Editorial log — The QHSE Standard

New template: root cause analysis worksheet, the analysis step after an incident report or NCR

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

Added a root cause analysis worksheet for the analysis step of one incident, near miss or nonconformance. It starts from the hand-off of the incident report or nonconformance report and leaves that first account unchanged: an evidence log with each item marked fact, witness account or assumption, a timeline with what was different from normal, a why-chain in which every answer cites its evidence and is confirmed, rejected or left open, a fishbone with six categories, causal factors kept apart from root causes, a management system check under HSG245's seven headings, and corrective and preventive actions that close only on an effectiveness check. It is a four-page PDF and an Excel action tracker under the same CC BY 4.0 licence, and the templates page, the finder and the ZIP now hold 49 templates. Sources were opened on 22 October 2026: HSE's HSG245, OSHA's incident investigation page and guide for employers, the OSHA and EPA root cause fact sheet, DOE-NE-STD-1004-92, the CCOHS fact sheet, the CSB's recommendations FAQ, 29 CFR 1910.119(m) and regulation 5 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. TapRooT and ICAM are named only and nothing from either is reproduced; the form reproduces no ISO text, the worked example is invented, and a completed worksheet is not presented as meeting a law or a standard. The root cause analysis techniques article, the root cause analysis and incident investigation software guides, the 5 Whys and fishbone definitions and the incident report and nonconformance report templates now link to it.

Contractor prequalification fees: six new answers and a decision guide

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

The article comparing contractor prequalification schemes and their fees has six new answers on ISNetworld and Avetta, read at the vendors' own pages on 22 October 2026. ISNetworld publishes no tier table or named price levels: its yearly and one-time setup fees follow the three-year average of the whole workforce and the countries worked in, and it publishes no amount for any company size, so the only range quoted is a 2019 broker estimate, labelled as such. Avetta publishes no amount per client connection; its supplier agreement, last updated on 1 October 2026, adds a charge for each new connection, which runs for at least a year, and a yearly charge per seat for its worker products, and the answer on renewals sets out what can raise either vendor's invoice. /vs/isnetworld-vs-avetta now has a decision guide checked the same day: who pays, the contractor fee basis, the cost of another hiring client, workers and users, what is verified, published review times, renewal and leaving, and which clients use each, with three demo tasks. It names no winner and gives fee bases, not amounts; with the guide in place the page is open to search engines and appears in site search. The Avetta vs ISNetworld answer and the background reading on the ISNetworld, Avetta and ComplyWorks comparison and alternatives pages now link the fees article, which lists what could not be verified.

Price on record at the top of every profile, and pricing index rows with their own links, categories and dates

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

Each of the 212 software profiles now has a price-on-record line under its introduction, taken from the profile record alone: the pricing basis the record states, the first amount where the pricing index counts the record's amount as published (or a pointer to the caveats where the record qualifies its amounts), otherwise the index's own status (an amount on record not verified as current, a free plan with no paid amount published, or no amount published), and the date of the record's separate pricing check or, without one, of its source check, labelled as which. It links to the profile's pricing section, follows one rule for every profile and never calls a price verified, and the pricing section now ends with the same five next steps on every profile: the pricing guide, the RFP template, the software ROI calculator, the article on prices in public contracts and the pricing index. On the pricing index, each row links our price table for the product where that page is indexed; the rows that showed no category take the catalogue's category, as the 2026 report already did; and each row keeps its record's dates apart instead of showing one check date: the date the pricing text gives for reading the vendor's page, where it gives one, a separate pricing check, where one is recorded, and the check of all the profile's sources, which may not have re-read the pricing page. No amount was added or changed.

ESG platforms guide: a dated section for mid-size companies after the Omnibus

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

The ESG platform comparison has a new section for companies of roughly 250 to 1,000 employees, checked on 22 October 2026 against EUR-Lex, the European Commission, EFRAG, the IFRS Foundation, the TNFD and ESMA. Under Directive (EU) 2026/470 a company keeps its own CSRD report only above both 1,000 employees and €450 million net turnover. Below either line, the section sets out the voluntary standard in Annex I of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1560, which is in force and whose recitals treat the 2025 Recommendation as without legal effect, and the cap on what a company may require, for its own CSRD report, from value-chain partners of up to 1,000 employees, which applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027 and turns on headcount alone. It notes that EFRAG's free template was built and tested for companies under 250 employees, with an update scheduled for Q4 2026, lists seven things to test in an ESG reporting tool, and adds dated notes on the ISSB's nature-related exposure draft (comments until 19 February 2027), the TNFD's updated recommendations and LEAP v2.0 (15 October 2026) and ESMA's 2026 enforcement priorities (13 October 2026). No product is named or recommended for a company size, and the section ends with what could not be verified.

Dated regulatory sections: IED 2.0 environmental management systems, EPA GHGRP and TSCA PFAS reporting, UK ESOS phase 4

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

Three new dated sections, each read at its primary source on 22 October 2026. The ISO 14001 guide maps Article 14a of the revised Industrial Emissions Directive (EMS and first audit by 1 July 2027) to the records a tool should hold. It also sets out the Environmental Omnibus proposal and the Council's mandate, which would move the date to 1 July 2030; neither is adopted. The USA guide gives the GHGRP reporting-year 2025 deadline of 10 March 2027 (interim final rule) and the TSCA PFAS submission window, which opens by 31 January 2027 at the latest. The energy management guide covers ESOS phase 4: qualification on 31 December 2026, the phase 3 progress update due 5 December 2026 and notification by 5 December 2027. Six matching rows were added to the compliance calendar.

