The Hershey brand is known and loved by sweet tooths worldwide. Forward-thinking innovation, inventive product development, and a commitment to producing great products efficiently and safely have helped establish the company as one of the most recognizable names in food manufacturing.
However, despite high-tech innovation fueling production operations and quality standards, bottlenecks at entry points in the company’s production facilities exposed a process that wasn’t keeping pace: asking visitors and contractors to sign in using paper and pen.
“Before, when we would get lots of visitors, it would tie up our lobby for a while,” Brandon Brown, Senior Facilities Administrator at Hershey, said, “We saw the need for something more modern.”
Those long waits prevented receptionists and guards from attending to other critical tasks and created hazardous, congested areas where guests could slip through unnoticed. A fire in one of the Hershey production plants further highlighted the limits of using paper: it simply couldn’t be trusted to catalog everyone inside the building accurately or where they were inside the large facility when the incident occurred.
“That moment opens your eyes,” Brandon said, “Of course it can happen—we know it doesn’t happen often—but it can happen, so we need to be prepared.”
Knowing that they were ultimately responsible for protecting everything and everyone inside its facilities, the Hershey team needed to find a digital check-in solution for manufacturers that could keep pace with the high pace of productivity on its factory floors.
Upgrading from Paper
Receptful, a visitor management solution designed to help manufacturers manage and track visitor traffic, proved to be the upgrade Hershey needed. The new digital check-in process allows visitors — contractors, maintenance workers, corporate guests, or visiting employees — to enter all their information onto an iPad, quickly receive a badge, and enter the facility without the fuss or the holdup.
Whether used at a corporate office or a production plant, Receptful works with front desk receptionists and security guards to prevent lobby lines without sacrificing safety. Once visitors have identified themselves and the reason for their visit, Receptful prompts them to confirm acknowledgement of key health and safety requirements and digitally sign NDAs that protect Hershey’s intellectual property and sensitive trade information. Hershey staff and security can then visually confirm the accuracy of their information and load it onto an RFID badge.
“The system just helps expedite the process,” Brandon said. “The front desk teams and guards are still there, but it makes everything smoother.”
Supporting Crucial Life Safety Protocols
Hershey relies on those Radiant RFID badges to monitor every individual and their movement within facilities accurately and secure access to different production areas. By integrating Receptful with Radiant’s technology, Hershey can track every individual at its facilities, not just employees.
The company can also determine which areas a visitor may need access to during their visit and ensure their badge only allows entry into those areas. Contractors may only need access to the area they need to perform maintenance in, for example, but visiting employees from another factory will receive a higher level of clearance.
The digitally backed access control system and secure log of all visitors provide crucial peace of mind for any future emergency or evacuation situations. Now, Hershey staff can see exactly who is where with the click of a button, instead of wasting crucial time rifling through sheets of paper and deciphering handwriting.
Protecting Hershey and Its Visitors
Thanks to Receptful, along with its Radiant integration, Hershey has turned what was once a bottleneck into a streamlined and intelligent entry process that matches the brand’s commitment to innovation and safety on its production floors. Instead of time-consuming and old-fashioned paper sign-in sheets that can’t be trusted in emergencies, Hershey staff is prepared with complete digital visibility into exactly who’s on-site and where they are.
Looking to transform access security and visitor tracking at your manufacturing facility? See how Receptful’s purpose-built platform can support your manufacturing company in crucial safety, security, and compliance efforts by taking a self-guided tour of our software now.
