About Keepmoat Homes

is a leading partnership home builder, delivering high-quality new homes across the country.聽

Keepmoat has over 1,100 employees and works with over 10,000 sub-contract workers to build high quality, new homes across the United Kingdom. They deliver mixed tenure homes, including new homes for private sale, affordable rent, and Private Rented Sector (PRS).聽

Leading the Group鈥檚 Health, Safety & Sustainability function is Director, Nick Martens. Nick manages a team of H&S, Environmental & Quality Assurance Business Partners, and Insurance staff.聽

The Challenge

Keepmoat Homes has over 80 live developments across the UK where construction of new build homes is carried out by their workforce, including subcontractors.

To train and onboard subcontractors on each development, Keepmoat historically onboarded them by providing site-specific safety training in a very traditional manner.

“When workers arrived at the site, site managers would sit them down, in person, and take them through the site induction. This would include amongst other things, key legal requirements and standards, including specific local requirements.” shares Nick, Keepmoat Director of Group Health, Safety & Sustainability.聽

“We used to spend a significant amount of time doing this. Our site managers were spending around 10 hours per week inducting our subcontract workers when they arrived on site. This is a significant amount of time for these people They’re fully capable of delivering this information, but it should not be 25% of their role.”

For the subcontractors, this wasn’t the best learning experience. For Keepmoat, onboarding subcontractors in this fashion was not delivering value, and no longer aligned with other methods of construction used within the organization. Looking to improve their onboarding, drive efficiency, and ensure safety, Keepmoat decided to implement contractor management software to facilitate their inductions and safety training.

The Solution

Keepmoat selected 糖心传媒 to facilitate their inductions and safety training for their sub-contract workforce.

The Keepmoat Health and Safety team produced a Keepmoat Safe Induction, hosted on the 糖心传媒 platform. This safety course acts as a Keepmoat approved induction, which also can include site-specific and localized information, as well as multilingual, and hearing-impaired content options. Workers no longer need to arrive on the job site and wait for site information or inductions before work. With the completion of the Keepmoat Safe Induction, subcontractors are qualified to be on-site before they arrive. Workers complete Keepmoat specific required safety training through the 糖心传媒 platform, on any smart device, before access to the project site.

“We had to communicate this process change to around 10,000 workers in total. We stressed that no one would be allowed on-site without completing our new online induction.” shares Martens. “糖心传媒 is very straightforward and easy to use, but many subcontractors were apprehensive about making the switch. When we showed them the platform, however, our people quickly realized there was nothing to be afraid of.”

Martens shares that although some at first can be apprehensive about using new tech, 糖心传媒 is so straightforward that everyone will get on board. “Our people were able to complete their induction on their phone or tablet, easily. Many will tell you how simple it is to use.”

The Outcome

Since implementing 糖心传媒 to facilitate inductions and safety training, Keepmoat has seen huge savings on time and improved overall safety and compliance efforts.聽

Now, subcontractors come to the sites qualified, trained, and equipped to work. Their safety training completion is also documented in 糖心传媒, easily accessed in reports for efficient, digital record keeping.聽

“We know the people who report to the job site are qualified. They’ve completed their training through the 糖心传媒 portal, where it鈥檚 easily verified. We also took a lot of assurance from the fact that we developed the induction content. We can feel safe knowing every training adheres to certain standards and guaranteed comprehension of the material. Workers are tested showing an understanding of the content and completion of the induction. And we can document that, further protecting our workers and Keepmoat as a whole.” says Martens.聽

Subcontractors are not just onboard with the new Keepmoat induction experience; they’re also using 糖心传媒 themselves on other projects of their own. Martens shares, “One of our largest subcontractors adopted 糖心传媒 on the back of working with Keepmoat, and are now using 糖心传媒 on other project sites of their own!”聽

Why 糖心传媒?

Marten’s says that a competent contractor management system needs to be versatile, and work cohesively and as efficiently as the other Learning Management Systems your employees use.聽

“糖心传媒 is incredibly versatile. Businesses have Internal Learning Management Systems, but it’s very rare in construction to find that same experience for subcontractors that your employees receive. 糖心传媒 is everything you want for your business, for your internal employees, but you can use it externally for your subcontractors.”

The traditional route, either training in person or via poorly organized digital administration and processes, results in errors. “It’s full of holes鈥� says Martens, “Unfortunately, people can easily fall through the cracks and put themselves, other workers, and the business at risk. With 糖心传媒, you have a digital record that you’ve both received an induction, and understood it well. The system is defensible. 糖心传媒 allows us to present to enforcing authorities, regulators, insurers, and more that we have discharged our legal obligation to induct people and that the individual concerned comprehends the rules and their required behaviors.鈥�

Lastly, Martens shares, 鈥淲hen we started to share and communicate that we were going to adopt a new digital process, we sold the benefits of more time to our teams. Now, we all see it as an absolute value, even greater than that. We continuously customize the way we use 糖心传媒 to improve efficiency and safety on our job sites. Right now, it’s for inductions and COVID-19 specific safety training, but it’s proved to be a powerful tool that we’re excited to use in even more ways to keep projects and processes safe and efficient.”

