X

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) was facing challenges in its control testing process, which was manually intensive and only conducted periodically. The process involved selecting control tests, designing test procedures, sampling the resulting dataset/transactions, and checking samples for adherence to criteria. This process was repeated anywhere from annually to once every two years. The CAE Group, burdened by the administrative overhead, had less time to review and revise the outliers. The process was difficult to scale, as the platforms retreated into their silos, where they built and managed their own control testing process. This duplicated effort made consolidation into CAE Group’s holistic enterprise view a cumbersome, manual process. The challenges were both technical and organizational. Technical challenges included the need for platform analysts to onboard and update their models in production, support for the variability of different models and schemas of outliers, categorization of each control test, and managing data governance requirements. Organizational challenges included a shift in mindset for auditors, updating and onboarding existing control tests, and developing incentives for adopting the new platform.

SLB, a global leader in the oil and gas industry, was facing challenges in its People Analytics team. Despite being a technology-centric company, the benefits of technological advancements were not reaching all business units. The People Analytics team, created in 2018, was struggling with scalability issues. Data scientists and engineers were working in isolation, preparing and transforming the same data without sharing insights, leading to a delay in project completion. The lack of a common platform for project recycling was causing a loss of time to market, discovery, and high-value projects. The team was also grappling with the challenge of applying machine learning to their vast talent pool, which required investment in learning and training, compliance monitoring, and stakeholder engagement.

The Russell Family Foundation (TRFF), a philanthropic organization committed to positive community impact, has set an ambitious goal to achieve a net-zero portfolio by 2030. This decision was made in alignment with their commitment to the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA). Despite having already optimized its portfolio to be approximately 80% more carbon efficient than the MSCI benchmark through divestment from fossil fuels and investment in decarbonization technologies, TRFF recognized the complexity of the path to net zero. The challenge was not only about reaching their own net zero goal but also about setting an example for the broader philanthropic field. To achieve this, TRFF needed a comprehensive baseline of their carbon footprint, including all emission sources across their operations and their investment portfolio.

Groupon, a global marketplace operating in 13 countries, was facing challenges in tracking and reporting their sustainability data. The company had been manually managing their data using spreadsheets and other tools, aiming to measure and manage their carbon footprint. However, these methods were proving to be time-consuming, resource-intensive, and had limited reporting capabilities. Groupon was seeking a more efficient and comprehensive solution to meet their reporting goals. They approached Ecometrica for assistance with their first greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment in 2021. Groupon's requirements included reporting their scope 1 and 2 emissions, as well as their more complex scope 3 emissions, which encompassed business travel, water use, estimation of deliveries, cloud servers, and waste. They also needed a more coordinated and robust data collection across their global sites and a reduction in the time spent collecting and reporting data across the business.

OLM Systems Ltd, a software and services organisation with over 30 years of experience, was faced with the challenge of tracking, calculating, and reporting their carbon footprint as part of their sustainability efforts. The company prioritises responsible business practices and needed a tool to assist them in this endeavour. Furthermore, OLM Systems was required to comply with UK legislation, Procurement Policy Note 06/21 (PPN 06/21), as they were bidding on UK government contracts worth over £5 million per annum. This legislation required OLM Systems to record, calculate, and report on their scope 1, scope 2, and select scope 3 emissions within a Carbon Reduction Plan. These emissions included upstream transportation and distribution, employee commuting, business travel, waste generated during operations, and downstream transportation and distribution.

PageGroup, a globally recognized specialist recruitment consultancy, was faced with the challenge of reducing its carbon footprint in line with its ambitious goal of achieving carbon net-zero by 2026. Despite having a relatively small carbon footprint due to the office-based nature of their work, PageGroup recognized their responsibility as a global, listed company to take urgent action against climate change. They aimed to ensure that both current and future generations could enjoy the benefits of a healthy and sustainable environment. However, their existing traditional reporting system, which required manual inputting of data, was inefficient and lacked the robustness needed for accurate and regular reporting of carbon emissions.

Wyld, a leading cannabis edibles brand, was committed to taking responsibility for its business-related impacts on climate change. As part of their sustainability journey, they aimed to become a Climate Neutral Certified brand. In 2021, Wyld began the process of developing its base year greenhouse gas assessment. Calculating Scope 1 and 2 emissions, which are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources and indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy respectively, were straightforward for a company of its size. However, when it came to calculating Scope 3 emissions, which are all other indirect emissions that occur in a company's value chain, they realized that it was going to be a much more time and resource-intensive process. Wyld was committed to approaching its carbon accounting based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s standards and knew that it would need assistance with calculating all relevant Scope 3 categories.

