An Australian construction safety software company has expanded into the UK. HammerTech, founded in 2015, provides a digital platform that consolidates safety and site management solutions and processes into a paperless system.
The platform speeds up administrative tasks such as permits management by up to 57%, the company claims.
HammerTech is established in Australia and New Zealand, and has expanded to the US. It has recently opened an office in London and will be at UK Construction Week.
HammerTech chief executive Ben Leach said: “HammerTech is a platform that digitises all safety and site operations processes and paperwork into a real-time mobile application. It was created by construction and technology professionals specifically to solve construction problems. We believe it’s the only solution on the market to bring all field safety systems together in one place.
“We now work with 80% of the largest builders in Australia, some having hundreds of projects at any given time, and being one or two clicks away from vital data is a huge benefit to them.
“Having scaled significantly over the past few years, entering new territories like the US, we are now in a prime position to enter the UK and Ireland and are excited to bring our platform to market.”
Pat Godfrey, HammerTech head of sales in the UK & Ireland, added: “HammerTech is embedding health and safety across all staff, from contractors and subcontractors to head office staff, making everyone accountable and safety a number one priority. I can’t wait to get started and show UK & Ireland construction businesses what HammerTech can do.”
“When toolbox talks and inductions are separated from safety in digital tools, we reinforce the silo mentality that safety is the safety manager’s responsibility only.”
HammerTech’s USP?
Asked what sets HammerTech apart from rival systems, Leach said the platform “excels in data breadth and quality and digitising all safety and site operations – not just incidents, inspections and observations”.
He added: “When processes like risk assessment method statements, toolbox talks and inductions are separated from safety in digital tools, we reinforce the silo mentality that safety is the safety manager’s responsibility and not everyone’s on the project.
“With HammerTech you get significantly better visibility and speed of access to safety data onsite or remote. No matter whether you’re a company director, supervisor or trade partner, you can see exactly what’s happening on site relevant to you and any performance gaps that need attention.”
HammerTech integrates with Procore, CMiC, Acumatica and Sage. An integration with Autodesk is in the works.
HammerTech in action
The HammerTech platform has been used by Galway-based MJ Conroy Construction Group.
Director David Conroy said: “Given we work with international clients within IT and pharmaceuticals, the regulations are extremely strict and we have to demonstrate that we meet their safety requirements.”
Leach explained: “Before partnering with HammerTech, MJ Conroy relied on paper-based solutions for virtually all of its processes – and when it uses more than 100 contractors and is building several projects at once – that’s a lot of lever arch files to go through.”
Conroy added: “Before deciding to use HammerTech, we looked at many different systems. A lot were paper-based manual systems. That can make our processes time-consuming and there is the potential for gaps to present themselves.
“Other systems we looked at would be good at one thing, but fall down on something else. There was not one ICT system that was available for safety management that we felt covered enough bases.”
Furthermore, Conroy sought a safety and site operations solution that could provide professional training services and was adaptable not just to their requirements, but each different client’s unique processes.
A game changer
Conroy revealed: “It’s genuinely a game changer having all health and safety data in one place and so easy to access rather than having everything being on paper or having to find multiple files. It makes auditing much easier, but it’s more than that. Everyone has access to the platform, not just project managers, so it really does make safety top of mind in our business.”
Leach added that as a result of partnering with HammerTech, Conroy has realised benefits of:
- faster and simpler auditing to support ISO accreditation;
- records and compliance rates at the touch of a button;
- improved safety reputation with clients that they believe will contribute to repeat business;
- eliminating downtime spent waiting for induction paperwork to be processed, such as licenses and certifications; and
- greater engagement with employees and contractors with respect to safety management.
Conroy concluded: “It’s there on our screen and it tells us straight away where we’re compliant or failing and what we need to do. So, from our point of view, that’s the compliance aspect of it, the benefits that it gives to us on that and the reassurance that we are compliant is enormous.”
HammerTech will be at UK Construction Week on 2-4 May.
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