Next steps from comparisons and alternatives, and library pages that link both ways

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

A /vs/ comparison whose two products both have a researched profile now follows its demo tasks with three next steps: the demo checklist's scorecard filled in with both products, each product's alternatives page for when neither fits, and each product's pricing page or pricing section before the quote. Each alternatives page lets you tick up to two of the products it lists and take them, with the product you started from, into the demo checklist; none is ticked in advance. Every link comes from the pair, the page's published matching rule and the URL policy, not from a choice by hand, and nothing is ranked; comparison and alternatives pages that involve the commercial partner keep their earlier layout. Glossary terms, templates and calculators now link each other in both directions: a library page shows a short line of the terms, templates and calculators that link to it and that it does not already link. The TRIR, carbon footprint, incident cost, compliance fines and process capability calculators show the same line, and the calculators hub lists the templates to use with each calculator.

New calculator: process capability, Cp and Cpk next to Pp and Ppk

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

Paste measurements in time order with a subgroup size, or type a mean with a within-subgroup standard deviation, an overall one or both, and give one or both specification limits. The calculator gives Cp, Cpu, Cpl and Cpk from the within-subgroup estimate (average moving range ÷ 1.128, average range ÷ d2, average standard deviation ÷ c4 or the pooled standard deviation) and Pp, Ppu, Ppl and Ppk from the overall standard deviation, with the fraction a normal distribution would place beyond each limit and, from 25 values, the NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook's approximate interval for Ppk. With pasted values it screens for points beyond control limits computed from the same data, and it states the assumptions (a stable process, a normal distribution, enough data) without a pass mark; the glossary's Cpk criteria are cited as conventions. The tests reproduce the handbook's capability example (Cp 1.0, Cpk 0.6667), its rejects table and its flow-rate individuals chart (limits 45.8159 and 55.8041). Sources were opened on 22 October 2026; the handbook sections read do not define Pp, Ppk or the pooled standard deviation, which come from a 2026 review, and the page lists what could not be verified. The result is an estimate, not an assessment of the process by a competent person, and nothing you enter is stored or sent.

New calculator: daily noise exposure, EU and GB LEX,8h next to the OSHA dose and TWA

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

Enter up to 12 tasks with their A-weighted level and duration, and an optional C-weighted peak. The calculator gives the daily exposure LEX,8h (LEP,d in Great Britain) with the multi-period formula in Schedule 1 to the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, compared with the 80 and 85 dB(A) action values and the 87 dB(A) limit value, which applies after hearing protection is taken into account. Next to it are the OSHA noise dose and 8-hour TWA under 29 CFR 1910.95: the action-level dose counts levels from 80 dBA and the PEL dose from 90 dBA, and the PEL is judged on the dose. The page opens on the machine-shop day worked in the OSHA Technical Manual (dose 87.5%, TWA 89.0 dBA, LEX,8h 90.8 dB(A)) and has a 3 dB against 5 dB table. Sources were opened on 22 October 2026; HSE's worked examples, which are in PDF and spreadsheet files, were not, and the page lists what could not be verified. The result is an estimate, not a measurement, and nothing you enter is stored or sent.

New calculator: hand-arm vibration A(8) and exposure points

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

Enter up to 10 tools with their vibration magnitude and trigger time, or start a tool from HSE's typical value for its type (40 tool types). The calculator gives each tool's partial exposure and the daily A(8) with the formula in Schedule 1 to the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, compares A(8) with the 2.5 m/s² action value and the 5 m/s² limit value in the wording of those Regulations and of Directive 2002/44/EC, and shows exposure points and the time each tool takes to reach each value. The points formula, 100 × (A(8) ÷ 2.5)², is our derivation from HSE's 100- and 400-point values and matches HSE's points-per-hour table exactly at 5, 10 and 15 m/s². An optional section gives the whole-body A(8) against 0.5 and 1.15 m/s². Sources were opened on 22 October 2026; HSE's guidance books and spreadsheet were not, and the page lists what could not be verified. A typical value is not a measurement of your tool, and nothing you enter is stored or sent.

New calculator: the NIOSH lifting equation, RWL and Lifting Index

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

Enter the load, hand positions, asymmetry angle, travel distance, frequency, duration and coupling of one two-handed lift, in kg and cm or lb and in. The calculator shows all six multipliers, the Recommended Weight Limit and the Lifting Index at the origin and, where the lift needs significant control there, at the destination, with the formulas, tables and rounding of NIOSH's Applications Manual and the 2021 recovery factor for short-duration lifting. It reads the Lifting Index only as NIOSH does (1.0 or below is what NIOSH recommends) and lists the tasks the equation does not cover. The 2021 manual could not be read, so the tables come from the 1994 edition, which NIOSH's record of the revision says has the same formulas, multipliers and limitations apart from that factor; the page lists the printed values that differ from the formulas. Sources were opened on 22 October 2026. The result is an estimate, not an assessment by a competent person, and nothing you enter is stored or sent.

Four new glossary terms: statistical process control, process capability, calibration, measurement system analysis

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

Each term has a page of its own with a worked hypothetical example, three FAQs and the limits of its sources. The SPC and process capability pages rest on the NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods; the calibration page on the International Vocabulary of Metrology, NIST's traceability policy, the eCFR text of 21 CFR part 820 and ILAC's guidance list; the measurement system analysis page on the handbook's gauge study and bias sections and the same vocabulary. The paid texts (ISO 11462-1, ISO 22514, ISO 9001, ISO 13485, IATF 16949 and the AIAG manuals) were not read; the pages say so and end their main section with what could not be verified. Sources were opened on 22 October 2026, and each page links the new process capability calculator. The glossary now lists 151 terms.

