Velosi cuts safety admin costs with help from Scafftag

Velosi Cuts Safety Admin Costs

With Help From Scafftag

Combination of Safetrak and Unitag leads to Worldwide roll-out of cost saving safety inspection solution

By using a combination of the Safetrak computerised asset management system and the Unitag equipment status tagging system from Scafftag, Velosi has delivered a lifting gear inspection and certification solution (in accordance with the LOLER regulations) to a well known razor manufacturer.

Velosi provides quality control and inspection services and is one of the few companies that is fully accredited by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) for inspection and certification of lifting equipment and that is independent of an insurance company.

Martin Coles, director at Velosi, says of the project at the client’s premises: “We trialed every one of Scafftag’s different tagging systems over a six month period and found that the combination of the Unitag and the Safetrak system suited our needs best.”

Safetrak is an electronic management tool that shares information on equipment status and controls the workflow between onsite employees and managers. It uses three components: Electronically (RFID) chipped Scafftag status tagging systems; Handheld computers; Specially designed software. Safetrak works by building an inspections schedule in the software program which is then downloaded onto the hand held computer units (PDAs) and given to the operative.

The next step sees the operative identify the correct piece of equipment from the RFID chip and then carry out the inspection and maintenance. Rather than just being a typical asset management system the Safetrak system can be made up of specific safety modules, such as the Lifting Gear Inspection Module which provides a prescribed checklist for the operative to follow or it can be user-defined. To complete the process the information is uploaded from the hand held unit (s) to the Safetrak core management programme, providing the management with a complete overview of their assets. The system is paperless and can be used for reporting purposes and providing an audit trail.

The Unitag system comprises two components – a holder that attaches permanently to the equipment, and replacement inserts. It has a permanent locking holder system to help ensure security and flexibility in terms of attachment. Once the two parts of holder are locked together, it can only be removed with the use of heavy duty cutters. A selection of coloured holders and Safe Working Load inserts (ready made for lifting gear) are available providing the option of additional visual qualification.

Using these systems, Velosi was able to carry out full assessments of the lifting gear and determine the requirements of each type. Once completed, the company was able to implement a complete management control system, using Safetrak, to monitor each item so its inspection status is known. Unitag was used to implement a colour-coded tagging system so that equipment whose inspection is out of date is now easily identifiable, and therefore can be placed ‘out of use’ until it can be re-certified.

Clearly better for business

Implementing Scafftag’s systems has led to multiple benefits both for the client and Velosi. Feedback from personnel at the customer’s plant points to the fact that, by using the Safetrak system, their asset register is now fully up to date and that the exact location information of all their assets is now held within the system. Similarly, the colour-coding scheme of the Unitag system has been implemented across the whole of the company and this has been communicated to the workforce who now understands the significance of each colour.

However, it is not just the customer that has seen huge benefits from implementing the integrated Scafftag system. Martin Coles details how the volume of administration involved in the inspection and certification of the lifting equipment has been dramatically reduced and that, in terms of reporting, the system is simplicity itself. For example, in order to access a certificate for a particular piece of equipment it is now possible to download a PDF from a web portal rather than rely on paper systems.

Equally significant, as far as Martin Coles is concerned, is that by using the integrated system Velosi is now able to accurately gauge how long it takes to inspect and certify a piece of equipment (plus the time taken to complete this process has been reduced). In the future when Velosi is asked to provide a quotation to inspect and certify equipment it will be able to do so with far greater accuracy.

The potential within the system has been recognised by Velosi which is looking to roll it out Worldwide across its 40 different offices. Martin Coles also says: “The benefits that this system has given us and the back-up from Scafftag when implementing the Safetrak system have been superb. Not only are we actively looking to use the system in future projects but we will also look to retrospectively introduce it on to as many of our existing customers’ sites as possible.”

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