4 Health and Safety apps to support your personal development

Gone are the days of carrying round huge text and reference books during study time or learning on the job. This was never practical, particularly in a construction environment, books aren't water or mud proof! Now you can even ditch the clipboard and have everything you need to organise your life on your pocket sized smartphone (waterproof case optional). Apps aren't just about crushing candy and angry birds, they can be really useful in the work environment too.

The great thing about having health and safety apps to hand on your phone is that administration tasks that traditionally would have needed a day behind a desk, detached from the site environment, can now be carried out anywhere and everywhere.

We've had a look at current trends to find you the best Health and Safety apps, and this is what we found:

The British Red Cross First Aid app

Cost: Free

The Red Cross free First Aid app could be a life saver in an emergency situation. Not only does the app help you to learn about First Aid techniques in general, it can also be used to ascertain the best course of treatment in an emergency before the paramedics arrive. It contains advice for scenarios like choking, asthma attacks and broken bones. A great app to browse through during a break or a commute too so that you can familiarise yourself before a test.

The Official CITB Test app

Cost: Free or upgrade for £3.99 or £5.99 for full features

The clue is in the title for this app. It's the perfect companion for you if you're going to embark on a CITB Training course or refresher course. You can run through some quick tests in the free version, or take full tests and track your learner progress in the full version. You can also find details such as your nearest test centre and store a reminder for your training and test dates.

SME Safety Wizard

Cost: Free

SME Safety Wizard is an official app produced by the Health and Safety Executive. It's a quick staged question approach to help small businesses work out their responsibilities and best course of action to create a safe and legal working environment. It's great for guidance about how to ensure the wellbeing of different types of workers such as shift workers and expectant mothers.

The app hit the top ten downloaded business apps in February 2015 so it already comes with a seal of approval from the SME industry.

iRisk Assess Lite

Cost: Free or upgrade to full for £2.99

A great tool to support on-site risk assessment. The database of hazards and associated control measures allows quick and accurate risk assessment creation on the spot. The app will help to ascertain the level of risk and whether it is safe to work in the described environment.

In the full versions risk assessments can be saved and re-visited, and can also be saved as a template if the company has to regularly carry out the same assessment for various different members of staff.

With these apps you'll be all set to be safe on site but make sure you also have the necessary qualifications too. If you'd like to know more about compulsory requirements for certain industries such as Asbestos Removal, call our bookings and enquiries team today for advice on 0330 223 2121.