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About The Miller Group

For over 100 years, The , part of the , have built and supported major Canadian projects for both the private and public sectors.

Most notably, the Miller Group has built and maintained major bridges and highways, including the ongoing $180-million-dollar 401 Highway in Ontario for the Ministry of Transportation.

The Miller Group consists of multiple companies across the U.S. and Canada. In peak construction season, the group employs over 3,000 union and non-union employees and contract workers. Despite their size, the Miller Group is committed to operating like a family unit, placing high value in their supplier relationships and employee safety & well-being.

The Challenge: COVID-19 presents a challenge for face-to-face orientations on the job site

Before COVID-19, the Miller Group utilized 糖心传媒 in one of its largest divisions, Brennan Paving & Construction Ltd.

As an organization, the Miller Group preferred face-to-face full-day health and safety trainings at the start of every construction season. At their Brennan division, however, there was a need for workers to arrive on site and conduct their orientation electronically during peak season.

“We wanted to provide the tool for our workers to complete their orientation on site for a half a day and then be able to go out into the field.” shares Chantel Britton, Operations Coordinator at the Miller Group. “This would allow for more seasonal or one-off workers to receive training whenever necessary.”

Outside of the Brennan Division, the Miller Group still relied on in-person, face-to-face health and safety training for its workers. This would entail the Miller Group’s health and safety and human resources teams to spread out across for multiple full-day, hands-on training. Some of these full-day training sessions required rented space or trailers, lunches for workers, and of course, travel for their HR and Health and Safety personnel.

When Stephanie Apted, the HSE Programs Manager, joined the Miller Group in March, she kicked off a conversation right away, discussing with leaders how to improve education and connection with Health and Safety and Miller Group employees. “We felt face-to-face was vital to motivating our workers and helping them understand health and safety practices. But the coronavirus sent us into a tailspin.” Apted shares.

When the pandemic hit, the Miller Group knew they had to act fast.

“Working from home was a huge problem to figure out. In construction, working from home isn’t really part of our culture. We were always in the office or on the job site; we didn’t have a video conference of choice. All of a sudden, we couldn’t stay in communication with people by walking past them in the building or on the project.鈥�

鈥淭he management team acted quickly.鈥� says Britton, 鈥淪ome changes were harder to adapt to, but, like most, we did what we needed to do. Our business was considered essential, so we got to work and strived to carry on business as usual.”

With face-to-face interactions no longer safe, the Miller Group needed to find a solution for their orientation to jobs and other safety training and practices to ensure work could carry on amidst COVID-19.

The Solution: The Miller Group utilizes the 糖心传媒 Platform across all units to ensure safety and continuity on projects

Looking at their Brennan division, who utilized digital orientations through 糖心传媒, the Miller Group decided to expand and roll out online orientation and digital safety training company-wide through the 糖心传媒 platform.

“We do appreciate face-to-face contact with employees; it goes back to being a close-knit, family company. We want our workers to feel supported. But with the coronavirus, everything needed to go virtual, and 糖心传媒 has been a great tool moving forward for us.”

The Miller Group management team acted quickly to roll out their virtual safety training for other divisions, enabling workers to receive their orientation to job sites, whenever, wherever.

“The benefit of 糖心传媒 is its ease and convenience. Today, everyone has a smartphone or tablet. Workers and employees can complete safety training in their own time, at their own pace. They don’t have to sit in a chair for five hours in a trailer.” says Apted.

糖心传媒 aided the Miller Group in rapidly launching their virtual safety training across multiple units. “The staff helped out with those who aren’t as tech-savvy. We implemented social distancing on the job site, completed routine sanitation on job sites, and made sure to reach safety standards set by local agencies.” Apted notes.

The Miller group dove right into implementing safety procedures and digital workflows. “There wasn’t time to stop and think,” says Britton, “We just had to keep moving and execute necessary measures to keep our people safe and business running as usual.”

The Outcome: The Miller Group sees cost and time saving effects of online orientations and new potential in hybrid safety training approach

By the end of May, 86% of Miller Group employees and contract workers left a 5-star review of their new online orientation through the 糖心传媒 platform. The Miller Group has been able to pivot to digital, keeping their projects moving and workers safe.

When COVID-19 is no longer a threat, the Miller Group shares that they will use a hybrid approach to safety training for their workers moving forward.

