A visitor arriving at a secondary site shouldn’t be hindered because their host is located elsewhere. In Australia and the United States, WHS/OSHA regulations place a clear duty on organisations to know exactly who is on site, and that extends to visitors regardless of building location. Failing to accurately track visitor presence across multiple facilities creates a significant risk during emergencies and exposes your organisation to liability.
Knowing Who Is On Site Is The Law
Across our work with Australian and US organisations, we consistently see that the WHS Act 2011 (AU) and OSHA regulations (US) require organisations to maintain accurate records of all people on site, including visitors and contractors. This isn’t simply about ticking a box; it’s about ensuring the safety of everyone present and being able to account for their whereabouts in an emergency.
Paper Processes Don’t Scale To Multiple Locations
Most organisations rely on manual processes – visitor books, spreadsheets, or disconnected systems – that quickly break down when managing visitors across multiple buildings. This creates a dangerous gap between who *arrived* and who is *actually present*, especially during an evacuation.
- Manual data entry leads to errors and inconsistencies across locations.
- Visitor information is often siloed, making it impossible to get a complete site occupancy report.
- Emergency responders lack a real-time view of who is inside each building.
- Contractor inductions and compliance records aren’t centrally managed, increasing risk.
- Multiple entries for the same employee across different buildings create confusion and data integrity issues.
A Connected System Provides Real-Time Visibility
A cloud-based visitor management system with role-based access control solves this problem by centralising visitor data and allowing authorised personnel to manage access across all locations. This ensures that regardless of where a visitor checks in, their information is instantly available to the relevant teams and emergency responders.
- Flag employees based at a head office location as able to host visitors at any site within the system.
- Grant location-specific access permissions to staff, ensuring they can only manage visitor data for their designated buildings.
- Utilise a single database to eliminate duplicate entries and maintain data accuracy.
- Generate a real-time evacuation report that includes all visitors and employees across all locations.
- Enable offline/disconnected mode to maintain site occupancy records even if the internet connection is lost.
Time and People: Visitor Management That Works When It Has To
For over 12 years, Time and People has been helping Australian and US organisations manage visitor and contractor compliance across multiple sites. We’ve found that the ability to flag employees as able to host meetings in different locations instantly solves the issue of manual data duplication and ensures a seamless visitor experience. Our cloud-connected system delivers real-time evacuation reporting, giving your emergency team the information they need to protect everyone on site.
Content prepared by Time and People — visitor and contractor management across Australia and the United States.