Calculators: no email form, print, CSV and result links on nine tools, LTIFR on its own base and a method section

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

The incident-cost, TRIR/LTIFR/DART, carbon footprint and ISO 45001 readiness tools no longer ask for an email address to send a PDF. They and the noise, hand-arm vibration, NIOSH lifting, process capability and compliance fine calculators now give the same three outputs: print or save as PDF, a CSV that repeats the inputs, assumptions, sources and results, and a link to the result with a one-line citation. A link carries numbers only: on the incident-cost and compliance fine tools it stays off until you tick a box, and from pasted measurements the process capability link carries their mean, standard deviations and count, not the values. Nothing you enter is stored or sent, and the copy button sends only the existing template_copied event. The TRIR calculator had labelled the lost-time rate per 200,000 hours as LTIFR; it now shows LTIR per 200,000 hours, the OSHA and BLS base, beside LTIFR per 1,000,000 hours, the base IOGP's safety data guide uses for LTIF. The ISO 45001 readiness tool and its widget name the edition as ISO 45001:2018 with Amendment 1:2024, as ISO's catalogue listed it on 22 October 2026. The calculators hub sorts all ten tools in two decision trees and says how the calculators are made and checked, and each calculator's structured data names its sources with the dates they were opened.

Search: the directory reads a query word by word, and Ctrl/Cmd+K finds templates, definitions and pricing pages

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

A search typed on the home page or in the software directory needed the whole phrase in a product's record, so 'ehs software' found one product, 'qhse software' none, and a request for a template ended at 'No software matches your filters'. The directory now reads the query word by word: words that only name the kind of page (software, app, tools, best, free, template), price words and question words are left out, and every remaining word must match; a query that is a product's exact name or earlier name still finds it as before. A price word puts the named product's pricing link above the results, next to the guide to comparing complete quotes. When a query asks for a template, a definition or a calculator, or no product matches, the directory lists the matching pages from the rest of the site and a button that opens the whole-site search with the query filled in. That search (Ctrl/Cmd+K, or the magnifier in the header) now also covers the 48 template pages, the 124 glossary terms with a page of their own and the 40 published-price pages, labels each result by kind (Template, Definition, Calculator, Pricing) and no longer needs words such as 'what is'. The order of the products is the directory's own and is not a ranking. On phones, the bottom tab for the directory is now called Directory instead of Search.

Reader reviews are no longer collected, and the editor-check line says what is logged

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

Every software profile carried a form inviting star-rated reader reviews, although none was shown and the form asked nothing about the reviewer's relationship to the vendor. The form, the empty reader-review list and the Reviews entry in the profile menu and section bar have been removed; each profile's reviews section now says that the site does not currently collect reader reviews, and profiles show no reader review or reader rating. Reviews submitted earlier stay in the database; none was deleted. The methodology and about pages say so, and on them and on the editor and author pages the line on editorial checks, which said the editor checks selected pages, now says that each check is logged with its date and that none has been logged yet. The editor page no longer lists a terms page, which the site does not have. The privacy policy was updated the same day.

Greek guide: the safety technician's book of recommendations is now kept electronically

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

The Greek-language guide to QHSE software in Greece said on 27 September that the special book of recommendations of the safety technician and the occupational physician was still kept as before, until a ministerial decision. Decision 25548/2026 (Government Gazette B' 5833/28.09.2026) applies from its publication, and the Labour Inspectorate opened the e-service on 29 September 2026. The page now describes the book as the decision sets it out: one per establishment or ship, kept separately by the technician and the physician, each entry timestamped and neither edited nor deleted once submitted, and the employer notified and acknowledging it electronically. It says that neither the decision nor the Inspectorate's pages say what happens to paper books already kept, that we did not sign in to the service, and that a private system does not submit to the official book; a demonstration step now asks a vendor to take a recommendation by its ID in the official system into an internal action. The decision and the Inspectorate's pages were read on 22 October 2026; the page's other legal texts keep their 27 September reading.

Atom feeds for the editorial log and the blog

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

Two Atom 1.0 feeds now carry the site's dated changes: /updates.xml lists every entry of this log, newest first, and /blog.xml every published article that the sitemap lists. Each feed entry links to a page the sitemap lists, and an entry without a page of its own links to this log. The dates come from the log and the articles, never from the build, so an unchanged log gives an identical feed. Every page names both feeds in its head, so a feed reader or a search engine can find them from any page; Bing Webmaster Tools accepts Atom files as sitemaps. Each feed's subtitle repeats the commercial-partner disclosure.

MCP server 0.2.0 and API 1.2.0: page links, citation lines and keyword search

2026-10-22T00:00:00Z

The read-only MCP server for AI assistants now answers a search with short summaries: three results take about 3.5 KB, where a live call on 22 October returned 125,721 bytes without a page link. Every software result carries its profile URL, the date its vendor sources were checked and a citation line, get_software keeps the whole record behind detail 'full', list_blog_posts pages with offset and total, and the three life-safety posts kept out of search until a credentialed review are no longer listed or served. The public API's search no longer asks a language model to order products: it applies the same keyword rule, name matches first and then A to Z, and is not a ranking. The glossary endpoint returns each term's scope and page and, where they are recorded, its sources and the date they were checked, and the API states its data licence as CC BY 4.0. llms.txt now words the pricing index as the index does (78 of 212 have a current price amount on record, not always an entry price), lists the 40 published-price pages with their check dates and names the MCP endpoint.