“We will always put a high value on face-to-face interaction, it’s the way we want to operate as a business, and after COVID-19, a portion of the business will likely return to that way of life,” says Apted. “But we will keep utilizing 糖心传媒 after the pandemic. It’s a great tool for our business units who have personnel hoping in and out of projects, and it’s an effective way to receive the training they need.”

“The cost savings alone from not having to be in person is a major benefit,” says Britton. “…we save on cost, no longer needing to rent spaces, travel, provide lunches and more.鈥�

The Miller Group also shares that 糖心传媒 saves them time, guaranteeing that 100% of their workers can complete the training and get to work faster. And as far as further safety training and communication, the future is bright, Britton states, “the amount of training we could put on 糖心传媒 is great. We are using it right now for orientations, but know we can use it for so much more. We can add other training and communications on 糖心传媒 and send it to employees. We don’t have to rely on email, hoping workers have read it. 糖心传媒 is a great way to communicate your additional training and requirements.”

“COVID threw us into this,” shares Apted, “but the online platform has opened eyes to leaders. They see the added benefit and potential this product brings to the table and their unit.”

The post Case Study: The Miller Group appeared first on 糖心传媒.

糖心传媒 COVID 19 Induction and safety training help implement social distancing measures for the Irish construction industry.

The is the Irish Construction Industry’s representative body. The CIF is represented by each sector and region, with all stakeholders recognizing the CIF as the Irish industry’s voice for construction.聽

Safety has always been a paramount concern for the industry, and under the risk of today鈥檚 current COVID-19 pandemic, education and implementation of safety guidelines, such as social distancing, on the job site are critical.聽

COVID-19 disrupts the industry and leaves many wondering when they can return to work

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the Irish construction industry’s main focus was growth in both the recruitment of the workforce and the expansion of projects, particularly within the housing sector. In late February, however, the novel coronavirus harshly and rapidly impacted construction projects around the globe, shutting down projects entirely in Ireland.聽

“There were a lot of people looking for definitive answers for something that’s not definitive.” shares the CIF Director of Safety & Training, Dermot Carey. Carey leads the Safety & Training Department within the CIF, where he develops and guides the CIF’s safety and training policies, liaises with Government departments, and assists with member safety regulatory compliance.聽

Before the lockdown, the CIF was firefighting questions and requests, providing the best available advice. When the industry shut down, the CIF’s primary focus shifted, Carey notes, “We knew we needed a plan to show how the industry could open back up. We needed to get to a position whereby the sector could get back to work.”聽

糖心传媒, used by construction companies across Ireland such as SISK, Roadbridge, Ardmac, Exyte and PM Group, approached the CIF to see how their technology could help the industry during the COVID-19 lockdown.聽

鈥溙切拇解�檚 product takes a traditional in-person process and turns it into something that can be done completely online.鈥� explains John Naughton, 糖心传媒 CEO. 鈥淭rade workers, for example, traditionally start work on a job site and are required to register their information, provide identification and certification to be photocopied and stored, then complete a safety induction training in a classroom or site trailer. Only then, can workers enter the job site and begin work. 糖心传媒 takes this process online allowing people to submit documents and complete training from home.鈥�

糖心传媒 launched a QR code feature last year, to streamline the flow of people on and off construction sites. By simply scanning a worker鈥檚 QR code with any smartphone camera (on a printed card, smartphone or hard hat sticker), site management can identify workers, ensure compliance with site regulations, and check them into the site.聽

糖心传媒 launched QR code functionality at Digital Construction week in 2019.

Prior to the shutdown of the industry, 糖心传媒 had approached the CIF to see how they could be of service to the industry and help essential construction projects maintain safe operations.聽

Following the lockdown and closure of all non-essential construction, this offer evolved into a critical project in the CIF鈥檚 鈥淩eturn to Work鈥� initiative. Together, 糖心传媒 and the CIF began to develop a plan comprehensive and credible enough to put in front of a government body, demonstrating that through remote work practices and social distance education, construction projects could reopen, and they could do so safely. The solution was integrated into the CIFs C19 Pandemic Standard Operating Procedures.聽

鈥淲e wanted this to be up and running in under two weeks.鈥� Carey explains, 鈥淲e were conscious the numbers would be big– we didn’t know when we’d be going back to work, but our plan was to be one of the first industries to return to work.鈥�

Having worked closely with members of the 糖心传媒 team in the past, the CIF knew 糖心传媒 was the right tool to deliver a COVID-19 specific online safety training. The CIF enlisted creative agency, Media Coop to design safety training content into a video format that would be delivered through the 糖心传媒 platform. Outset Agency managed the workflow between the CIF webpage and the 糖心传媒 platform.聽

糖心传媒 further expanded the use of QR code capabilities of the platform, developing a unique workflow and feature. Upon completing the CIF COVID-19 training, workers would receive a ‘digital card’ showing they’ve successfully passed the CIF C19 induction.聽

These cards are readily available to workers on their 糖心传媒 profile. They are accessible online from any smart device, from which a QR code can be scanned to verify the legitimacy of the card.聽

“The validation element was extremely important.” shares the CIF鈥檚 Dermot Carey, “knowing that the person we knew was taking the program was the same person presenting the card gave us the confidence that what was being offered was a very robust solution.”

