Ropax
Industrial services provider, Ropax, is using Apple devices and DocMoto to manage its health and safety audit trail among field-based workers in some of industry’s harshest environments.
The company, which delivers non-destructive inspection and testing services along with rope access systems for work on oil refineries, oil and gas platforms and high rise buildings in UK city centres, needs documentary evidence that its remote-working teams have read and understood project instructions and procedures.
Craig Matheson - Ropax owner and director - said: “We needed a way of allowing our people to access critical documents while on site, sign them and return them to a central online location.
“We also wanted to get away from using paper and so asked the DocMoto team for a technology solution: this now involves emailing a PDF which can be read on an iOS device such as an iPad or iPhone. Staff can open the document, sign on screen and email it back to DocMoto for secure storage.
“Knowing that our field workforce has been fully briefed on a project, including knowledge of risk assessments and procedures, and that they have signed to acknowledge this, helps us meet our duty of care obligation to staff and improve our corporate risk management.”
The ability to integrate on-site activities with iOS equipment is just part of the way in which Ropax uses Apple computers and DocMoto to handle its integrated management system.
Craig says: “We made a decision to use an Apple-based IT system as its high quality performance seemed to reflect better the level of professionalism and expertise we provide to our customers. It also fits well with the quality document management we have to provide to comply with the international standard ISO9001.
“But what we needed was a native Mac application in which to store data in a secure and controlled way, while giving multiple users access to a range of documents as part of everyday operational activity.”
While most options Ropax tried initially were unsuitable for a commercial operation, the company found that DocMoto was the only viable document management solution for a Mac-based enterprise. The company now relies on DocMoto to store the full range of company documentation, including policies, manuals, procedures, contracts, tender documents, drawings, risk assessments and certifications.
Craig adds: “Other software seemed to be aimed more at recreational users rather than businesses, where what we needed was a more secure, professional way of handling documentation, in line with the international standards we have to meet. DocMoto was the only solution we could find; something that worked well and supported the quality image of our company.
“And, consequently, the functionality of DocMoto made us think about how we handled documents in the field: we wanted to eliminate the paper waste associated with printing out, signing, scanning back into digital format, then shredding original project instructions and procedures.”
“Now, we are doing away with paperwork on site by using emailed documents that are signed electronically. Ultimately, it has enabled us to operate more efficiently - our remote teams have access to the entire document library within DocMoto via their iOS devices - and more environmentally friendly.
“In addition, the DocMoto revision control function means document changes can be done in a matter of minutes while maintaining a full revision history and the software also allows us to restrict users - access to certain documents and their ability to edit. This means we don’t need to PDF every document to avoid unauthorised editing.
“Having a company-wide document management system such as DocMoto is allowing our company to grow - and we’ve always got information at our fingertips.”