Five new templates: ISO 9001:2026 transition, medical device complaints, emergency action plan, lone working and psychosocial risk

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

Added an ISO 9001:2026 transition gap checklist (one row per topic that Global ACI, UKAS, ISO or ISO/TC 176 says changed, with columns for your current state, gap, action, owner, due date and evidence, the Global ACI and UKAS transition dates and questions for your certification body), a medical device complaint and CAPA record (one complaint from intake to closure, with a US and EU reportability check that prints only the periods stated in 21 CFR Parts 803 and 806 and MDR Articles 87 and 89), an emergency action plan for one site (sections on the six minimum elements of 29 CFR 1910.38, cross-referenced to the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Fire Safety Order 2005), a lone working risk assessment (hazards with nobody nearby, a check-in plan and six steps for a missed check-in) and a psychosocial risk assessment for one work group (the six HSE Management Standards areas and the further hazards in WorkSafe Victoria’s Compliance Code, with no names or health data). Each is a PDF and an Excel file with sources opened on 21 October 2026; for the psychosocial form, Safe Work Australia’s pages could not be opened that day. The checklist reproduces no ISO text, the two risk assessments leave the risk scale to you, the plan and the lone working form set no times or intervals, and none is presented as meeting a law or a standard.

Three new templates: stop work authority, ISO 45001 internal audit and waste register

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

Added a stop work authority policy and event record (a one-page policy to sign and post: anyone may stop work, contractors and visitors included, with no reprisal even when a good-faith stop finds nothing, and a named person authorises the restart on stated evidence), an ISO 45001 internal audit checklist (the 80 questions of our checklist guide, each with its clause, the evidence to look for and five results, counted by clause in the Excel file) and a waste register and transfer record (one line per load with its List of Wastes code, carrier and destination numbers, R or D code and note reference). Each is a PDF and an Excel file with sources opened on 21 October 2026. The policy sets no time limits, the checklist reproduces no ISO text, and none is presented as meeting a law or a standard.

Templates licensed CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

All 48 templates, as PDF, as Excel and in the ZIP, are now licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), the licence the datasets already use. Anyone may copy, adapt and share them, also commercially, if they credit QHSEtech (with a link to the template's page where reasonably practicable), link to the licence and say if they changed it, without suggesting that QHSEtech endorses them. Every PDF page carries one licence line in its footer, each workbook has a Licence and source row on its About sheet, the ZIP README states the licence and the credit format, and each template page has a credit line and an HTML snippet with a copy button (it sends the existing template_copied event, with no copied text). The fields, layout and page counts of the forms did not change. The licence is for the templates, and they remain general forms, not legal advice.

New template: a HACCP plan worksheet

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

Added a HACCP plan worksheet for one product or a group of similar products: scope and the prerequisite programmes the plan relies on, the HACCP team, the product description, intended use and consumers, a flow diagram checked on site, a hazard analysis for biological, chemical, physical and allergen hazards, the decisions on critical control points, critical limits with their source and validation, monitoring, corrective actions, a verification and validation schedule, records, review triggers and sign-off. It is a PDF and an Excel file under the same CC BY 4.0 licence, with sources opened on 21 October 2026: Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 in the EU and in Great Britain, Commission Notice 2022/C 355/01, the NACMCF guidelines published by FDA, 21 CFR part 117 and the GOV.UK guide to food safety management systems; the Codex text (CXC 1-1969) was not opened. The form prints no critical limit, scale, frequency or retention period, and it is not presented as meeting a food law.

QHSE software acquisitions, mergers and renames: a dated register

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

A new register of 72 ownership and name events, from 2009 to the Normative and Greenly merger announced in September 2026; 71 of them touch 56 of the 212 researched profiles. Each was read on 21 October 2026 at the acquirer’s, seller’s or vendor’s own page, a company register or the old web address. It maps 45 former names to current ones, sets out questions to ask a vendor after a change of owner, dates what could not be verified and comes with a CSV file; deal terms are not recorded. The 2026 report’s name and owner list now links to it. Eight profiles whose records miss an event or a date, or cite a page that no longer opens, were flagged for re-check; no record was changed.

QHSE glossary: term pages listed by name and subject

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The glossary hub now lists the 120 terms that have a page of their own by name, first under each letter, each linked to its page and labelled with its subject in the QHSE library; their definition, scope note and examples are on the term page instead of being printed twice. The 27 terms without a page keep their full entry on the hub, a short note explains the layout, and the search still looks through the definitions, scope notes and examples of all 147 terms. No definition was changed.

For vendors: how a profile is built, how to correct it and how to cite it

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The List your software page now explains, beside the submission form, what a researched profile records and what its check date means, how to request a correction with a primary source and which evidence can be used, and how to copy a plain HTML link or a text citation to a profile with its own check date. A link changes nothing in a profile or in any list order, and nothing is offered for one: no badge, rating, placement or payment. The page opens with the editor’s disclosure and, as a utility page for vendors, stays out of search results.

CBAM guide: the UK scheme from 2027, 2026 certificate prices and the downstream proposal

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The CBAM software guide now has a section on the UK’s own CBAM, which starts on 1 January 2027: its five sectors, the importer’s liability, the £50,000 value threshold and its two tests, records kept from 1 January 2027, the first return and payment by 31 May 2028, how it differs from the EU scheme and what HMRC has still to finalise, with questions to put to a tool. It also lists the Commission’s certificate prices for the first three quarters of 2026, a dated box of 2027 deadlines and a ‘proposed, not adopted’ box giving the stage of COM(2025) 989 on 21 October 2026.

EUDR guide: Delegated Regulation 2026/2102 and what changes on 30 December 2026

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The EUDR software guide now names Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2102 and the products it adds to or narrows in scope, which are covered from 30 December 2027, and has a dated box on what applies from 30 December 2026: who starts on that date, the due diligence statement and reference-number flow, and the later date for micro and small operators. The FAQs and the EU Green Deal overview were re-dated against the Commission’s pages read on 21 October 2026.