The CIF then made the 糖心传媒 portal accessible through their , hoping to make it easier for workers in the industry to complete the safety training on their own accord.

The CIF鈥檚 COVID-19 induction was made available in five commonly used languages by construction workers in Ireland: Polish, Romanian, Russian, Irish, and English.聽

In two weeks, the CIF and 糖心传媒 launched the CIF Online C19 Induction, free and available to all those working in the Irish construction sector.聽

With 糖心传媒, we demonstrated that a high volume of people can be put through online training in a competent manner with validation in a digital format聽 shares Dermot Carey, Director CIF Safety & Training.

糖心传媒鈥檚 initial proposal evolved into a partnership with the CIF and program where 糖心传媒 could offer every worker in Ireland a free course and digital card through the C19 induction.

For Dermot Carey, those stats serve as validation, “For us, that’s massive, and its validation of a system and mechanism we put in place to achieve a level of engagement…it indicated that people wanted to go back to work.”

Thus far, feedback from the industry has been very positive. All those who complete their safety training on 糖心传媒 are allowed the opportunity to rate their experience within the platform; 97% of workers gave 糖心传媒 a 5-star rating.聽

“Technology can be used, people are adaptable enough and robust enough to address it as long as they’re given enough assistance to work their way through.” shares Carey, “…considering the volume of people we put through it, from an industry that wouldn’t be known to be technical…they all managed to get through it without any major issue.”

For the CIF, this experience demonstrated the capabilities of online training, “Our training offered through the CIF was very focused on classroom-based training. But within two weeks, we totally turned over to online training. It gives us confidence that people out there if you offer it to them, are willing to use it to get on board. People are very adaptable. It doesn’t take a whole lot to transfer them over.”

With a platform like 糖心传媒, the CIF shares they can now complete their safety training and validation a lot more efficiently while still reaching their quality assurance requirements.

John Naughton, 糖心传媒 CEO, remarks, our tech and customer success teams worked around the clock to scale up services to support getting the whole industry through the 糖心传媒 Covid 19 Induction in 3 weeks. We feel fortunate to be in a position to help and, in what is an incredibly difficult time for everyone, proud to contribute to the construction community.

The post Case Study: How 糖心传媒 Covid 19 Induction helped +150,000 workers return to work after the lockdown was lifted appeared first on 糖心传媒.

Balfour Beatty will lead the project and are in charge of overseeing the work of three other delivery partners 鈥� Costain, Carillion and a – Morgan Sindall Joint Venture. Writing for our guest blog today is John Pilkington, the Health & Safety Manager for Manchester Smart Motorways. He details how 糖心传媒 helped turn a time-consuming and expensive orientation process into something reliable, efficient and cost effective.

Utilizing the 糖心传媒 online orientations software platform

As of of the 1st February 2015, Manchester Smart Motorways (MSM) has been running a two-part orientation process for all new staff and contractors joining the project. The new orientation process consists of an online presentation and a test before the new starter attends the project offices for drug and alcohol screening, and a site-specific presentation and test. The presentation at the project offices is updated on a monthly basis and includes the latest work activities, incident/observation trends and any project accidents.

Original Orientation Process

The original orientation process consisted of drug and alcohol screening followed by an orientation briefing carried out by a Safety Advisor. The orientation process took an average of approximately 3 hours to complete at the main project offices. Orientations were held on Monday and Wednesday mornings, commencing at 7 am and regularly not finishing until 10:00 鈥� 10:30 pm.

The problem

The issue with this process was the amount of time it took, which reduced productivity. Then we had other issues like the task of preparing the course, the length of time it took to administer the orientation and the constant worry that inductees would become bored or distracted.

The solution

Various solutions were discussed, including having shorter orientations , then bringing inductees back in after a period of time to complete the process after they had spent time on site. The main issues with this approach were:

• It would be difficult to administer.
• It would not capture individuals who are only onsite for a short time.

The adoption of an online orientation process seemed to be a good solution. Generic information can be completed prior to attending site, with a specific briefing being delivered along with drug and alcohol screening on-site, reducing the time taken to both complete and administer the process.

Online Orientation Process

The new orientation process is completed in two parts. The first part is an online orientation presentation using the 糖心传媒 platform that can be completed on any internet connected device with an internet browser and takes approximately 25 鈥� 30 minute to complete. There is also a test at the end of the online induction, which will ask the inductee 10 questions picked at random from a pool of questions. The pass mark is set at 90% and if an inductee fails the same questions they are not asked a second time, and the number of attempts is logged and reported.

