Case Studies
How a Gerd Hermanns Landscape Contractor Replaced Paper Processes and Passed Every Audit with Connecteam
Gerd Hermanns Landscape Contractor is a landscape construction company that builds parks, ponds, and urban green spaces for developers and municipalities across Ontario, Canada.
Industry
Construction
Location
Ontario, Canada
Products used
Job Scheduler
Forms & Checklists
Knowledge Base
Chat & Updates
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“Every year the boss just says this is priceless for us. How easy it is, how much time it saves. He doesn’t even blink an eye at it.”
Key Results
- Three health and safety certifications achieved, including ISO 45001 and COR 2020, supported by consistent digital reporting through Connecteam
- Daily hazard assessments and equipment inspections now submitted in under two minutes per crew member, directly from the job site
- Physical safety binders eliminated from every vehicle and replaced with a mobile knowledge base accessible during Ministry of Labor inspections
The Challenge: Paper-Based Safety in a High-Stakes, Always-Moving Operation
Managing health and safety compliance for construction crews that work across dozens of job sites is complex. With crews moving between five different locations in a single week, keeping records accurate and accessible was a constant problem.
- Daily hazard assessments and equipment inspection checklists were filled out on carbon copy paper forms that went missing, got washed with work clothes, or simply never made it back to the office
- Scheduling was done by typing out daily task assignments in a Word document, printing them, and handing them to supervisors each morning
- Every vehicle carried a thick physical binder containing mandatory health and safety posters, training matrices, emergency maps, and standards. There was no guarantee the right information was available when a Ministry of Labor inspector showed up
“Paperwork in construction has a way of disappearing. It gets lost, ruined in the laundry, or never makes it back to the office, and once it’s gone, there’s no way to track or search for it.”
How the Company Uses Connecteam to Run Safer, More Organized Job Sites
The team adopted Connecteam to bring scheduling, safety reporting, and compliance documentation into one mobile platform that field crews would actually use.
- The job scheduler replaced the daily Word document printout. Supervisors and the general manager now populate it the evening before or morning of, so crews know their exact location, tasks, and team for the day without stepping foot in the office
- Digital forms replaced paper checklists for daily hazard assessments, equipment pre-starts, incident reports, first aid logs, and site photo reports. Crews complete them on their phones in minutes
- The knowledge base replaced the physical binder in every vehicle. All mandatory health and safety materials, training handouts, and compliance documents are now accessible on any crew member’s phone during an inspection
“Before operating equipment, crews complete a quick checklist on their phones that gets sent directly to the office. The general contractors we work with are really impressed with the documentation we provide daily.”
Results That Affect the Bottom Line
Compliance That Holds Up to External Audits
- The company earned ISO 45001 (global health and safety standard), COR 2020 (a requirement for Ontario construction contracts over $500,000), and recognition as a Safe Employer by the Government of Ontario. Fewer than 150 companies in Ontario hold that designation
- External auditors can now see a clean, searchable record of every form submitted, every quiz completed, and every safety session conducted
- Internal metrics pulled from Connecteam forms demonstrate employee participation, a mandatory requirement for maintaining all three certifications
Daily Operations That No Longer Rely on Paper or Office Visits
- Crews arrive at job sites already briefed. The scheduler tells them who they are working with, what they are doing, and where they are going
- End-of-day job reports capture supervisor hours, crew member hours, lunch deductions, and travel time adjustments in one place, which Megan uses to calculate and enter payroll into QuickBooks
- Site photo reports allow supervisors to document job site conditions and send them directly to management and clients, with everything logged and searchable
“Every morning, crews can head straight to the job site without needing to stop by the office first.”
Before vs. After Connecteam
| Aspect | Before Connecteam | After Connecteam |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduling | Owner typed daily assignments in Word, printed and distributed each morning | Job scheduler populated the night before. Crews dispatched from their phones, no office visit needed |
| Safety Forms | Carbon copy paper forms. Lost in laundry, never returned, impossible to search | Digital forms completed in two minutes on-site. Submitted instantly to management and general contractors |
| Compliance Documentation | Thick physical binders in every vehicle. No guarantee of accuracy or availability | Mobile knowledge base with all mandatory materials. Available on every crew member's phone during inspections |
| Audit Readiness | Paper records that were hard to organize, sort, or present to external auditors | Searchable digital records sorted by date, crew, and form type. Ready for any audit at any time |
| Training & Quizzes | In-person tailgate sessions with no way to confirm understanding or participation | Quizzes pushed to crew phones during or after sessions. Completion and scores logged as proof of participation |
Why Connecteam Was the Right Move
Megan needed a platform that field crews with limited tech experience would actually use and that could handle the compliance demands of an externally audited, certified safety program. Purpose-built health and safety apps covered only one side of the problem. Connecteam covered scheduling, forms, knowledge management, and communication in one place, making adoption realistic for a crew that works outdoors with their hands every day.