Knowing what you know now, would you do it again?
“Yes – 100%, and there is more to come”
What would you say to others thinking of working with Transfirm?
“Give it a red-hot crack! Back yourself and do it. Transfirm didn’t just build systems, but actively helped across all aspects of the business.”
CASE STUDY
Control Point Rescue provides confined space, rescue management and other critical safety services to heavy industry, specialising in maritime applications within the civilian and defence sectors.
What was happening when you engaged Transfirm?
Our goal was to revolutionise the way permitting and risk management was performed in the maritime industry, especially in meeting Naval and Boarder Force Requirements.
The entire industry was using paper-based forms; significantly slowing down the workforce each time a permit or safe work methods statement (SWMS) was issued. We wanted a better and faster way to do this work. Specifically, we wanted to reduce the administration burden and have all legislated information captured and available for clients to review from anywhere at any time. To do that we needed to digitise our work permitting system.
What was the first thing you did with Transfirm?
Transfirm guided us to answer the question, ‘wouldn’t it be good if?’. By taking this approach, we devised the simplest and most effective high-risk work permitting in the maritime sector. Transfirm then digitised the process, and even overcome the problem of there being no network connectivity within a confined space on a ship.
Improving these processes significantly increased speed and accuracy. Competitors still require 24 hours’ notice to issue permits to a confined space. We now do it in 4 minutes.
On one project, the project manager told us that our permitting system saved them 3 weeks in the six-month construction program. That saved everyone big coin, including the principal contractor and the Commonwealth.
How did you feel at the time?
We were profoundly confident in the decision to go ahead because we knew the impact it would make to our business. I was understandably nervous because we had to get it right. If we didn’t, we’d lose a large contract. There was a vulnerability around it for sure. That’s why you need to work with people who really know what they are doing.
What else did you do with Transfirm?
By law, there must be a ‘watch-keeper’ to sign the workforce on and off each vessel when construction work is underway. We noticed that this activity was also paper based, again slowing down the workforce. We simplified and digitised this process with Transfirm and because of it, we are growing rapidly. Clients want to work with us because our watch-keepers process is streamlined, quick, their guys can move on and off the vessel without delay, and the reporting is done in minutes. It’s highly professional.
Our clients see the value – they can account for people in real-time, which is critical in an emergency, and can use sign-in and sign-out data to cross-reference hours charged by contractors.
We then digitised our pre-starts, calibration, training, document control and now have a digital management system. This management system is now being certified to ISO 9001, ISO 45001and ISO 14001.
What made the most impact?
I don’t think it’s just one thing – it’s the sum of all the process improvements. The impact is huge.
Having said that, the watch-keeping side of things is now massive. We are now refining it to track qualifications as well; providing real-time data on our client’s desktops.
Internally, the work with Transfirm has made life much easier for our staff who love that we are continually improving and doing cutting-edge work. It greatly assisted the growth of our business by having a significant point of difference that clients really value.
We have invested a fair bit of money but the return on the investment has been monumental – well over 10x what we invested, easily.
What would you say you’ve achieved overall.
It’s been fantastic – helped us significantly expand our scope of work, stand out significantly from competitors and grow our business – when you have points of difference you can win work from competitors. Efficiency is the key to the game as prices are set by large clients.
Final Thoughts?
I’d have to mention Kevin – did a great job. We call him the K-DOG now!
Adam Spinelli
Co-Founder & Director