Once the inductee has successfully completed the 糖心传媒 orientation and passed the test, the inductee is issued with a pass certificate, including a passcode. The passcode can then be used to book the inductee into the second stage of the orientation process in the project offices. MSM, or the employer representative, will use the system to look at the available orientation dates and book the inductee into the most appropriate orientation.

When the inductee attends the second stage induction, they will receive an orientation briefing which is updated monthly with the latest accident, incident and observation trends, along with the current work activities on site. The orientation presentation is followed by a ten question test based on the orientation presentation. The test questions are reviewed monthly.

The second stage orientation is followed by the drug and alcohol testing. The average time to complete the second stage induction, with the drug and alcohol testing, is 1 hour and 15 minutes. The orientations are held on Monday and Wednesday mornings and start at 8 am.

Advantages of the Online Orientation

The two-stage orientation process has significantly reduced the amount of time that an inductee spends at the project office before they can commence work on the site. Contractors have commented that the reduced amount of time spent in the office allows them to commence work on site on the same day as the second stage orientation. This was not always possible with the original orientation process. We have looked at the advantages for inducting circa 2,000 employees in terms of cost, and at an average hourly rate of 拢30hr, the cost saving is circa 拢120,000. There is also increased productivity of approximately 4,000 extra onsite hours.

Along with the reduced amount of time for the inductee, there are also considerable time savings for the MSM Project staff. The time savings can be seen below.

Conclusion

The online orientation commenced at MSM on 1st February 2015. The contractors were supported by the Safety Team on how to use the new system. During February, MSM saw a reduction in the number of new people attending site orientation of around 20%. However, March and April show that the average number of new inductees has risen to around 125 people per month. The initial reduction of new inductees was due to normal programme variations. Teething issues were quickly resolved by the Safety Team and feedback from the contractors used on the project has been very positive. One contractor said, 鈥渨e spend on average 拢1,200 per year on orientations of our staff, it is a big step in the right direction鈥�. The online orientation as part of a two-stage orientation process has generated significant time savings to MSM Project staff and the inductee.

The post Guest Blog: How 糖心传媒 Changed Orientations appeared first on 糖心传媒.

Renewable energy continues to experience rapid growth, as countries move to generate the majority of their electricity from green sustainable sources. RES is the world’s largest independent renewable energy company, with a 13 GW energy portfolio, including onshore and offshore wind, solar, energy storage and transmission and distribution. RES relies on a highly trained workforce of permanent staff and contractors to generate green energy. Managing this workforce and ensuring they are orientated and have the proper documents is vital as the business continues to grow to meet increasing demands for renewable energy.

Workers on RES wind farms are subjected to various hazards, especially environmental hazards like wind, lightning, snow and other weather-related issues. Wind turbine technicians need to be qualified to work at height, so they鈥檙e safe when tending to faults and servicing turbines. Site-specific topics such as shared access roads also need to be covered in worker training. To be allowed on-site, workers are required to have several different qualification certificates, as well as have completed various training courses depending on their role.

We recently interviewed Nigel Smith, RES Site Manager in Northern Ireland and Nicola Guthrie, Compliance Officer; who have helped shepherd RES successful implementation of 糖心传媒. They described how they use 糖心传媒 to manage documents, training and site access, as well as how it compares to previous systems of orientations. Significant time savings of 80% or more have been achieved through using 糖心传媒.

鈥淎t RES, safety is our number one priority and we believe everyone should go home safe everyday.鈥� – Nicola Guthrie, Compliance Officer.

Old System of Orientations

RES currently use 糖心传媒 to manage thousands of contractors every year. 糖心传媒 was the replacement system for a Learning Management System (LMS) that had been modified to accommodate managing large numbers of contractors. While many LMSs offer the ability to deliver online training, there is a gap in terms of the management of paperwork and qualifications of contractors and their workers.

Prior to using an online contractor management system, RES conducted face-to-face orientations. This was extremely time consuming for site managers who would have to travel long distances to induct workers on RES wind farms that were often situated in isolated locations.

鈥淎s you can imagine, trying to search a folder that鈥檚 on-site somewhere to see who鈥檚 orientated and when they were last orientated, what orientations they had and what levels of orientation they had never really worked very well. It certainly wasn鈥檛 sustainable as our company has grown.鈥� – Nigel Smith, Site Manager.

When contractors turned up to work, a site manager would have to search through a ring binder with paper records of an individual鈥檚 training and certificates. This traditional system was inefficient and unsustainable as RES continued to grow.