AB Agri, a rapidly growing agricultural business operating across the entire food supply chain, was facing a significant challenge in managing its Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) assessments. The company had been managing COSHH in-house using databases and safety data sheets. However, due to its continued growth and operational expansion, this manual process had resulted in a significant backlog of assessments that needed to be written, putting a strain on the health and safety team’s resources. The approach also meant that COSHH assessments were being written from a single risk view, rather than reflecting the actual work processes taking place across the business. With operations spanning 17 sites across five countries, the team at AB Agri also identified a significant amount of process duplication. Each COSHH assessment took an average of 60 minutes to write, leading to health and safety managers spending a considerable amount of time updating and reviewing existing assessments. It became increasingly difficult to keep control of a dynamic situation that was impacted by changing legislation, product suppliers, and other external factors.

APS Group, a leading supplier in the UK food manufacturing industry, faced a significant challenge in managing their Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) assessments. Each of their seven sites, employing over 750 people, was responsible for its own health, safety, and environmental strategy. This decentralized approach meant that a solution that worked for one site might not work for another due to the unique processes and product areas within each site. During an audit at their Teeside site, APS discovered they were using more hazardous products than they had initially realized in their daily operations. While they used 20-30 substances to fertilize their tomatoes, they had not considered the 300+ oils, greases, and small ancillary products also in use. With ongoing changes in legislation, APS recognized the need for a solution that would help them manage and update all their COSHH assessments to ensure compliance.

Arcus, an award-winning facilities management company, faced a significant challenge as it grew and evolved. The company had multiple systems of work that emerged to support its activities. However, these systems were not integrated, leading to issues with data entry, information management, and reporting. The lack of a single, integrated EHSQ system meant that different parts of the business could not communicate fluidly. This situation was not only inefficient but also increased the risk of errors and made it difficult to maintain a holistic view of the business.

Atlantic Airways, the national airline of the Faroe Islands, operates a complex operation that includes jets and helicopters, with destinations domestically and internationally. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline operated flights to various international destinations. However, the pandemic led to a reduction in international destinations from 12 to 2 due to the worldwide decline in traveling. The company faced the challenge of managing potential crisis situations efficiently and in a timely manner. The need for a comprehensive crisis management platform was evident, one that could provide a variety of checklists, log functions, and aid in developing media communication. The platform also needed to have the capability to notify personnel about an emergency through various channels and confirm their receipt of the message and availability in real time.

Axis Group, a leading provider of facilities-related security, reception management, cleaning, and support services across the UK, was facing a significant challenge in its health and safety reporting process. The company was operating on a reactive basis, with very few near misses being reported, and those that were reported were often delayed in reaching the head office due to the paper-based reporting system. The company wanted to shift from this reactive approach to a proactive one that would prevent accidents. The challenge was not only to change the reporting system but also to change the mindset of the large workforce towards reporting not just accidents, but near misses too.

Colas, a UK-based transport infrastructure company, faced a significant challenge in managing environmental, health, and safety (EHS) incidents across its widespread operations. With employees working in diverse locations such as high-speed road networks, busy airports, and construction sites, the company needed a robust and efficient system to report and manage unwanted events. The existing process, which involved reporting via an iPad, telephone call, or text message, was not only inefficient but also prone to errors and delays. The company also needed a solution that could work on a Windows Mobile Platform, as most of its corporate mobile phones used this operating system. Furthermore, Colas had over 600 individuals registered on the EcoOnline platform, plus a further 600 who had an anonymous generic login, all of whom needed to be able to install the app onto their work or private devices.

Costain, a large and complex organization operating across various industries, faced a significant challenge in managing risk effectively. The company needed to ensure that senior leaders had access to accurate, up-to-date data from each project to confirm that all areas were performing as expected. As part of several joint ventures, Costain had to demonstrate adherence to the highest possible standards. Employee wellbeing was also a major concern, with a focus on protecting both the mental and physical health of employees. The previous solution, while meeting initial requirements, needed a refresh due to advances in technology and evolving business demands. The goal was to add more depth to the data captured and ensure every possible finding was identified and followed up.

EC Power, a Denmark-based utility company specializing in Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technology, was grappling with a time-consuming and inefficient process for managing their data sheets. The company uses a variety of hazardous products such as lubricants, cleaning agents, and products for soldering and bonding, all of which need to be legally documented. The existing process involved searching through all the sheets to find the required information, manually adding them into the system, and then linking it to an Excel sheet. This process had to be repeated continuously to keep the data updated, which was taking away valuable time from their employees and hindering productivity.

