A paper sign-in sheet doesn’t know who left the building, and in an emergency, that gap puts your people at risk. Both Australian WHS legislation and US OSHA regulations place a clear duty on organisations to know who is on site at all times – and that obligation extends to contractors. Pre-approved lists, integrated with a digital system, are essential for meeting this duty of care and ensuring a safe environment for everyone.
Knowing Who’s On Site Is The Law
In Australia, the WHS Act 2011 requires PCBUs to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and others at the workplace. This includes visitors and contractors. In the United States, OSHA’s General Duty Clause requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards, and knowing who is on site is fundamental to hazard control. In our work with Australian and US organisations, we consistently see that failing to accurately track site occupancy is a key vulnerability identified during safety audits.
Paper Processes Leave People Unaccounted For
Most organisations rely on manual processes – spreadsheets, sign-in books, or email lists – to manage regular contractors. This creates a dangerous disconnect between who *should* be on site and who *actually* is. Visitor data that isn’t real-time isn’t protection; it’s paperwork.
- Manual lists are prone to errors and omissions, especially during busy periods.
- Contractor induction and safety training records are often stored separately, creating a compliance risk.
- Emergency evacuation reports based on sign-in sheets are inaccurate because they don’t account for who has already left.
- There’s no automated way to verify contractor licenses or certifications are current.
- Tracking contractor hours on site for billing or project management is a manual, time-consuming process.
A Digital System Creates a Real-Time Safety Net
A cloud-based visitor management system with pre-approved lists transforms contractor management from a reactive task to a proactive safety measure. It provides a single source of truth for site occupancy, ensuring your evacuation team knows exactly who to account for in an emergency. This system must also have offline / disconnected mode to ensure data is available even if the internet drops.
- Create a contractor database within your visitor management system, storing essential details like company name, contact information, and license/certification numbers.
- Implement a contractor induction process: require contractors to complete mandatory safety training and acknowledge site rules *before* they are added to the pre-approved list.
- Assign access levels to contractors based on their role and the areas of your site they need to access.
- Utilize the system’s check-in/check-out functionality to track contractor hours on site and generate accurate reports.
- Integrate the system with your emergency evacuation plan to generate a real-time evacuation report listing all contractors currently on site.
Time and People: Visitor Management That Works When It Has To
For over 12 years, Time and People has helped Australian and US organisations move beyond paper-based visitor management to create genuinely safer workplaces. We’ve found that the ability to generate a live site occupancy report during an emergency is the difference between a controlled response and a chaotic situation. We deliver cloud-connected visitor management and contractor management solutions, ensuring your organisation is prepared, compliant, and – most importantly – protecting the people in your care.
Content prepared by Time and People — visitor and contractor management across Australia and the United States.