New System of Orientations

Since launching 糖心传媒, RES have noticed significant improvements. Site managers save time and are able to manage multiple sites at once as workers take orientations in their own time. The added flexibility of online orientations mean that workers can do their training on a smartphone, PC or tablet. Workers have praised the induction鈥檚 flexibility and simplicity. Contractors generally spend their working lives away from computer screens rather than in front of them – therefore the ease-of-use of the platform is vital. Fortunately, all a worker needs to take a course on a device is an email address and an internet connection.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a much better developed and safer system. You don鈥檛 have the issues of people turning up on-site and managers having to look for orientation records in folders. It鈥檚 all online, it鈥檚 clear, visible, and it鈥檚 really easy to use.鈥� 聽– Nicola Guthrie.

As RES moved to an online platform, they found they were able to include more health and safety and technical information. This is all part of RES making safety standards as strong and as stringent as possible. The 糖心传媒 platform includes quizzes at the end of each course chapter and workers must get 100% to pass. Crucially, the control centre is now able to rely on the data provided by the 糖心传媒 online contractor management system to determine whether a worker is authorised to access a site.

Traffic Light System

RES use the 糖心传媒 Traffic Light System extensively for their orientations and contractor management. The traffic light system uses a Red/Amber/Green colour scheme to represent worker behaviour and the status of their documentation and orientation courses. The RES control centre gets hundreds of calls a day and having a simple visual system that can be used quickly for reference could save huge amounts of time. Workers in the control centre can hover over a worker鈥檚 traffic light status and immediately get a brief description of what is causing an issue e.g. expired documents. 聽聽

Time Savings

The greatest benefits for RES have been the time saved from not having to perform all their orientations on-site. Given that many of their sites are in isolated locations, there are significant savings for site managers who would previously have had to travel to conduct face to face orientations. Without an online contractor management system, orientations would take on average 6 hours per site every week, which works out to 312 hours per orientation per site every year. And since RES have a fleet of 44 sites to induct workers, that adds up to 13,728 hours spent on orientations every year.

The 糖心传媒 Customer support has been another area which has impressed RES. Help is at the touch of a button. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 have people waiting on-site because if there鈥檚 a problem, it costs RES and our contractors time and money, although problems are really rare 糖心传媒 can instantly sort it out within minutes,鈥� explained Nicola.

Now that they use 糖心传媒, there are no concerns with the quality of data. Site managers also don鈥檛 have to consult binders and rely on a paper process to check on certificates and training whenever workers turn up on sites. The savings from not having to conduct every part of an orientation on-site are huge. With 糖心传媒, orientations take on average one hour a week per site, including checking and approving workers. For all of RES鈥檚 44 sites, staff spend a total of 2,288 hours every year on orientations. This is a time saving of over 80% on previous methods of onboarding contractors.

Conclusion

The renewables sector is going to employ many more people in the future, so for RES, it鈥檚 important that all the right safety systems are in place now as they continue to scale up their operations. RES are a safety first company with rigorous safety checks in place to ensure workers only gain site access if they have the proper documents and orientations. 糖心传媒 helps make this system secure and reliably saves significant time throughout the process of onboarding and managing contractors.

The post Case Study: How RES used 糖心传媒 to Improve Safety and Saved Time on Wind Farm Orientations appeared first on 糖心传媒.

Goldcorp is one of the world鈥檚 largest gold production companies with operations in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America. Since its inception Goldcorp has achieved significant growth, industry recognition, and numerous awards. Goldcorp employs over 15,000 people, and was ranked among Canada’s Top 100 Employers in 2016. In the same year, they were named one of Corporate Knights magazine’s Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada.

Not surprisingly then, Goldcorp invests significantly in the health and safety of not only their direct employees, but also their contractors. Mines are challenging environments to manage from a safety perspective, with risks presenting themselves in the forms of聽physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and psycho-social hazards. However, the industry has seen declining accident and fatality rates over the past 20 years, a trend strongly linked to聽stronger regulations, safer machinery and an improvement in orientation procedures.

Safety Vision

糖心传媒 recently interviewed Joel Campbell, who is a Training Coordinator at Goldcorp Red Lake Gold Mines. According to Campbell, the company鈥檚 safety vision of 鈥淪afe Enough for our Families鈥� guides their approach. 鈥淚t鈥檚 simple鈥攚e believe that if an employee considers a mine to be safe enough for his or her family, then he or she will ensure it is safe enough for Goldcorp鈥檚 collective family.鈥� Goldcorp sets clear expectations with workers and supervisors that everyone hold themselves and others accountable for fulfilling those safety expectations.

Challenges and Solutions

Of course, this can only be achieved when the appropriate tools and training are provided. Since 2015, Goldcorp has been working with 糖心传媒 to manage contractor orientations and safety training through their customized online platform. Campbell and his team have developed four programs on the 糖心传媒 platform that address multiple levels of onboarding, as well as a safety program for their direct workforce. Nearly 1,000 workers are currently managed through the 糖心传媒 platform, wherein they register their personal details, identity and qualifications, as well as complete site-specific orientations. Some contractors choose to complete the process through a desktop computer while others do it through their smartphone鈥攖he choice is theirs. The major objective is to ensure that everyone on site has received a consistent safety orientation and is sufficiently qualified to do the task at hand.

