While looking for a contractor management solution that could include visitor management, Photo ID Card Issuance and an Induction Module Lisa shared with me a number of critical issues that needed to be addressed to assist with the management of contractors on and off location.

Lisa was looking for a contractor management system that would assist with the mountain of manual work that is currently taking place chewing up hundreds of hours each month in administration that would also flag quickly and efficiently contractors who had Inductions expire, licenses expire and more, further more Lisa would love to have a contractor management solution that automatically sends a reminder notice out to the contractors 30 days prior to the induction expiring, allowing the contractor to complete the most up to date company induction online.

Problem 1 – Contractors working alone
Contractors often work alone and once inside the building contractors are normally left alone to do their job. Contractors once they complete the work required for the job or the day can then just walk off site, no-one knows if the contractor is on or off site.

I have seen this first hand myself many years ago while working for Weston Baked Foods who at the time made the famous Big Ben Pies. This manufacturing facility in the middle of western Sydney at Ermington constantly required contractors for day to day maintenance. Many more contractors were required during breakdowns.

At the time I was managing one of the production lines, the amount of time I would spend looking for a contractor only to find he had actually left the site constantly made me cranky, looking back I cant believe how much time was wasted looking for contractors who were actually not on site.

Want to see more…Click HERE for a short video or call us on 1300 800 077

So the first thing Lisa asked me was could Lisa and her staff be notified on the arrival and departure of the contractor. This part was easy and is already part of the contractor management solution out of the box.

Problem 2 – Notifying the contractors company the contractor arrives and leaves location.
Alerting the employer of the contractor that the contractor has arrived on your site is increasingly being requested, perfect for lone workers, even better to have electronic confirmation go back to the employer of the contractor at the time the contractor arrives and leaves your location for improved invoicing.

I know I could have used this feature back at Weston Baked Foods in the manufacturing plant, we could have easily known if a contractor was on or off site saving many hours spent looking for contractors who were actually not on site at all.

Want to see more…Click HERE for a short video or call us on 1300 800 077

• Finding a venue that makes security and safety a priority – if you find a location that emphasizes the importance of having documented evacuation plans, fire extinguishers, and staff that is used to being on the lookout for suspicious activity, this is a good place to hold your event.
• Allowing security to do their job – if you hire outside security, allow them to do their job. Give them the authority to take control over the situation, and that includes giving them control over the venue staff.
• Checking identification – you want to ensure that the guests invited at the ones that attend. So don’t hesitate to check ID as they enter the premises to confirm that they are the guest that was actually invited. An invited guest can still cause a problem, but it is less likely when you have their identity confirmed.

Thank you to all of those who entered the Visitor Management Competition.

The 2 winners details are below, we asked the winners a couple of questions about why they entered the competition, why they think they need a Visitor Management system and what they would like to achieve by putting an electronic Visitor Management system in place and would like to share the following……

1. I entered the competition because I looked into the WhosOnLocation visitor management system last year as we are expanding & have two sites within walking distance with a strict H&S policy about visitors, contractors etc, but was advised the cost of setup was not warranted at this stage.

2. I think we need a Visitor Management Solution as at any given time there could be up to 15 people on site in various places & no one person knows who they are or where they are, I am responsible for the visitor sign in book & access cards & I have no idea what’s going on!

3. The two things I would like to achieve is being able to follow the security & H&S protocols with no exceptions as I know this is not being done & having peace of mind that I’m on leave or not here the system can run itself & someone can step in at any time & know who & where all staff & visitors are in the two buildings

The winners are….

Winner 1
Kimberly Christie
LanzaTech NZ Ltd
New Zealand

Winner 2

ABEL JANDA
dasmariñas east national high school
Philippines

Other Tips

Don’t be afraid to rely on an event planning team. Too many organisers want to do everything on their own, but delegating work can get everything done faster and take some of the stress away from one person. Letting a team help out will also give you the chance to focus on issues that are sometimes neglected.

Safety is a sometimes overlooked aspect of an event, but with the proper software it doesn’t have to be a problem either! You’ll be able to stay apprised of building security and fire-monitoring systems, and let your guests enjoy the event worry-free. You can even use monitoring software like this to know how many guests are in attendance.

The most important part of making your event successful, of course, is to time everything right. Plan early and prepare for contingencies.

