PS Structures Pty Ltd is a commercial construction company that specialises in services such as construction management, private and public tenders, in addition to development and construction design. They work in a range of different industries including hospitality, education, commercial, industrial and aged care and aim to reduce their clients’ commercial and financial risk through their safe work approaches.
THE CHALLENGE
With such a large number of sub-contractors, PS Structures required a way of ensuring all personnel on site had all of their necessary insurances and were properly inducted. Federal legislation had been introduced which made it a safety requirement to have a uniform induction system in place. As PS Structures’ overarching goal is to continuously improve safety on all sites, it was critical that all contractors and staff entering site were inducted and had awareness of all safety procedures.
“A federal safety requirement was to have an induction system for all people on site.”
– Sandra Kuhn, Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Manager
However, meeting the requirements of the law was not the only reason why an updated system was needed; precious time also had to be saved. When contractors were arriving to site, checking documentation and ensuring the contractor was able to work was a time-consuming process. At times the contractors did not have their White Card or insurances with them. Any issues that arose as the result of this took considerable time to resolve, not only preventing the contractor from getting on site, but also restricting the Site Manager from being able to focus on addressing site-specific hazards. A system was therefore needed which could address the issues being experienced by contractors and PS Structures staff alike.
THE SOLUTION
Rapid Induct and Rapid Contractor Management were implemented as solutions to the issues PS Structures were facing. Time is saved in many ways now due to the online repository of all insurances, licenses, White Cards and other documentation. Prior to completing work on site, PS Structures issue the sub-contracting company with a link to register their company online. There they upload all of their necessary documentation, and once it has been approved they are able to issue induction passwords to themselves and to any of their other employees who will be working on a PS Structures site. Completion of the online workplace induction ensures that the workers are fully aware of all legal safety regulations, as well as PS Structure’s own company requirements. Rapid Induct prompts them the whole way, sending email reminders if they have not registered within a certain time. This means that the contractor knows if they are compliant or not, and thus can sort out any issues with non-compliance prior to attending site. Then, when the sub-contractor arrives at PS Structures, the Site Manager is able to simply look up the contractor’s name within the Rapid system and check their compliance.
“Implementation of the Rapid products has definitely improved the contractors’ safety knowledge and understanding of PS Structures’ standards.”
If contractors ever experience difficulty in uploading their documents, then the Client Services support team is readily available to provide assistance either over the phone or via email. Their prompt response and friendly manner ensure all personnel are able to complete their required tasks and thus work safely and legally.
THE RESULTS
Part of PS Structures’ risk management strategy is that all contractors are educated on the safety regulations or risks associated with the site/s they are attending. Having Rapid Induct and Rapid Contractor Management enables this strategy to be implemented in the company and gives management peace of mind.
Those at PS Structures have also found that a lot of time has been saved when contractors arrive on site as the Site Manager is only required to do a brief site-specific induction for workers, which takes about 15 minutes. This saves a lot of time in comparison to the 40-60 minutes it used to take in the past.
“It saves a copious amount of time for the Site Manager, who is extremely busy on site. We can sort out any issues before the contractor gets to site, therefore saving time when they arrive. The Site Manager is then only responsible for highlighting site-specific hazards, exclusion zones and things like that.”
As PS Structures continues to strive towards improving safety at all of their sites, Rapid Global will keep playing a critical role in helping this vision come to pass. Keeping the induction process a standard, non-negotiable aspect of each worker’s experience with PS Structures ensures that all workers receive the same information and can stay safe at work.
