Environment, health & safety (EHS) and sustainability falls under the governance, risk and Compliance (GRC) umbrella. With a multitude of internal and external obligations, EHS management carries many types of risk. Using software to automate general EHS business processes such as incident management, action item tracking and audits, as well as specific regulatory business processes, can help companies to manage enterprise risk.

Companies seeking EHS software have a choice of thousands of applications ranging from focused “point” to mid-market to enterprise-wide solutions that support global operations. Can you tell the difference between marketing hype and software capabilities? When selecting software, should you consider only the market leaders, or only those applications that everyone else uses? The answer may surprise you.

“People choose not on the basis of what’s most important, but on what’s easiest to evaluate.”

The paradox of choice says that the more options available, the more difficult it is to make a choice. While “software selection made simple” is unrealistic, companies should take an objective, balanced approach to make the process easier. Companies that do not have resources with the right skills to facilitate software evaluation and selection should hire a professional with these skills.

Commercial software has its benefits, among them, standardized solutions, use of the latest technologies, plus vendor-provided maintenance and support. Internally built software provides benefits such as custom features and functionality. Software development is not a core business in most companies, and is only part of the big picture. Internally built software requires an internal hardware infrastructure plus ongoing software enhancements, maintenance and support. 

Software development is risky and has hidden costs. Rather than building software internally, many companies elect to use commercial software. Then, they adapt it and integrate data from other systems to meet their needs—resulting in a hybrid solution.

“Get an objective assessment before making a 'build or buy' decision."

Whether the client has one software package in mind or wishes to evaluate several packages; whether replacing legacy systems or starting fresh, our understanding of business, EHS and IT issues plus proven methods enables Lexicon Systems to deliver objective software evaluation and selection services. Our EHS software market knowledge and executive-level contacts enhance and ease the process.

case studies

software evaluation and selection, midstream energy company

A midstream energy company that projected significant growth had an internally-developed environmental software application that had reached the end of its useful life. The company needed to evaluate whether to rebuild the software using up-to-date technology, or whether commercially-available, enterprise EHS software made a better case. Lexicon used the Business Requirements Document prepared earlier to enable an objective software evaluation and selection process. We introduced the client to leading enterprise EHS software vendors whose products could best meet the needs. Lexicon also evaluated the internally-developed software and other legacy systems for gaps in covering the company’s needs. We developed a business case and the client determined that commercial software was a better option than rebuilding its internal software. They selected one of the commercial EHS applications.

software evaluation and selection, refining and chemicals conglomerate

Lexicon Systems helped the clients to develop software evaluation criteria before starting the evaluation, focusing on the most critical needs. We arrived at a “short list” of software vendors that could meet the greater part of the requirements. Lexicon arranged for software demos and prepared a Request for Proposal to send to the finalists. Based upon a set of objective evaluation criteria that extended beyond software features and cost, the client selected an enterprise EHS software application.

software evaluation and selection, upstream energy company

An upstream energy company needed a third party to facilitate software evaluation and selection. Lexicon teamed IT, operations and EHS stakeholders to develop software evaluation criteria and prepared a “short list” of leading enterprise and mid-market EHS software solutions. We arranged a software demos and a prepared a Request for Proposal. The clients selected commercial software that fit their business needs and IT needs, as well as their company culture.

software evaluation and selection, vertically integrated oil company

An oil company utilized an EHS software solution in one of its business lines for several years. This software was customized and costly to update. The company needed robust EHS and crisis management features, which could require multiple software packages. They wished to select and implement enterprise EHS software company-wide. After developing a business requirements document, Lexicon Systems facilitated EHS software evaluation and selection. Working with stakeholders from all of the lines of business, we brought in three leading enterprise EHS vendors and two leading HS vendors. We also developed a Request for Proposal to issue to the finalists and teamed with the client to evaluate the proposals.