Indonesia's Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) and the Association of OHS Training Institutions (ALPK3I) scheduled an online training and certification programme for general OHS experts (Ahli K3 Umum) from 25 February to 12 March 2026. Participants pay no tuition but still pay a non-tax state fee of Rp420,000 for the training certificate, the expert appointment decree (SKP) and its evaluation, under Government Regulation No. 41 of 2023 (Kompas TV, 2026). A month earlier, the Minister of Manpower said the ministry was preparing stronger digital OHS services, from a simpler certification process and an improved Teman K3 app to a database of work accidents and occupational diseases (Hayat, 2026).
These changes raise questions we often hear from OHS practitioners. Here are six of them, answered from sources available up to the end of February 2026.
What Is Going Digital?
In October 2025 the Minister of Manpower presented six strategic OHS initiatives. Three of them are digital: reforming the ecosystem for OHS training, testing and licensing through service transformation and digitalisation; strengthening an integrated work accident reporting system; and developing digital OHS information services, namely Teman K3 and Norma-100 (Widhiyanto, 2025). In January 2026 the minister also reminded workers who see unsafe conditions that they can report them through the ministry's Lapor Menaker complaints channel or the local manpower office (Hayat, 2026).
What Is Teman K3?
Teman K3 is not new. In 2021 the ministry's Directorate General for Labour Inspection and OHS described it as an online OHS service system covering data on licensed safety service companies (PJK3), OHS management system audit bodies, OHS personnel, virtual OHS training classes, specialist OHS inspectors, inspection and testing of OHS equipment, reporting of work accidents and occupational diseases, and reporting of workers' medical check-ups (NU Online, 2021). What is planned for 2026 is an upgrade (Hayat, 2026). In our view, for companies this means data reported through these channels is likely to become more connected and easier to compare across companies.
Is Online Training Enough?
This year's general OHS expert programme is run online by the ministry itself (Kompas TV, 2026), so the online format is part of the official route. In our view the more important question is what happens afterwards. Regulations, management systems and hazard identification can be learned remotely, but the ability to lead inspections, judge risk on the ground and facilitate a P2K3 safety committee grows through practice. Companies that send staff should plan mentoring and real assignments once the course ends.
Do Reporting Apps Work?
There is evidence, with caveats. A company that had recorded low or even no reporting in several high-risk processes from 2020 to 2022 introduced a near-miss reporting app. An evaluation using the DeLone and McLean information system success model with 39 informants recorded 135 reports in 2022, 66.7 percent ease of use, 79.5 percent access speed, 82.1 percent effectiveness and a 20 percent data error rate (Salsabila & Wahyuningsih, 2023). The study is descriptive and covers a single company, so its results cannot be generalised, but a 20 percent error rate shows that digital reports still need verification.
What About Worker Data?
OHS apps often hold medical check-up results, injury records and photos of workers. Law No. 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection classifies health data and information, as well as biometric data, as specific personal data (Article 4(2)), and gave data controllers at most 2 years from enactment to bring their processing into line (Pemerintah Republik Indonesia, 2022). OHS apps therefore need access restrictions, a clear processing purpose and retention rules, not just paper forms moved onto a screen.
How Should Companies Prepare?
We see digitalisation as cutting paperwork without fixing poor data. A national database of accidents and occupational diseases is only as good as the reports companies send in (Hayat, 2026). A complaints channel for workers also means that unsafe conditions left unaddressed can reach inspectors without passing through management. Steps that can start now:
- Bring accidents, near misses and occupational diseases into one register with consistent definitions.
- Decide who verifies each report and how quickly the reporter must receive feedback.
- Map the personal data your OHS apps collect, who may access them and how long they are kept.
- Keep field inspection as the primary source; apps speed up the flow of data, they do not replace observation.
How Nusa Safety Helps
Nusa Safety helps companies organise their OHS data flows before choosing tools, through its HSE digitalisation service, the development of custom HSSE software and apps such as Hazard Report. For competence there is general OHS expert training, with official certification delivered through licensed PJK3 partners, as Nusa Safety issues only internal training certificates.
This article is general information and not legal or professional advice for any specific case.
References
- Hayat, W. N. (2026, January 26). Menaker ungkap pentingnya K3 bagi pekerja dan perusahaan, simak! [Manpower minister explains why OHS matters to workers and companies]. CNBC Indonesia. https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20260126110026-4-705263/menaker-ungkap-pentingnya-k3-bagi-pekerja-dan-perusahaan-simak
- Kompas TV. (2026, February 16). Gratis! Kemnaker buka program pembinaan dan sertifikasi Ahli Keselamatan dan Kesehatan Kerja K3 [Free: Ministry of Manpower opens a general OHS expert training and certification programme]. Kompas TV. https://www.kompas.tv/info-publik/651034/gratis-kemnaker-buka-program-pembinaan-dan-sertifikasi-ahli-keselamatan-dan-kesehatan-kerja-k3
- NU Online. (2021, November 5). Kemnaker terus optimalkan inovasi berbasis digital pada sistem pengawasan ketenagakerjaan [Ministry of Manpower keeps optimising digital innovation in labour inspection]. NU Online. https://nu.or.id/ketenagakerjaan/kemnaker-terus-optimalkan-inovasi-berbasis-digital-pada-sistem-pengawasan-ketenagakerjaan-svYHG
- Pemerintah Republik Indonesia. (2022). Undang-Undang Nomor 27 Tahun 2022 tentang Pelindungan Data Pribadi [Law No. 27 of 2022 on personal data protection]. Lembaran Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 2022 Nomor 196. https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/229798/uu-no-27-tahun-2022
- Salsabila, A. M., & Wahyuningsih, A. S. (2023). Efektivitas penerapan aplikasi pelaporan bahaya sebagai upaya pencegahan kecelakaan kerja pada PT X [Effectiveness of a hazard reporting application for accident prevention at PT X]. Syntax Literate: Jurnal Ilmiah Indonesia, 8(5), 3281-3294. https://doi.org/10.36418/syntax-literate.v8i5.11810
- Widhiyanto, F. (2025, October 24). Menaker Yassierli kemukakan inisiatif strategis dalam tingkatkan sistem K3 nasional [Manpower Minister Yassierli sets out strategic initiatives to strengthen the national OHS system]. Investortrust.id. https://investortrust.id/national/83225/menaker-yassierli-kemukakan-inisiatif-strategis-dalam-tingkatkan-sistem-k3-nasional
