Why Your Field Workers Should Drive Your EHS Software Selection

When safety leaders evaluate EHS software, they typically focus on features, reporting capabilities, and compliance tracking. These are important considerations. But there’s a critical question that often gets overlooked: Will the people who actually use this tool every day be able to pick it up and use it without a manual?

Jason Wernex, Director of Safety at Utilitra, took a different approach when selecting safety technology for his organization—and it transformed how his entire team engages with safety. His philosophy is simple but powerful:

This user-first mindset helped Utilitra achieve remarkable results in their first year: a 300% increase in good catch/near-miss reporting and 200% improvement in field auditing. Here’s what safety leaders can learn from their approach.

The Conventional Approach (and Why It Fails)

Most safety software selection processes follow a familiar pattern. Safety teams evaluate platforms based on administrative needs: What reports can we generate? How does it handle compliance documentation? What dashboards are available for leadership?

These questions matter. But they miss something essential. If field workers find the tool confusing or cumbersome, they simply won’t use it. And when that happens, all those reporting features and compliance capabilities become meaningless—because there’s no data to report on.

Understanding Your User Base

Here’s a reality that many safety leaders overlook: in construction and similar industries, 80-90% of the day-to-day users of safety software aren’t safety professionals—they’re field workers, foremen, and superintendents. These are the people leading construction work, conducting inspections, and collecting the data that drives your safety program.

At Utilitra, a women-owned engineering and construction firm serving the utility sector, the safety department consists of just three people. Yet they needed a solution that would serve their entire organization—field crews scattered across multiple sites in the Midwest and Great Lakes region, each making decisions independently throughout the day.

The small team advantage? When you can’t rely on dedicated trainers at every site, your technology has to be intuitive enough that workers can figure it out on their own.

The iPhone Test

Jason developed a simple but effective evaluation method when comparing EHS platforms. He calls it the iPhone Test.

This approach cuts through marketing claims and demo presentations. It reveals what your field workers will actually experience: Can someone with no prior training open the app and start using it productively? If the answer is no, adoption will struggle—no matter how many features the platform offers.

Finding Your Early Adopters

Even with intuitive technology, successful rollout requires champions who can demonstrate value to their peers. Jason discovered that finding and supporting these early adopters accelerates organization-wide acceptance.

These ambassadors don’t just help with training. They provide social proof that the technology works in real-world conditions. When a foreman tells another foreman that they actually like the new safety app, that endorsement carries more weight than any corporate communication.

The Organic Growth Effect

Something unexpected happened as Utilitra’s field workers became comfortable with KPA Flex: they started finding new uses for it on their own. Fire extinguisher inspections. AED checks. Quality documentation for client visits.

This organic demand is the ultimate sign of successful technology adoption. Instead of pushing employees to use the system, safety teams find themselves responding to requests for expanded functionality. Word travels fast when tools actually solve real problems.

Jason even received unsolicited positive feedback from managers across divisions—something he admits doesn’t usually happen with safety technology rollouts. One foreman called him, excited about being able to pull up job safety analysis documentation instantly when a client superintendent stopped by the site.

Creating the Feedback Loop

The key to sustaining adoption isn’t just launching successfully—it’s staying responsive to user needs. When something didn’t work right at Utilitra, the safety team addressed it immediately.

What This Means for Your Software Selection

If you’re evaluating safety software—or struggling with adoption of a current platform—consider shifting your perspective. Your field workers aren’t just users of your safety system. They’re the source of the data that makes your entire program work.

Ask yourself: Can a foreman pick up this mobile app and start using it without training? Would your field supervisors actually choose to use this tool if they weren’t required to? Does the platform make their jobs easier, or does it feel like one more administrative burden?

The answers to these questions will predict your adoption rates far more accurately than any feature comparison spreadsheet.