A paper sign-in sheet doesn’t know who left the building. In Australia, the WHS Act 2011 places a clear duty on PCBUs to know who is on site, at all times, and to ensure their safety. In the United States, OSHA regulations require employers to maintain a safe working environment, which includes accounting for all personnel – employees, contractors, and visitors – during emergencies. Relying on manual visitor logs leaves your organisation exposed to significant risk and potential non-compliance.
The Law Demands Accountability for Everyone On Site
Across our work with Australian and US organisations, we consistently see that regulators focus on demonstrable evidence of duty of care. Australian PCBUs must eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable, and this extends to visitors. US employers are legally obligated to provide a safe workplace, and that includes knowing who is present and accounted for in the event of an incident.
Paper Logs Create a False Sense of Security
Most organisations still rely on manual visitor logs or disconnected spreadsheets, creating a dangerous gap between arrival records and actual site occupancy. This means that during an emergency, your evacuation team is working with incomplete data, potentially leaving people unaccounted for. Visitor data that isn’t real-time isn’t protection – it’s paperwork.
- A paper log cannot provide a real-time evacuation report during an emergency.
- Manual systems offer no way to verify who has actually left the site.
- Contractor induction records are often stored separately, creating a fragmented view of risk.
- Reporting on visitor trends – peak times, frequent visitors – is impossible without digitisation.
- Compliance with data privacy regulations (like CCPA in the US) is significantly harder to demonstrate.
A Digital System Delivers Real-Time Visibility and Control
A cloud-based visitor management system, with offline capability, provides a single source of truth for site occupancy. This system, combined with a robust contractor induction process, ensures that all personnel are accounted for and have acknowledged site safety procedures. Real-time data is the foundation of effective emergency response.
- Run a weekly real-time evacuation report to verify the system is capturing accurate data and that check-out procedures are being followed.
- Generate a monthly visitor traffic report to identify peak times and potential security vulnerabilities.
- Produce an annual contractor compliance report to demonstrate adherence to induction and licence verification requirements.
- Schedule automated reports for key stakeholders – facilities managers, safety officers, and emergency response teams.
- Utilise custom filters to drill down into specific data points – visitor type, location, time of day – for targeted risk assessments.
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 move beyond paperwork and embrace a proactive approach to visitor and contractor management. We’ve found that the ability to generate a live site occupancy report, even when the internet is down, is the single biggest factor in improving emergency preparedness and demonstrating compliance. We protect people, not just premises.
Content prepared by Time and People — visitor and contractor management across Australia and the United States.