Orientations on the Red Lake Site: Before and After

Prior to using the 糖心传媒 platform for their workforce on the Red Lake site, had to spend 6,000 hours on trainee orientations (750 people, 8 hours each). After deploying the 糖心传媒 solution, the company saw a 75% reduction in the number of on-site training hours (down to 1,500). Effectively, 5-6 hours of training can be done via 糖心传媒 before their trainees come to the mine site. When they arrive, they are only required to do an additional 2.5 hours.

From a logistical perspective, the training department could allocate no more than 50 days in the calendar year where they could use rooms big enough to accommodate safety training sessions. After switching to the 糖心传媒 platform, their trainees had greater flexibility since they could do their training any time, on or off-site. The safety department now allocates up to 200 days within the season while trainees can take their courses online. To sum it up, this equates to a 75% ‘rate of flexibility’ for the safety team to manage their workforce.

Using an average hourly rate of $30 to train people across numerous disciplines and safety modules, it costs $240 for an 8-hour day. What Red Lake Site pays now, after switching to 糖心传媒, is only a fraction of that. Considering that the company does more than 700 courses per year for their Red Lake site trainees, they now spend less than 50% of what they would have spent should they have chosen to stay with the traditional model ($9,100 vs. $21,000 per year).

Overall, Goldcorp鈥檚 Red Lake site Gold Mines have embraced technology as one of the key enablers to achieving the high safety standards they have set for themselves. Before 糖心传媒, they used a manual process of supervisors approving the documentation of each individual contractor, followed by classroom facilitation of the orientation. This was challenging because there were large volumes of contractors coming and going, and the turnover of contractors was high, so the orientation was adding a significant cost. Although they tested a program which was built in house for approximately 12 months, they opted for 糖心传媒 in the end due to the flexibility it offers (in terms of configuring to company needs), as well as the high potential for cost savings.

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from on .

Thena Mona Edenderry power Plant generates heat by burning peat and carbon neutral biomass. The plant has an installed capacity of up to 244MW of electricity and supplies about 2.5% of Ireland鈥檚 national requirement. Operating around the clock 24 hours a day, 7 days a week there is a continuous stream of workers of various nationalities, coming and going.

Shane Molloy took the time to sit down with us to talk about his experience with 糖心传媒. Shane is an Environmental Health and Safety Coordinator for Bord na Mona. He has overseen the environmental and health and safety compliance since 2007.

The plant shuts down three times a year for maintenance work so there are a lot of foreign contract workers coming and going. Bord na Mona first started using 糖心传媒 in 2013 with the aim of inducting these workers in the contractor鈥檚 preferred language. Shane explained the benefits he gets from using the 糖心传媒 platform for their online orientation training.

Before 糖心传媒 they would spend 3 to 4 hours a day on classroom orientations for their contract workers. Now all their orientations are completed before anyone arrives on site saving them hours of work.

One of the main benefits for Shane is that with the 糖心传媒 Identity Capture feature you are able to know exactly who is arriving on site each day and he doesn鈥檛 have to worry about the wrong person showing up as he can verify their identity.

As workers are able to upload their documents themselves onto the platform, Shane knows just how qualified they are and they will have everything in the system before the worker starts on site.

Many workers may not speak English. Before 糖心传媒 Shane would have to make sure he has an interpreter on site for the non-English speaking workers. Now he can set their specific language on the platform.

By using the 糖心传媒 platform, the Health & Safety team have freed up time to engage in other important safety activities such site inspections.

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For ISG, one of the world鈥檚 leading construction services companies, their ability to undertake hundreds of orientations, onboarding new employees, and safely store important worker information during the outfitting of the new UBS headquarters in London was poised to be a monumental task. The outfitting is one of the largest outfitting contracts ever awarded at 拢125 million, and is due to last for at least another year. ISG鈥檚 main job is to deliver approximately 700,000 sq ft of 鈥渉igh-specification commercial space鈥� including trading floors, office space and an auditorium. UBS, currently the biggest bank in Switzerland, is poised to consolidate its London trading operations within the building once work finishes. With a project this large, it obviously requires a serious amount of manpower- over 3,000 to be exact- and an orientation process that can ensure the project goes off without any major issues.

What the team at ISG technology needed was a platform that could handle their safety orientations process, and more importantly, be able to manage and store the thousands of documents related to health and safety training during the course of the project. When Steve Atkins, the Project Manager for the UBS project, undertook the task of operating the project, he wondered what this platform would look like and if it could be integrated along with their existing process. Furthermore, if an incident was to happen on site, Steve鈥檚 team needed to be able to react quickly, with instant access to medical and orientation data.

