A contractor is not a guest with a hard hat. They arrive repeatedly, work unaccompanied in places visitors never go, and carry obligations a guest does not: a permit for the work, an induction that has to be current, insurance somebody checked, and a member of staff who is accountable for them. A sign-in built for guests will record their name and miss all of it.
What the record has to hold
The firm as well as the person, because the relationship is with the firm. The work order or permit, because that is what makes the visit legitimate. The area they are permitted in. Whether the site induction is current. And the member of staff who authorised the work. Those five turn a name in a book into a record that answers the question an incident investigation actually asks.
Repeat visits are the whole design problem
The same three people from the same firm arrive every Tuesday for six weeks. A system that treats each arrival as a new stranger will be worked around by the second week, usually with a clipboard at the loading bay. Returning-contractor recognition, a pass valid for the job rather than the day, and an induction that is remembered rather than repeated are what keep the record complete.
Induction, and the temptation to make it long
Site rules at the kiosk are reasonable and short site rules get read. A twenty-slide induction at a tablet with a van blocking the yard does not get read; it gets clicked through, which is worse than not asking, because the record now says somebody was inducted when they were not. Send the real induction ahead of the visit and confirm it at the desk.
Where the contractor record meets the evacuation list
Contractors are the population most likely to be somewhere nobody would look for them, and the least likely to sign out because they leave through the gate they came in by. A second sign-in point where contractors actually enter is usually worth more than any feature, and a sign-out prompt on the pass more than that.
Questions people ask about contractor sign in system
Should contractors use the same tablet as visitors?
They can, but they need their own visit type with the permit, the area and the induction on it. If they enter through a different door, put a sign-in point there.
How do we handle a contractor on site for weeks?
Issue a pass valid for the job with an end date, rather than a badge a day. The pass expires by itself, which is the point.
Who is accountable for a contractor on site?
A named member of staff on the record. Without that field, an incident investigation ends with everyone pointing at the desk.