Safety in Action: Interview with Luke Howell, Creator of the NOHARM App

At RM Surveys, innovation often starts on site- with someone spotting a better way to work. We sat down with Luke Howell who created the in-house NOHARM app, to talk about how it began and how it’s reshaped the way RM Surveys approaches safety.

Q: When did you first create the NOHARM app, and how did the idea come about?

A: I built it around 2020, after the safety manager at the time said he wanted a better way to capture our daily safety process on-site. He wanted something to show we were ticking all the boxes, but I wanted to take it further, to make it something truly useful and helpful. Kyle [Downes] and I wanted a system that gave us data and helped people make safer decisions, not just tick a box.

Q: What did NOHARM change about the way you approached safety on site?

A: Before NOHARM, safety was managed through broader project documentation like Safe Work Method Statements- but there wasn’t really a simple, day-to-day tool to capture what was happening on site in real time.

NOHARM introduced that daily pause before work begins. It encourages everyone to stop, assess what’s changed, and think about the environment they’re working in.

Q: How does it work on site now?

A: You complete a NOHARM before starting any new job or when something changes: like moving from the ground floor to a jump form. Any time there’s a new variable, new environment, or new hazard, you do a new one.

The app helps you identify what’s happening and then suggests what you should be doing about it. It’s not just a checklist, but gives guidance about how to work safely in the specific environment you’re in at that moment.

Q: That sounds more interactive than a traditional Take Five.

A: Exactly. Take Fives make you write down hazards and controls, and they feel a bit like a test, but NOHARM says, “If that’s what’s happening, here’s what you should do.” It’s more intuitive and actually teaches you something. In the office we also get access to up-to-date data around the frequency of appearance of certain work conditions, engagement from staff and other important metrics.

Q: Do you know of any other companies using something similar?

A: Not really- we did get nominated for an award for it though, so I guess it was pretty unique.

Q: How do you keep it up to date with new safety requirements?

A: Through feedback from the team. If something doesn’t make sense or should be mandatory, people tell us and we update it. We just adjust the control list; it’s flexible and evolves with our work.

Q: That’s impressive. How did you develop it technically?

A: It’s all built in Microsoft PowerApps, and integrates with everything else we use, which makes it easy to maintain.

The NOHARM app has become a quiet but powerful part of everyday work at RM Surveys, reflecting a long tradition of innovation driven by our people. RM Surveys has always backed its teams to find better ways to work, developing tools and approaches that have changed how things are done across the industry. With over 22,000 NOHARMs completed to date, this development from our own Luke Howell has become an integral part of RM Surveys’ core culture that everyone gets home safe, every time.