How much do you spend on Visitor Management Books annually, I was shocked to hear one of my recent inquiries just two weeks ago was spending….Read More

Tell us how much you spend on Visitor Management books annually to go into the draw to win 12 months full access to visitor, contractor management – on demand

Register here and tell us how much you spend on visitor management books each year

Visitor sign in books date back way before I was even born. I remember many times looking through the book as I myself signed in to see who had signed in before me, always checking to see if one of my competitors had already been to present their products.

Visitor sign in books in general are not really that exciting, when the alarm goes off for a fire drill typically reception picks up the book and everyone runs outside. Once outside you can check off all the visitors and your job is done…..well not exactly….over the years people have started to realise when doing fire drills that many people are not being tracked via the visitor book.

How do we track employees, contractors, courier drivers and more. It is true the traditional visitor sign in book was exactly that…..a sign in book for visitors.

Move forward to today and electronic visitor management systems allow so much more information to be collected in preparation for planned fire drills and the unexpected emergencies. Electronic visitor management systems today can track visitors, contractors, employees, courier drivers and more.

What was so surprising I hear you say about my visitor sign in book conversations this week…..One customer with multiple locations told me on one very busy location they spent $4,000 for visitor sign in books that only lasted 6 months. A second customer made my jaw drop when he explained after completing an audit of the costs of his visitor sign in books for 3 locations that the cost for 12 months was in excess of $20,000. Sure the visitor sign in books were personalised for the company but wow….20k just for visitor sign in books.

If you are using visitor sign in books in your business and you would like to save many thousands of dollars by moving to a more advanced electronic visitor, contractor management solution please give me a call, I am sure your company would be very pleased to reduce the cost of managing visitors by many thousands of dollars.

In fact I am going to make an offer available for two companies to have access to our Visitor Management Solution at no charge for 12 months, all you have to do is email to me confirmation of the annual cost of your manual visitor management books. Each company who sends through confirmation of the cost of the visitor sign in books for 12 months for their company will go directly into a draw. At the end of April 2013 we will draw 2 company names and those 2 companies will win 12 months full access to our electronic visitor and contractor management system which includes full training. The names of the companies will be posted on our blog as soon as they have been notified,

Want to start a 30 day free trial…..just give us a call and we will get you started

Tell us how many Visitor Management books you use in your company and win 12 months free access to Visitor Management, Contractor Management. CLICK HERE to let us know and you can win

• Tell them never to approach equipment without first making eye contact with the operator – even when being lead by someone, visitors should be cautious enough to acknowledge the equipment operator personally, that way they can be certain that there will be no surprises.
• Explain that the ‘if you can’t see them, they can’t see you’ rule applies on the job site – it’s never wise for a visitor to assume that an equipment operator can see them. It may sound obvious, but isn’t something that someone unfamiliar with construction will know automatically.
• Explain the site’s escape routes – it’s important that visitors be familiarized with evacuation plans should something go seriously awry on the job site.
• Familiarize them with any manholes, and other hidden dangers – let your visitors know what is used to label dangerous areas on the construction site that they should look out for.

When you work in the construction industry, it’s easy to assume that visitors to the site know all the basic safety guidelines that you do. It’s always safer to assume that they know absolutely nothing! After all, tracking site visits and maintaining safety, should be your top priorities.

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• Will they be a distraction? – if you are approving an office visitation for an employee, keep in mind the time of day that the requested visit would take place. If they are visiting during the employee’s lunch break, then a visit may be appropriate. This is a guideline that can be outlined in a visitor’s policy.
• Is there a safe area for visits? – many companies will limit staff to having visitors in more public places of a building, like a cafeteria. This keeps visitors away from classified information, or unsafe areas. If you do not have a safe, public space for visitors, then you may want to avoid granting them access.
• Are there days of the week that aren’t as busy? – you don’t want a building for of unnecessary visitors on days that are busy for client visits, meetings, and other important tasks. Visitors can be limited to quieter days of the week.
• Are you willing to limit quantity of employee visits? – employees can be limited to having a set number of visits per year. This reduces the overall number of visitors that come through the workplace overall.

Whatever your policy, make sure that all visitors are identified by a visitor’s pass and recorded in your system.

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• Names filled out on forms that are incomplete or illegible
• Lack of verification of identity, even if there are forms filled out.
• Visitor records may be not be kept suitable confidential.
• Badges that are created by hand or that do not feature names are easily to reproduce.
• Insufficient records are kept in the case of an incident (injury) or evacuation.

Each of the above issues can be prevented by keeping sufficient visitor records and implementing visitor systems to track those that are on site effectively.