CSRD guide: Germany and the national transposition of Directive 2026/470

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The CSRD software comparison now has a dated section on Germany, where the bill transposing the CSRD (which a coalition amendment would extend to Directive (EU) 2026/470) was still in committee in the Bundestag on 21 October 2026, with what that means for reporting timelines and questions for a German buyer, and a dated count of the national measures notified on EUR-Lex for Directive (EU) 2026/470, whose deadline is 19 March 2027. The old German ESG reporting shortlist URL now leads to this guide.

Compliance calendar 2026–2027: dated milestones with their sources

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The compliance calendar now opens with a table of dated regulatory and standards milestones from November 2026 to December 2027, each with what the source states, its status (applicable, adopted, proposed or expected), who it applies to, the record or software check it implies and the date it was read. The monthly internal planning prompts remain, labelled as an illustrative planning rhythm.

Energy management guide: Article 11 of the Energy Efficiency Directive

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The energy management software guide now explains Article 11 of Directive (EU) 2023/1791: a certified energy management system above 85 TJ a year by 11 October 2027, an energy audit above 10 TJ by 11 October 2026 and then at least every four years, how consumption is counted, the exemptions, the records a tool should hold and questions to ask a vendor, with the national laws that apply it and a pending annulment case noted.

Contractor prequalification schemes and fees compared

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

A new article on who pays for ISNetworld, Avetta, SafeContractor, ComplyWorks and the UK SSIP schemes, what each contractor fee depends on, the amounts published on 21 October 2026, what each scheme checks, how SSIP deem to satisfy and Build UK's Common Assessment Standard work, the withdrawal of PAS 91, and why no law we read makes membership compulsory.

Free QHSE tools from regulators and public bodies

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

A new article on 19 free tools from EU-OSHA, Ireland’s HSA, HSE, NIOSH, OSHA, CCOHS and WorkSafe New Zealand, each opened on 21 October 2026: what it produces, where the work is kept and where the free version stops, with the number of researched vendor profiles that record a free plan. Safe Work Australia’s tool pages could not be retrieved that day.

What public contracts show about QHSE software prices

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

For the 40 most-searched products with no price on record, chosen by a published rule, we searched UK, EU and US procurement records. 17 products have at least one record we could read and tie to the product: 11 G-Cloud price documents from five vendors and 32 contract award notices or federal orders, shown as published, with what each can and cannot tell a buyer. No price per user was derived from any total. The records are also a CSV file.

SAP EHS after 2027: what the maintenance dates mean

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

A new article on what SAP has published about maintenance for SAP ERP 6.0 (mainstream to the end of 2027, optional extended maintenance to the end of 2030) and SAP S/4HANA, where the EHS functions sit today, the three paths an EHS team has, the records to plan for and the questions to ask SAP, a partner or a specialist vendor.

Psychosocial risk: what the law requires, by jurisdiction

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The psychosocial risk guide now has a dated table of what each instrument requires and whether it is law or guidance: Victoria’s psychological health regulations in force since 1 December 2025, the model WHS Regulations and the jurisdictions that adopted them, Great Britain’s risk assessment duty and HSE’s Management Standards, the EU framework directive and the Parliament’s October 2026 request for a proposal, and ISO 45003 as a voluntary guideline.

Leaving a QHSE system: data export and the EU Data Act switching rules

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

A new article on what has to leave an old QHSE system, how long the records must be kept, what the EU Data Act asks of a cloud provider when a customer switches, with switching charges ending on 12 January 2027, and what the 212 vendor profiles record about exit, deletion and data processing agreements. It is linked from the alternatives pages and the pricing guide’s exit costs.

Per-profile CSV files for four studies, and price wording that matches the records

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The AI statements, hosting and data location, language support, and security and trial studies now each offer a per-profile CSV next to their category summary, with the record wording or source behind every flag and a note that ‘not stated’ does not mean ‘lacks’. The pricing index and its widget now speak of a current price amount on record rather than a verified entry price, and each widget embed code carries a source link and the CC BY 4.0 licence.

ISO 45001 revision: the dated status in one place

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The ISO 45001 glossary entry now holds the revision status as read on ISO's own pages on 21 October 2026. ISO 45001:2018 with Amendment 1:2024 is still the published edition. Its revision, ISO/DIS 45001, reached close of voting on the draft (stage 40.60) on 9 September 2026, and ISO's record showed no ballot result yet; ISO plans the new edition as ISO 45001:2027, and no transition period for certificates has started. The certification finder and the ISO management software guide now point to that entry instead of repeating the status.

Contractor management guide: what the law asks in Australia and at mines

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The contractor management guide has a new section on the duty of the business that hires contractors, with the records software has to hold for it, written from legislation opened on 21 October 2026: the primary duty and the duty to consult, cooperate and coordinate under the model WHS laws, read in the Commonwealth Act (Victoria applies its own OHS Act 2004), the contractor steps in Queensland's two mining safety Acts as a worked example of state mining law, and MSHA's independent contractor register for US mines (30 CFR Part 45). It paraphrases the law and is not legal advice; Canada and the EU are not covered.

UK digital waste tracking in the waste management guide

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

Since 1 October 2026 a permitted or licensed site in England or Wales that receives controlled waste must report every load to Defra's digital service, by the end of the second working day after it arrives under the England regulations. The waste management software guide now sets out who reports and from when (receiving sites in Scotland and Northern Ireland from 1 January 2027 on GOV.UK's dates; carriers, brokers and dealers planned for October 2027), what each entry holds, the two ways to report, and what to ask a vendor about Defra's list of tested software. Paper transfer and consignment notes continue. Sources: GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk, opened on 21 October 2026.