Ekornes, a large furniture manufacturer with facilities across Norway and the United States, faced significant challenges in managing safety data sheets (SDS) for over 940 chemical products used in their manufacturing processes. The company was using a paper-based system to store SDS, which were scattered across the organization, making it difficult to find the right document and access the latest, updated sheets. This system was not only inefficient but also posed a risk to employee safety as it was challenging to extract necessary information to develop efficient risk assessments and implement controls to reduce potential risks. The paper-based approach was not sustainable for such a large organization and took time away from other key activities. Ekornes recognized the need for a digital solution to streamline their SDS management processes and maintain compliance with the region’s regulations.

ENGIE, a leading provider in energy, services, and regeneration, faced significant challenges in managing their waste information and measuring their carbon footprint. Their previous system, hosted on SharePoint, had limited reporting capabilities and did not provide the sophisticated functions ENGIE needed. The system's limited ability to work with values in the report and the restricted data exporting formats hindered ENGIE from creating tailored business reports. The traditional spreadsheet approach led to disparate data capture between users, resulting in discrepancies and inaccurate reporting. This lack of accurate representation of waste information was a significant challenge. The process was time-consuming, requiring substantial operational and central time within the Environment team to combine data and produce meaningful reports.

Ferrovial Agroman, a leading infrastructure and service operator, was facing challenges in managing its health and safety data. The company's core values revolve around health and safety, making it crucial for them to keep track of every reported incident and monitor any trending occurrences. However, the manual tasks of managing databases and entering data were proving to be inefficient and prone to human error. Depending on the number of companies involved, these tasks needed to be completed two or three times, reducing the effectiveness of their operation. The company was also using an in-house reporting system that was not providing the depth of incident management they required.

Future Industrial Services, a UK-based hazardous waste management and industrial cleaning services provider, faced a significant challenge in standardising their approach to managing Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) risks across their seven sites. The lack of standardisation and visibility of systems at a group level made it difficult to make informed decisions and scale the business. Managers at different sites were operating in their unique ways, leading to inconsistencies in processes and procedures. The company relied heavily on individual employees, Excel spreadsheets, and Word documents, making it hard to gain visibility at all levels and track safety activities, employee engagement, trends, safety data, and more. The manual nature of the system required 40-50 hours a week to maintain, making it challenging for the team to stay proactive. Tracking trends and safety metrics to reduce incidents was also a challenge due to the disparate ways local teams operated. The lack of real-time information made it difficult to mitigate risks or reduce the chance of an incident or injury.

Greener Ealing Ltd (GEL), a local authority company founded in July 2020, was tasked with becoming Ealing Council’s new waste and recycling contractor. As a new standalone organization serving over 350,000 residents, GEL faced the challenge of implementing effective systems quickly to support their employees and deliver the expected service. The first requirement was a risk management system to record any accidents involving its employees and vehicles to help identify trends and mitigate against future potential accidents. This was crucial as GEL is responsible for weekly waste collections, along with other waste management services in the borough. GEL also aimed to invest in their employees to achieve their ambition of becoming a leader in the waste management field. They wanted to elevate how employees viewed their roles and appreciate the skills and knowledge required to do them well. Furthermore, GEL was keen to digitize as many processes as possible, eliminating the need for time-consuming inefficient paperwork.

Islington Council, representing a diverse community with 19,000 households, was faced with a significant challenge when government regulations concerning the outsourcing of health and safety services for schools were amended. The changes allowed schools within the London Boroughs to seek health and safety services from independent organizations instead of their local council. This posed a threat to the council's revenue and necessitated a competitive solution to retain its schools. The council's health and safety management was predominantly conducted via traditional paper-based methods, which were time-consuming and prone to manual reporting errors, costly delays, and overlooked compliance issues. The council needed to enhance its services by providing a robust solution that would supply schools with a comprehensive health and safety management service, thus protecting an important client base and reducing the need to look for alternative solutions.

Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), a leading property consultancy in the UK and Ireland, faced a significant challenge as its client portfolio continued to grow. The existing processes for monitoring the management of their clients’ properties, which included using separate systems for each of their services, were inadequate and needed development to capitalize on rising customer demand. LSH required a comprehensive digital platform that could provide a deeper, holistic understanding of their service delivery. This included logging reactive jobs, scheduling properties for planned maintenance works, recording accidents, and ensuring contractors carrying out jobs at each property were accredited and qualified. Property management is a key driver of LSH’s ongoing growth, but to maintain its market leadership, it needed a robust system to ensure high levels of customer service and compliance checks kept up with demand.

