data on more than 120,000 machines make it quick and easy to conduct thorough assessments without the need for extensive setup or customisation. This efficiency saves time on administrative tasks and reduces the likelihood of errors, allowing users to focus on managing risks rather than building forms.

Ease of access

Ease of access is crucial when managing machinery risk assessments, especially for teams working in the field. Many form builders offer mobile-friendly platforms, allowing users to access forms and data on the go. This flexibility is a key advantage of form builders, particularly for general safety management tasks.

Ideagen Plant Assessor also offers mobile accessibility, but with additional features tailored to machinery risk assessments. Users can conduct risk assessments, view reports and access machinery-specific data from any device, making it easier to manage risk assessments in the field. The platform’s intuitive interface ensures you can quickly and easily access the information you need, when you need it.

Can I use both form builders and Ideagen Plant Assessor?

Yes, of course. You can effectively use form builders and Ideagen Plant Assessor together to enhance overall safety and compliance management. While Ideagen Plant Assessor excels in machinery-specific risk assessments, form builders like those offered by Ideagen Damstra and Ideagen Lucidity provide flexible platforms for managing your workforce and contractors as well as environment, health, safety and quality (EHSQ) management.

Form builders can be used to capture general workplace safety data, conduct audits or manage incident reports across various sites. This data can then complement the detailed machinery assessments conducted in Ideagen Plant Assessor, creating a comprehensive safety management system.

By integrating the strengths of both tools, you can help to ensure your organisation addresses various safety requirements, ultimately leading to a more robust and cohesive approach to safety and compliance.

Want to know more about how Ideagen Plant Assessor's machinery risk assessments can complement your form builder?

Our team of machinery compliance experts is on hand to chat with you. Simply contact us on 1300 728 852 or info@assessor.com.au.

Disclaimer: This information is intended to provide general information on the subject matter. This is not intended as legal or expert advice for your specific situation. You should seek professional advice before acting or relying on the content of this information.

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About the Author

Matthew Turner is Managing Director of Ideagen Plant Assessor. Matt has been a part of Ideagen Plant Assessor since 2008, having gained a deep understanding of workplace health and safety management and behavioural safety management through his extensive experience in the industrial, manufacturing and distribution industries. Read More.