How Gerd Hermanns Built Audit-Ready Safety Operations Across Every Job Site

Key Results

• Daily safety forms completed in under two minutes per crew member – hazard assessments and equipment inspections are submitted from the job site directly to the office
• Mobile safety records replaced binders in every vehicle – crews can access mandatory documents, training materials, emergency information, and safety standards from their phones
• Searchable records support major safety credentials – digital reporting helps document employee participation for ISO 45001:2018, COR 2020 Equivalency, and Ontario Safe Employer recognition
• Crews go directly to their assigned job sites – digital schedules show each employee where they are working, what they are doing, and who is on their crew

The Challenge: Critical Safety Records Were Disappearing With the Paper

Gerd Hermanns Landscape Contractor Inc. builds parks, recreational spaces, subdivisions, and other large-scale landscape construction projects across Ontario. Crews can move between several job sites in a single week, making accurate safety documentation difficult to manage through paper-based processes.

Daily hazard assessments, equipment inspections, schedules, and mandatory safety materials all depended on physical documents. When forms went missing or crews changed locations, the office had no reliable way to recover the information.

• Safety forms regularly disappeared: carbon-copy documents were lost, damaged, left in vehicles, or accidentally washed with work clothes
• Daily schedules had to be printed: assignments were typed in a Word document and handed to supervisors each morning
• Every vehicle carried a thick safety binder: required posters, training matrices, emergency maps, and standards had to be manually updated and kept accessible
• Audits required extensive record gathering: paper submissions were difficult to search, sort, and connect to a specific date, employee, or crew

How Gerd Hermanns Digitized Safety and Daily Field Operations

Gerd Hermanns brought scheduling, safety reporting, training documentation, and field communication into Connecteam. The system had to be simple enough for outdoor crews with different levels of technical experience to use throughout the workday.

• Digital schedules replace morning printouts: supervisors and the general manager publish each crew’s location, tasks, and team through the Job Scheduler
• Mobile forms replace carbon-copy checklists: crews submit hazard assessments, equipment pre-start inspections, incident reports, first aid logs, and site photo reports from their phones
• The Knowledge Base replaces vehicle binders: mandatory posters, emergency information, training handouts, and compliance documents are accessible to every crew member
• Quizzes document safety participation: employees complete short assessments during or after training sessions, creating a record of completion and understanding

The Results: Searchable Safety Proof and More Organized Job Sites

Every Safety Activity Leaves a Searchable Record

• Forms reach the office immediately: completed assessments and inspections no longer depend on paper making its way back from the field
• Records can be filtered and retrieved: Megan can find submissions by date, employee, crew, or form type when preparing for an audit
• Employee participation is documented: form submissions, quiz results, and training activity provide evidence that crews are taking part in the safety program

Crews Can Produce Safety Information During an Inspection

• Required materials are available on any phone: crews no longer depend on the correct binder being in the correct vehicle
• Documents can be updated centrally: new versions replace outdated information without requiring someone to visit every truck
• Inspection preparation is simpler: current safety information and historical records are available without searching through physical files

Daily Operations No Longer Require a Morning Office Visit

• Crews receive assignments before the day begins: employees can see their job site, tasks, and team from their phones
• Employees can head directly to the site: supervisors no longer need to collect printed schedules from the office each morning
• End-of-day reporting is centralized: supervisors record crew hours, lunch deductions, travel adjustments, and job details in one submission
• Site conditions are documented visually: supervisors send job site photos directly to management and clients through searchable reports

Before vs. After Connecteam

Why Connecteam Worked for Gerd Hermanns

Gerd Hermanns needed a safety system that could meet external documentation requirements without creating more work for crews in the field. Specialized safety platforms addressed individual compliance tasks, but the company also needed scheduling, reporting, training records, site photos, and communication.

Connecteam brought those workflows into one app that crews could use from any job site. Safety forms take minutes to complete, required information stays available on employees’ phones, and every submission creates a searchable record for management and auditors.

The result is a more consistent safety operation that supports the company’s ISO 45001:2018 accreditation, COR 2020 Equivalency certification, and recognition through Ontario’s Supporting Ontario’s Safe Employers program.