Dated facts read again: the EU OSH framework, California SB 253 and the AI Act

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

Three guides were corrected after their dated items were read again on 21 October 2026. The EU OSH framework page now records the European Parliament's resolution of 6 October 2026 asking the Commission, after an impact assessment, for minimum requirements on psychosocial risks (a request, not law), EU-OSHA's campaign launch on 13 October and a committee hearing on a framework for after 2027. The construction fleet emissions guide gives 10 November 2026 as the first SB 253 deadline for Scope 1 and 2 reports, under CARB's regulation in effect since 12 October 2026. The AI guide dates the high-risk duties for AI that allocates or monitors work from 2 December 2027, as moved by the AI Omnibus amendment.

Construction EHS: questions for tier-1 and joint-venture projects

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The construction procurement guide now carries the EHS name in its title and has a section for tier-1 and joint-venture projects: who owns a joint venture's records, how subcontractor workers, who are not in the HR system, get and lose their accounts, and capturing reports in the crew's languages, with the British duties to give outside workers comprehensible information. The EHS software guide gained three construction checks for any demo: a subcontractor's worker reports a hazard, a method changes after the briefing, and a project closes with open actions. Neither page names a construction winner.

Is an HSE policy different from an EHS policy?

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The EHS, HSE and QHSE explainer now answers this: the two labels name the same kind of document, and what differs is whether it also covers the environment, and quality. In Great Britain, section 2(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires a written statement of health and safety policy, with an exception for employers with fewer than five employees, and that duty does not cover the environment. A combined policy works only if it meets each ISO standard you certify to. Sources read on 21 October 2026.

What we could not verify, at the end of 28 articles

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

Twenty-eight articles now end with a section dated 21 October 2026 that sets out what we could not check, such as a source we could not open or read in full, a figure or example that is our own illustration, or a step we did not test. Where reading the sources again showed a sentence going further than its source, the sentence was corrected.

The answers hub and the pricing FAQ rewritten from the profile records

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

On 21 October 2026 an AI review compared every answer on /answers with the current profile records and the site's listing rules. The shortlist and price answers no longer name products: they point to the rule-based lists and the pricing index, and the cost and free-plan answers give counts from the records (78 of the 212 researched profiles publish an entry price; 19 document a free plan, tier or edition, counted record by record). The pricing guide's free-plan answer now gives the same count instead of naming three products.

A free library block on the homepage, and Templates in the main menu

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The homepage has a 'Free QHSE library' block: how many templates (with the ZIP of all of them), term pages, calculators and data pages the site publishes, each figure read from the site's data rather than typed in, links into the library by subject area, and the three latest entries of this log. A question on the templates was added to the homepage FAQ, and the main menu now links the templates page next to the library; before, only the footer did. The block names no product or vendor.

llms.txt now lists the library: guides by subject, templates and calculators

2026-10-21T00:00:00Z

The llms.txt and llms-full.txt files for AI assistants now list the QHSE library hubs, the library's guides grouped by subject, every template page with the address pattern of its PDF and Excel files and the ZIP, and the calculators. The lists are built from the site's data, with the guides, templates and calculators A to Z within each group; they are not rankings.

The ESG and oil and gas packs rebuilt as eight full templates

2026-10-20T00:00:00Z

The materiality assessment, Scope 3 supplier data request, ESRS disclosure checklist, greenhouse gas inventory, pre-startup safety review, process hazard analysis, LOPA worksheet and hot work permit now have their own pages with a field-by-field guide, a worked example and sources opened that day, and download directly with no email. Errors found in the old files were corrected: the ESG pack counted 13 ESRS topics where the standards have 10, the greenhouse gas workbook left Scope 3 out of both grand totals and set the market-based factor to zero, and the LOPA and hot work worksheets printed values that no source supports. The ESRS checklist lists both the 2023 numbering and the July 2026 amendment. Templates that were on editorial hold are published again.

Template pages show the form, and link to the rest of their stage

2026-10-20T00:00:00Z

Every template page now shows a preview of the first page of the PDF, the cards on the templates page carry the same thumbnail, a PDF and Excel row sits at the top of the page on a phone, and each page links the other templates of its stage. The previews are rendered from the PDFs people download.

The eight original templates rebuilt, and three construction templates added

2026-10-20T00:00:00Z

The job safety analysis, incident report, safety audit checklist, management of change, risk assessment matrix, toolbox talk, permit to work and SDS summary templates were rebuilt to the same standard as the newer ones: every part of the old form was kept, fields and a worked example were added, and every source was opened again that day. Claims that could not be re-checked were removed, among them the printed gas limits on the permit, the pictogram table on the SDS summary and the OSHA Form 301 wording on the incident report. A task method statement, a scaffold inspection record and a plant pre-start check replace the empty Construction Safety Pack files. Each template has a PDF and an Excel file.

Every template is now a direct download, with a finder

2026-10-20T00:00:00Z

The eight original templates no longer ask for an email address: all 28 templates with their own page download as a PDF and an Excel file, and the industry packs download as a ZIP without an email step. The templates page now groups all 28 by what you are doing (assess and plan, people and permits, inspect and audit, respond and improve) and has a search box. Download links now send two fixed analytics event names, template_pdf_downloaded and template_xlsx_downloaded, with no slug and no personal data; the privacy policy was updated the same day.

Two more free templates: exposure assessment and safety device bypass

2026-10-20T00:00:00Z

Added a workplace exposure assessment record and a safety device bypass and impairment record, each as a printable PDF and an Excel file with a field-by-field guide, an invented worked example and the sources opened that day (UK, US, Canada, each labelled). The exposure form supplies no limit values and collects no individual health data. The bypass form is not a permit to work and sets no maximum duration. Neither is presented as meeting a law or a standard.

