Allowing an unauthorized or unqualified person to perform a specific task on your site is a catastrophic liability. In Australia, the WHS Act 2011 requires PCBUs to ensure only competent, authorized people perform work, while OSHA in the United States mandates strict controls over hazardous tasks. A permit-to-work system is the formal process of verifying and authorizing specific permissions before work begins.
Ignoring authorization is a direct violation of your duty of care
In Australia, the PCBU is legally obligated to manage site risks by ensuring all personnel are competent and permitted to be in specific areas. In the United States, OSHA requires employers to prevent unqualified individuals from engaging in hazardous activities. In our work with Australian and US organisations, we have found that these obligations are only met when authorization is verified at the point of entry.
Paper permissions are invisible when you need them most
Many organisations rely on forms that are filled out and then filed away in a cabinet, leaving admin staff to guess who is actually cleared to be on site. This gap between the permission granted and the person’s physical presence creates a massive compliance failure during audits or incidents.
- Permissions are stored in physical files rather than linked to a person’s digital profile.
- Admin staff are forced to manually ask visitors or contractors if they are cleared for specific tasks.
- There is no real-time way to verify credentials at the moment of check-in.
- Expired permissions are often not identified until after a safety breach has occurred.
Digital verification transforms permission into an active safety barrier
A cloud-based visitor management system integrates contractor induction and permission checks into the check-in process. This ensures that no one can access your site unless their specific permits—such as working with children or high-risk licenses—are verified and current.
- Contractor induction serves as the mandatory pre-access process to verify licenses and safety training before site entry.
- Electronic lookup enables admin staff to instantly see if a helper, volunteer, or contractor has the required permission to work.
- Drivers license kiosks capture essential identity data to ensure the person entering the site is the actual holder of the permit.
- RFID and barcode scanning allow for the fast check-in of previously approved and permitted employees and contractors.
Time and People: Visitor Management That Works When It Has To
We convert complex compliance obligations into working infrastructure through cloud-connected visitor management and real-time evacuation reporting. In our experience, moving from manual forms to electronic permission lookups eliminates the guesswork for admin staff and secures the site. For over 12 years across Australia and the United States, we have focused on ensuring the people on your site are protected.
Content prepared by Time and People — visitor and contractor management across Australia and the United States.