Irish Tech Company, GoContractor, Aims to Revolutionize U.S. Construction
Safety first! Particularly in the construction industry, where mistakes on the worksite can truly mean life, death or a hefty medical bill.
It’s better to be safe than sorry, right? Safety keeps site-projects profitable while ensuring a positive brand reception, where one major mishap can mean unimaginable public backlash.
As mechanization evolves and more tech-solutions are introduced, construction has become easier, quicker and cheaper. As a result, safety training, now more than ever, is an essential and effective way to cut costs and maximize workforce potential.
An Irish company GoContractor (formerly Initiafy), has designed an online orientation platform for employees that ensures compliance with safety regulations while reducing the likelihood of accidents. This means less time wasted in classrooms and a better (and more comfortable) learning environment for electricians, plumbers, contractors and more.
GoContractor eliminates hours wasted on on-site orientation by enabling crews to do their training online before they hit the ground. With GoContractor, orientation is all done in advance, on a smartphone, tablet or computer, freeing up time for the important stuff – like getting the job done.
Major construction companies, such as Gilbane, Lendlease and Skanska are now turning to this technology to achieve compliance across all on-site sub-contractors, keeping workers safe and cost and risk low.
“Sub-contractors can be verified and inducted from the comfort of their own homes and offices, and they arrive at the project on day one ready to hit the ground running,” said John Naughton, the new CEO of GoContractor. “Our technology helps harness the dynamism within construction companies and helps to prevent accidents, delays and cost overruns.”
Since opening offices in Manhattan four years ago, GoContractor is now used by half of the top-20 general contractors across America. The company has also launched what will become the largest construction site in the U.S. – the development of a new $10 billion LCD screen factory complex in Wisconsin, for the Taiwanese company, Foxconn.
The 20-million-square-foot campus is the largest greenfield investment by a foreign-based company in U.S. history. The project will be managed by a long-term customer of GoContractor, Gilbane Construction Company.
“GoContractor gives us control over the first steps contractors take to become safe and knowledgeable members of our workforce,” said Pat Conlon, Project Executive, Gilbane. “Now we have a robust induction and registration process that ensures No Induction = No Work Badge.”
Rather than sitting in a classroom for an hour before attending site, workers take the orientation at their own pace, via a laptop, tablet or smartphone. Having the training done in advance frees up valuable hours each day for superintendents, safety managers and project managers by eliminating paperwork and face-to-face training requirements. This can reduce onboarding costs by as much as 50 percent.
Over the past 12 months, GoContractor has doubled the number of construction projects coming on board and is projecting headcount growth to reach 50 people across Ireland and North America by the end of 2019. According to GoContractor Co-founder, Julie Currid, the focus is now on sharing best practices and partnerships across the Atlantic.
“We’re working with the best of the best in both regions, and we have really strong relationships with all of our customers,” said Currid. “we’re in a unique position of being able to add value in terms of what works well when it comes to the adoption of new technology into a fairly traditional market.”
GoContractor is part of a growing cohort of Irish construction technology companies that are operating in several international markets.
