A new address for safety

A new site aims to fulfill information, product needs.

By -- Modern Materials Handling, 10/1/2000

SafetyDirector.com is a recently launched site that offers customized safety information and online shopping for safety-related products. The company was founded about a year ago by Dr. Jeff Altholz, who has spent 10 yr practicing occupational and industrial medicine.

The site features a utility called My.SafetyDirector.com , which tailors the site to the user. Based on information provided during the registration process, My.Safety Director.com compiles updates on Occupational Safety & Health Administration and Department of Transportation regulations, as well as compliance checklists and safety plans that apply specifically to your business. (The safety plans must be purchased, but the compliance checklists are free.) A special "rapid-response" checklist is designed to help users prepare for an impending inspection.

For a fee, users also can track their company's compliance testing, notification, training, and actions in secure fashion via the site's SafetyTrack feature. Users even receive reminder e-mails when training or evaluations are due.

One advantage of Web-based safety tracking, the company points out, is that safety managers can easily access the information from various company locations. In addition, records can be made accessible to a variety of people at different locations within the company.

The site also provides discussion areas; an online mall called SafetyMarket; live, online, and video training services in an area called the Training Academy; and SafetyPro, a national consultant referral service. The company notes that its e-commerce area allows for comparison shopping.

Since we first wrote about WebTradeInsure, ("Safer shopping ," August 2000), the company has established a separate site specifically for business-to-business customers: b2b.webtradeinsure.com. Also, a clarification about the services offered by WebTradeInsure: At this time, the site offers credibility insurance only for consumer purchases-although plans are in the works to extend coverage to business-to-business transactions.