Three more free templates: internal audit, management review and safety observation

2026-10-19T00:00:00Z

Added an internal audit plan and report, a management review record and a safety observation record, each as a printable PDF and an Excel file with a field-by-field guide, an invented worked example and the sources opened that day (UK, US, EU or international, each labelled). The safety observation record says why observation counts should not become a target. None is presented as meeting a law or a standard, and no ISO text is reproduced.

Look up one vendor's record across the studies

2026-10-19T00:00:00Z

The datasets page now has a profile picker. Choose any of the 212 researched profiles to see what its record states on public price, free trial, offline use, named systems, SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001 and ten capability families, with how many profiles share each record. Every profile is read the same way, A to Z, as a count and not a score.

Six new free templates: registers, a matrix and records

2026-10-19T00:00:00Z

Added a risk register, a legal register, a training matrix, a contractor induction record, an emergency drill record and a KPI definition sheet. Each comes as a printable PDF and an Excel file, with a field-by-field guide, an invented worked example and the sources opened that day (UK, US, EU or Canada, each labelled). None is presented as meeting a law or a standard.

Copy buttons, and one named analytics event

2026-10-19T00:00:00Z

Many guides now let you copy a checklist, brief or question list to your clipboard. Pressing one sends a single named event, template_copied, to Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity. The event carries no copied text and no contact details. The privacy policy was updated the same day.

How the counts in our studies are made

2026-10-19T00:00:00Z

The methodology page now explains what a count on this site means (profiles whose record holds a sourced statement, not a market share), how documented and conditional are defined, and lists the seven studies with their profile totals, check windows and data files. It also says how the copyable templates are made and what they are not.

Vendor-documentation tables and copyable templates across the buying guides

2026-10-19T00:00:00Z

The RFP template, demo checklist, pricing guide, implementation guide, buying guide, vendor shortlist template, trends, KPI, statistics, cloud, AI, integrations, offline and solution-type pages gained a table of what the 212 researched profiles state, built from the study files, with the question each count suggests. Several also gained copyable briefs, charters, response formats and question lists. A guide that rests on a law reads the primary text and says so: the GDPR and the EU Data Act on EUR-Lex, read on 18 and 19 October 2026. Nothing is legal advice.

Five new glossary terms: risk register, legal register, training matrix, internal audit, safety culture

2026-10-19T00:00:00Z

Each term has a worked hypothetical example, six primary sources opened that day (HSE, ILO, EPA, CCOHS, EU-OSHA, NIST, legislation.gov.uk, EUR-Lex and eCFR) and the limits of the sources, including where no source uses the term itself. The glossary now lists 147 terms.

QHSE library, four new guides and three new templates

2026-10-17T00:00:00Z

The QHSE library maps the site's definitions, guides, templates, software buying guides and data studies into 19 subjects under five pillars. New guides cover running a workplace risk assessment, ISO certification and accreditation, workplace inspections and audits, and the EHS policy and safety management plan. New templates: quality plan, contractor compliance record and workplace inspection checklist.

Study records re-checked: 28 September to 14 October 2026

2026-10-14T00:00:00Z

The pricing index, security and trial study, hosting study, integrations study, language study, AI statements study and capability map were regenerated from profile records checked between 28 September and 14 October 2026. Each study states its own window, and the CSV files list every profile behind a count.

Rule-based ordering and organic partner eligibility

2026-09-27T00:00:00Z

The ordering and partner-placement policy adopted on 26 September supersedes the alphabetical-only and partner-exclusion descriptions in the 23 September entries below. Lists use the published Best documented match rule; alternatives select by documented similarity and display the selected set alphabetically. The commercial partner qualifies organically under the same inclusion and ordering rules as every product, with identical styling. A labelled sponsored placement is additional. Payment is not an ordering input, and numbered rankings and product recommendations in FAQs remain excluded.

Competitor lists made alphabetical; alternatives pages merged

2026-09-23T00:00:00Z

Lists of named products on the guide, region, directory and blog pages were numbered or headed "Top N" without a stated basis, and several contradicted their own "we do not rank" answers. They are now alphabetical and unnumbered, list only products with a researched profile, and say that the order is not a ranking. The per-vendor /best-alternatives-to pages repeated most of the /alternatives pages' text for the same query; they now redirect to /alternatives/, which carries the one switching-specific section.

Commercial partner removed from every ranking and recommendation

2026-09-23T00:00:00Z

A sweep of the site found Tekmon, a commercial partner of The QHSE Standard, placed first or recommended without evidence in about 120 places: FAQ answers and quick answers on 'best' pages, region guides, blog vendor tables, a comparison call-to-action, the template follow-up email and the June 2026 rankings archive. All were removed or rewritten, each blog correction dated in the post. The partner now appears only in labelled sponsored placements, in neutral alphabetical directories, on its own profile and on comparison pages that carry the disclosure. The unsourced legacy star ratings still carried by 12 profiles, including the partner's, were dropped, and the June 2026 rankings archive was withdrawn.

Analytics hygiene: bot traffic now flagged at ingestion

2026-06-26T00:00:00Z

Every page-view ingestion now runs a multi-signal bot heuristic (UA fingerprints, webdriver flag, headless signals, language stack) and persists an is_bot flag on the row. The /stats dashboard exposes an 'Exclude bot traffic' toggle (on by default) so engagement KPIs — bounce rate, pages per session, funnel conversion — reflect real readers. This rebases our internal benchmarks before further CRO experiments ship.

Quiz draft resume + cleaner bot-free analytics dashboard

2026-06-26T00:00:00Z

Visitors who started but didn't finish the matching quiz now see a 'Resume your quiz' banner on /quiz with the saved step and number of answers, deep-linking back into /get-matched. Combined with the bot-filter rollout, this gives a cleaner read on quiz step-through (today: 466 starts → 201 completions = 43%) and a measurable lift target of 60%.

