From paper trails to real-time visibility: How Energy Queensland transformed asbestos management across Queensland

Overview

Energy Queensland (EQL) is Australia's largest, wholly government-owned electricity company. It faces the unique challenge of managing asbestos across numerous and geographically dispersed sites. With a large workforce and contractor base, real-time access to accurate and consistent asset information is essential.

When Ergon and Energex merged in June 2016 to form EQL, Octfolio was identified as the most effective system for managing asbestos across the combined portfolio. As a result, it was rolled out across all EQL sites, providing a unified, reliable, single source of truth for asbestos management.

Challenge

EQL has proactively addressed asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) by removing them across many of their facilities. However, challenges remain, with portions of their portfolio still containing ACMs and outdated, manual-record keeping. The key challenges included:

• Fragmented data across disconnected servers, paper-based files and individual hard drives.
• Ongoing digital transition, complicated by legacy systems from multiple merged entities with different practices.
• Reliance on hard copy documents for staff in remote areas, making up-to-date information difficult to share.
• No centralised system to maintain consistent and reliable asbestos records across all sites.

Solution

Octfolio became the single, secure repository for asbestos data across EQL's extensive network of sites. With Octfolio's cloud-based platform, the need to transfer records between multiple systems was eliminated, reducing the risk of data loss or corruption.

Here's how it worked:

• QR codes were deployed across sites, linking directly to live SafetyPages and registers, providing workers and contractors with immediate access to updated information, even in remote areas.
• New findings were uploaded in real time, with lab results available in Octfolio the same day, ensuring timely risk communication.
• Stable digital record keeping, unaffected by internal system changes, ensured both historical and current records remained intact and accessible.
• Seamless integration with EQL's existing internal communication systems allowed for the instant sharing of critical information across teams.
• Flexible platform support enabled the addition of marked-up site plans to asbestos registers for quicker hazard identification.

Results

With Octfolio's platform in place, EQL manages asbestos risks efficiently, safely, transparently and quickly across all sites. The platform's implementation and EQL's commitment to best practice asbestos management have led to:

• A centralised, reliable source of asbestos data for all EQL sites.
• Enhanced data security within an evolving internal digital landscape, ensuring that all records in Octfolio remain intact and free from system transfer risks.
• Faster updates and risk alerts, with lab results appearing in the system immediately after processing.
• Improved contractor and team safety through seamless real-time access to critical information via QR codes.
• Continuous platform flexibility, allowing for prompt customisation to meet growing operational needs.
• Consistent positive feedback from regulators, with EQL's processes used as examples in training and education materials.
• Expanded operational support beyond asbestos management, addressing other operational challenges, including easement access and network equipment notices, helping to streamline processes and improve overall efficiency.