“Contractor compliance has increased 110 fold since implementing the products. Until we had it we didn’t know who was and wasn’t [inducted or compliant]. …Rapid Contractor Management is a big part of our risk management strategy.”

– Rohan Geyser, EHS Superintendent

Wilmar Sugar has 8 large sites across Queensland, where they produce over half of Australia’s raw sugar. This is then sold by the household-familiar brand name, CSR. Wilmar contributes to environmental sustainability through a focus on cogeneration and the creation of by-products such as molasses and bagasse to reduce wastage. To keep these sugar mills turning, Wilmar employ 3,000 staff and have almost 1,000 contracting companies.

THE CHALLENGE

Wilmar realised that they needed a way to effectively manage which contractors were getting onto site. Their old method meant that their receptionists were in charge of signing in all contractors who arrived on site and taking them to the appropriate person. This presented problems as often contractors did not know who they needed to be meeting there or who they were working for, making the job difficult for the receptionists who then had to chase it up.

“Our admin persons at the front desk were our gatekeeper for all our contractors.”

Furthermore, it was difficult for Wilmar’s planners and schedulers to know which contractors they could use and which weren’t compliant, resulting in contractors sometimes being invited to work on site before they were proven to be compliant. A system was required which could centrally store all contractor information and quickly show which people could work.

THE SOLUTION

“Rapid Contractor Management is a big part of our risk strategy… and an integral part of our business in how we coordinate and control our contractors.”

9 Rapid Access terminals were installed at Wilmar sites to enable visitors and contractors to sign in. Using the Rapid dashboard, Wilmar staff are able to quickly and easily see exactly who is currently on site, as well as the history of sign in and sign out times of all previous personnel. With their company placing high importance on risk management, the ability to be able to view this information means Wilmar can be assured of their site security at all times.

The Rapid Access System also integrates with Rapid Induct and Rapid Contractor Management to make sure that people are only allowed on site if they have done their own induction and their company is fully compliant. The Rapid systems have helped Wilmar to share the responsibility of making sure that contractors are inducted and compliant. This is particularly the case for their planners and schedulers, who previously had a list of preferred contractors they referred to before hiring them, without necessarily being able to see if they actually had up-to-date insurances and inductions.”

THE RESULTS

Having Rapid Contractor Management means that all company and individual documents can be stored in a centralised online location in the Rapid system which anyone with permission at Wilmar can access with ease. Since implementation, the amount of documents stored has reached over 16,500, with this number continually growing. This means that it is now much easier for their planners and schedulers, who are able to see even before they have issued work to a contractor whether they actually have all of the necessary documents and licences required by Wilmar.

“When we are onboarding new contractors to come onto site we need to make sure they have the specific items before we can even look at creating work for them. It’s no good hiring a small company that can’t provide us with the levels of risk control that we require.”

The induction process has also been simplified through the implementation of Rapid Induct. Wilmar was able to create contractor general inductions, site specific inductions and others related to specific risks or work types. These inductions are then assigned electronically to the appropriate personnel, making the process of inducting people much more efficient than face-to-face inductions.

“We are in business for the long haul, we’re not here for a short time, so we need to move with changing trends, and Rapid has been a big/key part of that. Those who aren’t embracing need to embrace it and move along with that. It is part of our business culture.”