QHSE statistics reference — source review and corrections

2026-06-26T00:00:00Z

Correction added 20 September 2026: the earlier buyer-survey claims have been withdrawn from this reference because a published sample and results table were not established. The revised page provides dated safety figures, a clearly labelled market forecast and notes explaining withdrawn claims.

Launched 2026 editorial alternatives guides for every QHSE vendor

2026-06-25T00:00:00Z

Long-form buyer guides ("5 Best [Vendor] Alternatives for 2026") are now published for every product in our catalog. Each guide includes a TL;DR, a why-replace rationale, four evaluation pillars (usability, speed to value, flexibility, action over data), top-5 picks with strengths / best-fit / honest limitations, and 5 FAQs. (Superseded: on 23 September 2026 these guides were merged into the /alternatives/ pages, which list same-category products without ranking them and stay out of search results until they are rebuilt.)

Evaluation framework published — six weighted dimensions

2026-06-25T00:00:00Z

Dimitris Mitsios (editor) formalised the 2026 evaluation framework: functional depth (25%), usability & adoption (20%), implementation & TCO (15%), integrations & API (15%), security & trust (15%) and customer voice (10%). (Superseded: the dimensions now guide research and buyer questions; they are not computed product scores.)

CSRD Omnibus (Feb 2025): editorial note on impact for ESG software buyers

2026-06-24T00:00:00Z

Following the European Commission's Omnibus I simplification proposal (26 Feb 2025), which the Commission said would take about 80% of the companies then in CSRD scope out of it, and the Directive (EU) 2026/470 that later enacted narrower thresholds, we refreshed our CSRD and EU Green Deal guides with revised buyer guidance for in-scope groups and voluntary reporters.

Industry-led shortlisting: matcher now anchored on 9 QHSE industry profiles

2026-06-24T00:00:00Z

Rebuilt the matcher entry-point around the nine industry profiles we evaluate most (construction, oil & gas, manufacturing, healthcare, mining, pharma, food & beverage, energy & utilities, public sector). Buyers can jump straight into the wizard from their sector and preview the shortlist logic before answering.

EU CBAM definitive period: software stack guidance updated

2026-06-23T00:00:00Z

With the CBAM definitive period live, we refreshed the CBAM software shortlist and playbook for EU importers — covering authorised declarant workflow, supplier primary-data collection, embedded-emissions methodology and verifier handoff.

OSHA FY2024 Top 10 citations mapped to QHSE software controls

2026-06-22T00:00:00Z

Published a per-standard prevention playbook linking OSHA's most-cited standards (fall protection #1 for the 14th year, hazard communication, scaffolding, ladders, LOTO) to the digital controls and audit-ready evidence QHSE platforms should generate.

ISO 45003 + psychosocial risk: lone-worker and BBS guidance refreshed

2026-06-22T00:00:00Z

Updated our lone-worker software shortlist (BS 8484 / HSE INDG73) and behavior-based safety playbook to align with ISO 45003 and CSRD S1 — 12 hazard categories, leading-indicator KPIs and audit-readiness checks for in-scope employers.

Pairwise vendor benchmarking expanded to 30 head-to-head evaluations

2026-06-22T00:00:00Z

Shipped 30 VS pages — including Tekmon vs SafetyCulture, Cority vs Enablon, Quentic vs Intelex and Sweep vs Greenly — each scored against the same six-dimension rubric with named verdicts per buyer segment. (Superseded: the comparison pages no longer assign scores, verdicts or a winner; they set documented scope and demonstration questions side by side.)

QHSE / EHS / ESG software dataset released under CC BY 4.0

2026-06-22T00:00:00Z

Published machine-readable feeds of our vendor catalog and category rankings (software.json, rankings.json, rankings.csv) so analysts, journalists and LLMs can ground their work in the same data the site uses. (The rankings files were withdrawn on 23 September 2026 and now carry a withdrawal notice; software.json remains the evidence source.)

Glossary v1: 20 citable QHSE / EHS / ESG definitions with DefinedTermSet schema

2026-06-22T00:00:00Z

Launched a glossary covering QHSE, EHS, ESG, CSRD, ISO 45001/14001/9001, PSM, LOTO, MOC, CAPA, BBS and Scope 1/2/3 — each term cross-linked to the guides where it is applied. (Superseded: on 23 September 2026 the /glossary hub was merged into the QHSE glossary at /qhse-glossary, which links the detailed term pages.)

Atomic Q&A hub: 60+ citable answers on QHSE, EHS, ESG and compliance

2026-06-22T00:00:00Z

Published 60+ short, source-backed answers with QAPage schema covering CSRD scope, ISO 45001 certification, contractor management and EHS software selection — designed for direct citation by LLMs and analysts.

QHSE AI advisor launched for buyer guidance

2026-06-15T00:00:00Z

Released a streaming Gemini-based advisor trained on our editorial corpus — directs buyers to the right guide, comparison or shortlist based on their industry, size and process priorities.

Programmatic guides: 144 industry × category buyer briefs

2026-05-28T00:00:00Z

Generated 144 'Best [Category] for [Industry]' briefs from a single template, each filled from our shortlist data and supplemented with a cached AI intro — covering construction, oil & gas, manufacturing, healthcare and more across 16 process categories. (Superseded: the briefs now list matching products alphabetically, without numbers or a hand-set order, and state that the list is not a ranking.)

Mobile-first buyer behaviour: catalog UX overhauled around field roles

2026-05-15T00:00:00Z

Buyer interviews showed QHSE evaluators increasingly research vendors from the field. We reworked the catalog and navigation around mobile-first patterns (snap-scroll carousel, fixed bottom navigation, persistent matcher CTA) to match observed behaviour.