ARCAN Construction Ltd.is a general contractor working all across the northern territories — sites that cover an area the size of Europe. They were facing the same challenges that most construction contractors face: supervising and communicating with workers across different sites throughout a region.
ARCAN’s remit is broad, encompassing the design and construction of commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings; housing for Inuit, fish plants, homeless shelters and men’s shelters, and historical buildings.
Paper Doesn’t Work for Remote Locations
Much of their work takes place in remote, fly-in fly-out communities with populations of around 300. Michael Wonderham is ARCAN’s EHS Manager, so he has the huge task of keeping tabs on 250 or so workers across myriad sites reachable only by plane.
Every Sunday, all the safety documentation from the previous week would be faxed over for review. This could amount to hundreds of documents, and take all of Monday and Tuesday to catch up on. It was also a reactionary method of supervising safety; by the time he received documentation that disclosed a compliance issue or risk, the action would long since have taken place, almost defeating the purpose of filling out the document.
As Wonderham explains:
That’s why we’ve gone with an online platform – I’m able to see what the guys are doing almost instantaneously, I can review their toolbox talks, and their hazard assessments across three thousand kilometers.”
Corfix’s Innovative Training Solution
One of the significant challenges for ARCAN is getting training to workers in remote areas. Unlike companies located in cities with a plethora of first aid course providers to choose from, communities like Lutsel’Ke or Pond Inlet don’t offer such options. With (very) remote work, you don’t just go to the local office and pick up a training course. It doesn’t exist.
ARCAN worked with Corfix to build training components into their Corfix platform. Using our digital document management software, when a worker fills out a field level hazard assessment form, for instance, they’re made aware of the required certifications and directed to the training they’re missing. The online course and test are conveniently available to them, and then the worker submits digital proof of completion and comprehension, such as a picture of them wearing a harness correctly accompanying their Fall Protection training course.
This unconventional approach to training is an innovative adaptation that we were happy to support.
Total Visibility Across Locations
As well as making training material accessible to the worker, Corfix provides Wonderham with much better visibility into the training status of workers. He receives automatic email notifications of all workers with expired or soon-to-expiring certifications, allowing him to coordinate with distant crews about who requires training, and who can and cannot currently perform certain tasks compliantly.
Seeing documents like toolbox talks submitted in real-time gives an accurate snapshot of who is on site, and what they’re doing on any given day, and allows Wonderham to chase those workers down for field level hazard assessments and other safety forms to make sure ARCAN stays in compliance.
ARCAN’s Workflow is Improved
Regarding the impact of Corfix’s document management software on ARCAN’s workflow, Wonderham says that it makes his life so much easier. At any time, he can open Corfix and see one of his workers in a small, remote indigenous community in Port Simpson. He can see the worker’s field level hazard assessment instantaneously and spot that they are doing some work at heights. Wonderham can inform the worker that they need to get additional training, which helps prevent accidents and injuries and minimizes liability.
Under the old system it would be next week or two weeks before I would have even realized that a worker didn’t have the necessary training for the scope of work that he was doing.”
Thoughts on the Future of Technology in Construction
Wonderham observes that in the construction industry, technology has traditionally been viewed as a distraction. Cell phones were banned on construction sites when they first came out, though as cellular capability expanded and ubiquity exploded it became increasingly unrealistic to think a worker wouldn’t always have a phone on them. ARCAN has elected to embrace technology and to use it for good. Workers can use the Corfix platform for education, access their occupational health and safety manual sitting in their back pocket, and improve safety compliance.
The application of a digital health and safety document management solution, especially for companies working in the northern territories and across remote sites like ARCAN does, is like having an extra set of eyes and ears on site, without the arduous – and expensive – journey. Their site at Baker Lake is located at the geographical middle of Canada; but don’t let that fool you into thinking that “middle” equates to “central” in the sense of accessibility. According to Wonderham, it’s a two and half day journey to get there, and costs more than an all-inclusive vacation to Mexico.
Not only does that make it essential for him to be able to supervise remotely, it makes working safely an even higher stakes proposition. For instance, he says, “If you get something in your eye in Calgary or Ottawa you can flush it out and go to the optometrist. Up there, you get something in your eye and you can flush it out and then we’re going to have to air lift you out from there.” The difficulty of getting swift medical intervention means prevention has to be a priority, requiring easy access to safety information and as much transparency as possible into the conditions on site.
How Can You Benefit?
Your company’s situation doesn’t have to be anywhere near as extreme as ARCAN’s (and it’s hard to believe it could be) to benefit from digitizing your safety program. Traditional safety programs relying on pen and paper, physical interactions, and transportation of documents, fail to capitalize on the advantages of technology.
Want to learn how updating your safety program can save you time and money while making you more compliant? Click the image and book a demo below
