Some time ago, we added the ability to track which users in the system were "employees" and which were "subcontractors" (along with the subcontractor company name).  Until recently though, the company address that printed on the tickets was always the prime contractor's address (the company that held the SafetySync account).  At the request of a few clients that primarily hire subcontractors, we've added new textbox fields to the Employee Details screen.  When the user type "Contractor" is chosen, a section expands to show additional textboxes for the subcontractor's company name, address, city, province and postal code.


Now when a subcontractor's wallet card prints out (available upon completion of the required training course), the certificate now shows the subcontractor's company name and address.  Since regulated training tickets (such as TDG and WHMIS) require the name and address of the "employer" to be displayed, this new functionality satisfies this requirement.

Keep in mind that since the "employer" is, in fact, not the prime contractor in this situation, the authorized training manager's signature (if loaded into the system), will not display for subcontractors.  Subcontractors will need to sign their own tickets, since they are technically their own employer.  The prime contractor (account holder's) logo will still display to the right of the subcontractor company and address.

We've added a new report (available on the Training Certificate list page) which provides administrators with a quick view of which employees have certificates that are current, coming due, past due, or missing altogether.

The name and position of each employee is listed on the left, and the certificate names are listed across the top.  The cells in the matrix are populated by a colored icon representing the appropriate status of the certificate.  [Note: blank cells mean that the certificate is not required for the employee's position.]

Like all reports in the SafetySync online safety management system, the report updates automatically as employees or administrators enter certificates (or through the passage of time as certificates expire).

We've added a new report to the Employee Details screen on the "Certificates" tab which allows the administrator to print a list of all certificates that are either required (regardless of their status) or optional but compliant.  This report is useful in showing auditors and customers the detailed status for each employee on a particular job or site.  The report also includes the certificate number, issue date and expiry date for each certificate.
 

Some customers, particularly ones in the oil and gas industry, have subcontractors that work within the company, more or less on a full-time basis.  For example, your organization may be in the welding business, and could have welders on staff, and others on contract.

Rather than expect these contract workers to have their own safety programs (and the hassle of auditing and failing their non-existent systems), your organization may choose to include these workers in your own safety program, choosing instead to treat them as they would a full time employee (providing them with your training, policies, procedures, forms, etc.)  Most of the system works perfectly for both employees and contractors, however, our developers at SafetySync have recently added a couple of features to the OHSMS that cater to the unique requirements of managing contract workers:

1.  Ability to assign employees as "Contractors" and track Company Name
In order to track which workers are employees and which are under contract, we've added radio buttons to differentiate the two types, and added a textbox to record the contractor's company name, if there is one.

2.  Ability to assign a certificate to "Employees", "Contractors", or both
Certain certificates that our clients are tracking only pertain to contract workers.  Examples of these include Certificates of Incorporation, General Liability Insurance, Vehicle Insurance, and WCB Clearance Letters.   In order to avoid making these certificates required for employees in the same position, you can select which group the certificate pertains to (in this case "Contractors").  Only workers assigned to the group selected will have the the certificate listed as required or compliant (as specified).

Administrators can now choose whether a line for the worker's signature is added to the certificates and wallet cards when they print.  In the administrator portal, go to 'Monitoring', then 'Components' in the menu.  Click on 'Safety Awareness Training'; this will bring up the settings for the component.  The last setting at the bottom of the list is new:


The default setting is 'No', meaning that unless the user is printing a TDG certificate, there will only be a spot for the employer's signature.  This is generally more convenient since the worker or an administrator can reproduce the signed certificate at any time from within the system (assuming the employer's signature has been uploaded).  If you choose to add a spot for the worker's signature, reproducing the certificate would mean having to get the certificate in the hands of the worker, then filing away a signed copy (which can be made easier with our certificate tracking module).

Regardless of the setting, a spot for the worker's signature will always be added to Transportation of Dangerous Goods certificates.  This is simply because this requirement is clearly stated in the TDG regulations.

Administrators can now enter details for a recommended training provider (institution, phone #, website link, blanket purchase order) in the Company Administration Portal.  When an employee's existing certificate is about to expire (or doesn't have one in the first place), they will be given this information in their employee portal so that they can call the institution, schedule the training, or even take it online (if it is available).  Having a 'Recommended Training Provider' can:

• Help employees locate and schedule appropriate training
• Ensure certificate training meets your organization's requirements
• Keep training consistent
• Direct employees to institutions that have lower costs
• Simplify accounting by ensuring course fees are booked to the correct Purchase Order

COMPANY ADMINISTRATION PORTAL
Simply enter the appropriate information for the training institution in the Certificate Details screen (this must be done for each Certificate, since you may have different institutions for various certificates).  Any textbox that is not filled in (such as Blanket PO) will not appear for employees.  Don't forget to check off "Share with Employees" before saving!


EMPLOYEE SAFETY PORTAL
Once the Administrator has input the details about the Recommended Training Provider, the information will be presented to in the Employee Safety Portal above the certificate name.  The website link will take the employee to to website where they can look at schedules, directions to the institution and other useful information.
  

Managing employee certification is difficult.  Administrators must keep track of expired certificates, coordinate with the employees to find times that fit their schedules, call training providers to book sessions, and later remind employees to go.  For most Safety Administrators, this is a less-than-critical task that often finds its way to the back burner.  By not being on top of monitoring certificates and scheduling sessions, employees could end up going out to a site with an expired certificate, or worse, not being trained at all.  With this in mind, we've developed a scheduling function in SAFETYSYNC for Certificates that can help make this task much simpler.

If you haven't already done so, go to the Company Administration portal and assign the certificate category (such as "First Aid / CPR - Advanced") to the position (such as "Mechanic") for the employee as either Required or Optional.  This will allow certificate records (scheduled or completed) to be added for each employee in that position.

Open the Employee's record (under Company / Employees) and click on the "Certificates" tab.  Click on the appropriate certificate.  If the employee has any current or expired tickets for this category, they will be shown on this Certificate Details screen.

To schedule a course for the employee, click on the "Schedule Training Session" button.  This will open a popup with the default Course Name / Certification Level and Course Provider (you can set these defaults under the Certificate Details).  Edit the details and set the time and date for the new training session.


We highly recommend checking the 'Email Reminder' checkbox.   It will immediately send a message to the employee's email address on record with an Outlook event attachment.  It will also send a second email reminder 24 hours before the training session.

Once the employee has attended the session and received her certificate, the employee can login to the Employee Safety Portal.  The scheduled training session will be displayed under the Certificate Details.  The employee simply clicks on the scheduled training session to enter the details for the completed certificate (expiry, instructor, upload image, etc.)

The certificate will be automatically routed to the "Approve Certificates" screen for an Administrator to review and approve (after which the employee will be compliant).