“We were one of those paper-hungry companies, where records sit on shelves and never get used again until someone throws them in the bin,” states Mark Falla, Health & Safety Director at G4S Secure Solutions Guernsey Ltd. Mark is responsible for health and safety across G4S operations throughout the Channel Islands.
Over a typical year, the business produces hundreds of risk assessments and method statements (RAMS) to support its daily operations. It had been using Word documents to produce RAMS. When Mark joined the team, he could see there was room for improvement in this area.
“We were churning out rubbish. They weren’t accurate, relevant or shared,” explains Mark. “We relied on the expertise of our engineers. They did a quality job and we had no accidents – but that was because of the quality of our people, not our processes. If anything had happened, we would have been in trouble. We needed RAMS that were fit for purpose. And we needed to instigate processes that would support our people effectively.”
"HandsHQ has saved us immeasurable time. We now have concise, relevant RAMS to send to the client and use. It’s a big improvement!”
Mark discovered HandsHQ cloud-based RAMS software through an online search. He immediately saw the benefits of using HandsHQ to produce RAMS.
“Instead of spending hours producing RAMS documentation without much to show for it, it was clear that HandsHQ could save us a lot of time, and produce better quality documentation,” he says.
G4S began using HandsHQ in 2016.
“HandsHQ has saved us immeasurable time when producing RAMS. It’s saved us hours and hours. It also eliminates the pain of repeats. The clients really like the HandsHQ RAMS, because it produces a quality document. Because the clients like them, we get less rejection, which saves us more time and improves the client experience,” says Mark.
“But HandsHQ isn’t just about saving us time or improving the quality of the RAMS, it’s also about how we use the RAMS,” he continues. “It is all done digitally. It is updated digitally. It can be easily shared with whomever you want to share it. That’s a big culture change for us.”
Within its health and safety remit, G4S were also struggling with managing training records. Following the success of using HandsHQ’s RAMS software, it felt like a ‘no brainer’ to adopt HandsHQ Training Register to manage training as well.
“We had relied on the archetypal Excel spreadsheet supplemented by paper certificates stuffed in a folder somewhere,” says Mark.
"We can ensure that each person in each role has the right training.”
As part of the digitalisation of Training Management, G4S opted to switch to the iHasco eLearning courses that are integrated with the HandsHQ Training Register platform. The quality and wide variety of courses were a big plus for G4S. In addition, the availability of the courses in multiple languages, especially Portuguese, was an essential requirement.
Mark adds, using Training Register has made a big difference. “The ability to book eLearning courses so easily saves a lot of time. We just purchase a block and off we go!”
Now, new starters are given a login to Training Register where they will find a set of mandatory iHasco courses tailored to their job role. This has streamlined the onboarding experience considerably, and making it a much more seamless process for the new team member.
Mark says, “Training Register enables us to share training information easily with the managers and even with our clients. We can see exactly when training is expiring. We can ensure that each person in each role has the right amount of training. It’s the best position we have been in over the last 14 years that I’ve been here.”
“There aren’t many businesses in the Channel Islands that use software like HandsHQ,” says Mark. “It’s a big differentiator for us. It is so productive and the quality is great. HandsHQ has helped us to retain and regain clients.”
Because the legislative environments vary in different Channel Island jurisdictions, this complicates the compliance environment and the production of RAMS. Using HandsHQ has simplified this for the G4S Channel Islands team.
Mark says, “HandsHQ makes it easy to make RAMS relevant – whether that’s to the specific site you’re working on, the job you’re doing or the jurisdiction and, therefore, the regulations that apply.”
The ability to tailor RAMS so specifically has driven one of the cultural improvements with which Mark has been most impressed. The HandsHQ RAMS software has allowed G4S to remove irrelevant sections, making it much more likely that the whole team will read the RAMS in full.
“HandsHQ has helped us to drive a new mindset,” says Mark. “The usability, ease of communication and distribution are all great. People get an opportunity to have their say on each set of RAMS. It’s a big improvement and people have really got into it.”
Mark has also been very impressed with the support he has received from HandsHQ.
“HandsHQ is a very collaborative company, and that is a big differentiator and a big selling point for us,” says Mark. “HandsHQ really understands its customers’ needs. Our training administrator loves the Live Chat support. She says it’s very responsive. She can always get an answer to her query straight away and then get on with her day.”
“You’ll not do better than HandsHQ as far as I’m concerned,” he concludes. “Everyone’s happy with it. It has helped us so much – especially with compliance-hungry clients. We wouldn’t do without it.”
G4S employs 800 staff in the Channel Islands, 550 of those in Jersey. Due to the remote location, the scope of the business spans a broad range of solutions, including facilities management, electrical services, security solutions, secure cash management, courier and distribution services, locksmith and key cutting, and archive and data storage solutions.