Mitie, a multi-industry company based in the UK, faced several challenges due to the diverse nature of its business. The company needed an Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) solution that could cater to the demands of various sectors. Mitie not only had to implement systems and control measures from its perspective but also had to consider the controls and processes of its clients. The existing processes and systems did not support the Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment (QHSE) team in fostering a safety culture within the business. Incidents were managed through a centralized phone line in a linear process, and operation management was more focused on form filling rather than managing QHSE data in source systems. Furthermore, due to a low rate of input, it was challenging to measure Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and the QHSE team lacked sufficient data to make strategic safety decisions confidently.

Møller, a leading car retailer for Volkswagen, Audi, and Skoda in Norway, Sweden, and the Balkans, faced a significant challenge in managing the use of chemicals and other hazardous products in their operations. As one of Norway's largest car importers, Møller was committed to adhering to Norwegian law and focusing on the use of environmentally friendly products. However, the automotive industry is known for its extensive use of chemicals in various processes, making it difficult for Møller to maintain an accurate overview of the products in their range. Furthermore, Møller's large dealer network, which makes purchases with them, required access to safety data sheets for all chemicals used. Without a proper system in place, achieving these objectives would have been a daunting task.

Müller, a multinational dairy products producer, faced significant challenges in managing health and safety across its 80+ sites. With over 8,000 employees, the company had to ensure the safe and compliant handling of hazardous substances. The complexity of their supply chain, coupled with the need to maintain high health and safety standards, made standardizing safety processes a key priority. The company sources materials from a wide range of global suppliers, adding another layer of complexity to their operations. The main challenge was to unify standards and processes under one strategy, which was difficult due to the differing systems, risks, and capabilities across their many sites. Staff had to spend a significant amount of time updating contractor information and keeping chemical risk assessments up-to-date. As the company expanded rapidly, the health and safety team needed a framework to standardize operational excellence activities and ways of working across the business.

Multiplex, a leading global construction company, was facing a significant administrative burden due to their manual management of over 350 permits per day across their six UK sites. The traditional method of using notepads for permit management led to disparate systems and discrepancies across the records, resulting in additional time spent on administration to rectify the issues. The process was not only time-consuming but also prone to human errors, leading to potential mistakes. Furthermore, the manual system limited Multiplex's visibility of the real-time status of their contractor workforce, hindering efficient management and decision-making.

Northgate PLC, the UK’s largest commercial vehicle rental provider, was facing a significant challenge in managing a high volume of property-related requests. With an average of 40 requests per day, totaling 800 a month, the company was struggling to manage these requests effectively through their manual approach. The requests varied greatly, from flooded customer toilets to roof repairs, adding to the complexity of the task. The company recognized the need for a system that would allow them to manage tickets more effectively, coordinate the required actions, and monitor the progress of these jobs through to completion. The lack of a streamlined process resulted in ambiguity and inefficiency, hindering Northgate's ability to provide high-quality service.

OilStates Industries, a major global provider of integrated energy systems and solutions, was facing a significant challenge in managing their safety data. The safety team was relying on paper and Excel spreadsheets to record their safety data, which was proving to be both inefficient and costly. The lack of a centralized solution meant that risk assessments, audits, checklists, training records, accident/incident reports, and plant records remained separate and scattered. This not only made it difficult to keep track of all the data but also posed a challenge in viewing training compliance for multiple sites. The paper-focused system was not conducive to the efficient management of safety data across the company's 25 international locations.

Oslo University Hospital (OUH), the largest hospital in Norway and Scandinavia, was facing a significant challenge in managing its chemical safety. The hospital, which carries out over 1.2 million patient treatments annually and conducts a significant percentage of medical research in Norwegian medical centres, was struggling with the management of countless chemical Safety Data Sheets (SDS), conducting risk assessments, and making substitutions to reduce hazardous chemicals. The process of managing chemicals throughout their lifecycle, from procurement to waste management, was slow, costly, and often required external support. The scale and urgency of OUH's needs were critical, and a digital solution was needed to replace and secure its SDS.

The Plastic Surgeon, a UK-based cosmetic repair company, faced a significant challenge in managing the safety of their large team spread across the UK. The company uses a wide range of chemical products, including high-risk substances like fillers, adhesives, and solvent-based paints. Ensuring the safety of their staff from these hazardous substances was a top priority, but the company found it difficult to control these substances and understand their contents. This knowledge was crucial to provide the right protection for their staff. The challenge was not only to manage the hazardous substances but also to effectively communicate the correct protection measures to the staff working on site.