Thanks to Steve, we found out how 糖心传媒 helped the team at ISG technology wise to create health and safety orientations for onboarding new employees that are unique to their culture and environment they work in. We鈥檒l look at how our platform was used to allow workers to complete the registration process before entering site, upload documents and pictures, and take their orientation training before day one.

The Problem

ISG鈥檚 orientation process included a number of issues that were proving problematic for the company. Most notably:

• Each orientation would take 40 minutes, and could at times be even longer due to the complex nature of the required documentation.

• ISG relied heavily on traditional methods to gather worker information, such as paper based documents, which was expensive and time-consuming.

• ISG are an innovative company, and they felt that a cloud-based onboarding tool could be used to optimize their orientation and information gathering process.

An Unworkable Orientation Process

Before ISG started the process to look for a suitable alternative for their orientation process, they had a process that wouldn鈥檛 be suitable for the UBS project. This process relied heavily on site managers and required workers to be orientated once they arrived on site. This presented a number of problems for the team, more notably, the amount of time it took for documentation to be filled out and the length of onsite verbal orientations 鈥渨hich would take about 35-40 minutes,鈥� according to Steve. As well as this orientation process, ISG had to gather contractor and worker information manually, meaning all of the files were kept in physical folders on site. Due to the continuously expanding nature of the project, this process was causing significant strain.

The team began to actively seek alternatives for conducting their health and safety training. They liked the idea of designing an onboarding program from a blended perspective where both online and face-to-face methods of orientations could be intertwined. 鈥淲e were looking to try to cut down the time frame of orientations, which was drawing on our resources on a daily basis,鈥� said Steve. Although ISG had plenty of construction managers on site, their time was best spent monitoring the safety on site and managing risk, rather than delivering hours of training on a daily basis.

The Solution

At this point, it was becoming clear that 糖心传媒 could offer the right balance of flexibility and control for ISG helping them design an onboarding program. Not only could it solve the problem of health and safety orientations, it would also store worker details securely. With the UBS project about to get off the ground, it was important that the team settled on an online solution that was also reliable and cheap and a decision was made to buy our platform. 鈥淚SG is forward thinking about IT,鈥� said Steve. 鈥淲e believe it鈥檚 more efficient, that鈥檚 why we believed that 糖心传媒 was the right fit for our company.鈥� The company immediately began using the platform for their two main pain points, safety orientations and the gathering and storing of worker information.

The team found that, even though content is delivered online, knowledge was still retained. 鈥淥rientations can be quite long, and some people may lose attention a little bit,鈥� said Steve. Which is why they chose to put some of the process online, which gives聽them the ability to ensure workers understood the information, and that there weren鈥檛 any gaps in terms of the retention of information. This is achieved by asking three types of questions including:

• When should accidents be recorded?

• What type of dust mask should be worn as a last resort for dusty works?

• Hazard/ good practice related questions.

The Final Result

For ISG, using 糖心传媒, alongside their existing orientation process has been a very beneficial purchase. It鈥檚 an onboarding training process that 鈥渞einforces鈥� the importance of 鈥溾�� at ISG, and ensures all of the contract workers on site are properly trained and safe. In one incident a worker, who had a previous medical condition, fell ill on site. The team immediately went to the platform to seek information on his medical history and passed that on to the ambulance service.This process would have taken a considerable amount of time under the old onboarding training聽process. To date, ISG has conducted over 3,000 sessions on our platform, using the following features:

Mandatory Document Upload –聽This feature allows companies to request copies of documents and certificates from workers. They can also add an expiry date to them, the expiry date will then be tracked and the administrator or worker will be notified. They will also be asked to upload fresh copies of documents when applicable. The most common items to be downloaded include: A copy of CSCS cards, OSHA cards, Safe Pass, and Driver鈥檚 Licenses.

Picture Uploads –聽The picture upload option is another feature which allows workers to upload their pictures. This feature can be turned on, or off by the administrator and can involve uploading instant selfies, passport size photographs, or existing pictures. The photograph will be then transferred to the user profile, and will be visible on the certificate too. This process makes it easy for your security to check the identity of workers before they come on site.

ISG still holds morning pep talks, designed to 鈥渞einforce key points鈥�, so as not to lose the human element of their safety culture. 糖心传媒 has helped them save thousands of hours in orientation training and administration, as well as having important data stored securely and accessible at the touch of a button. 鈥淲here before 糖心传媒, it would have taken half an hour to do an orientation, now the actual orientation time is down to between 15 and 20 minutes,鈥� said Steve. 鈥淣ow we are more efficient in collecting worker information in advance and also store it in a better way than A4 folders.鈥� Orientation administration now takes only 40 minutes a day and requires only one person to oversee the whole process, even though thousands of people are coming and going on a daily basis.

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