SARYX ENGINEERING: Zero-Harm Now Within Reach Thanks to HSEC Online®

“We like to think of ourselves as similar to internet banking,” says Ingrid Osborne, co-founder of Saryx Engineering, a leading South African electronic and software engineering firm known for creating a product of real significance. “It’s been years since I’ve set foot in a bank, and I hope never to again. I can manage everything online, and that’s incredibly empowering. That’s the kind of capability we aim to capture here,” she says of the company she founded with Julie Mathieson in 2007.

In its early days, Saryx made a name for itself by offering engineering solutions to high-profile clients, helping them solve challenges related to industrial control and automation integration. Operating across industries such as mining, rail, manufacturing, and ICT, this 100% woman-owned company established itself as a trailblazer in areas like PLC, SCADA, MES, MIS, big data, and advanced web development.

Recently, the team completed a project at a 60 MW solar plant, which earned them the Best Industrial Solution award at the Aveva South African Conference earlier this year. In October, they will attend the Aveva World Conference in Paris.

However, as contractors for various large industrial clients, Osborne and Mathieson found themselves increasingly frustrated by the demands of health and safety compliance. It consumed time and resources that could have been better spent on more creative pursuits. Managing manual paperwork, dealing with bureaucracy, and navigating endless red tape allowed Saryx to be a competent onsite contractor—but at a significant cost.

“We’ve had years of success, working on exciting projects in various industries,” Osborne explains. “From designing an automatic tree-planting machine in forestry to writing control software for the world’s largest export coal terminal, we’ve been involved in everything from rail and ports to renewable energy projects.”

Yet, working at these sites required extensive documentation. Every document had to be accurate and valid, with constant checks to ensure that the client wasn’t held liable for any incidents on-site. “It’s a nightmare to manage,” admits Osborne. “The planning involved is immense, and the penalties for non-compliance are steep.”

HSEC ONLINE®

When Saryx lost its site privileges across multiple locations because of an expired letter of good standing, Osborne and Mathieson hit a breaking point. “It was awful,” recalls Osborne. “We discussed it and realized we needed to automate the entire process. We wanted to be smart about it.”

With Osborne’s background in electronic engineering and Mathieson’s expertise in computer science, they saw an opportunity to digitize the health and safety space. They recognized gaps in the manual system—which many large corporations still rely on—that often led to incidents. However, no viable or affordable digital solutions existed.

“We wanted something cloud-based that addressed the specific problem we were facing. So, we decided to develop it ourselves, and in 2018, we sold our first commercial license.”

Their first major client was a mining company that implemented HSEC Online®—a solution developed in-house by Saryx—across 16 sites in southern Africa. The system gives users complete control over business compliance, ensuring that qualifications, certificates, insurance, and liabilities are all in order.

“The client required that anyone working with them be licensed and compliant. That’s when things really took off,” Osborne recalls. “In our first year, we experienced 277% growth. Today, we’re signing on hundreds of companies a month, operating in 14 different countries, and have opened offices in the USA. We’re also developing a new technology stack, and last year was the first time HSEC Online® surpassed the engineering side of our business.”

Just like internet banking revolutionized a manual process, Saryx has found a way to automate traditionally paperwork-heavy tasks, providing contractors with a seamless digital solution while ensuring corporations can operate safely and securely.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Osborne notes that South African companies spend around R15 billion annually on fines related to compliance. According to a report by the Minerals Council South Africa, Section 54 work stoppages cost the industry R4.84 billion in lost revenue in 2015 alone. In the U.S., job injuries and illnesses are estimated to cost between $250 and $388 billion annually. HSEC Online® helps reduce this financial burden with its innovative software, designed by those who have experienced the system’s challenges firsthand.

“No one had thought to automate it,” says Osborne. “Contractors now have a digital solution for their businesses, which elevates them. The information on the platform is shared with all licensed clients. Both the client and the contractor have a clear view of compliance, performance, and upcoming expirations.”

Thanks to its proven efficiency, HSEC Online® has become immensely popular. This growth has required additional investment from Saryx, but Osborne welcomes the innovation that comes with it.

“It’s turned into something very exciting,” she smiles. “HSEC Online® now has a 24/7 call center and supports multiple languages. We’ve added about 15 additional modules—it’s evolved into a suite of products within one solution.”

To further support its zero-harm mission, Saryx launched SkillUp, a training academy that has already trained over 8,000 people since March 2024. The company also uses its Training Management Platform (TMP) to manage its training department, which is available as an add-on to HSEC Online®.

The tool’s compatibility with third-party systems makes it even more valuable, allowing seamless integration with products already in use. For example, if a company has a medical surveillance system or an access control system, HSEC Online® can easily integrate with both of these products, ensuring that non-compliant individuals are seamlessly denied site access. “The system is fully automated, offering substantial savings for both employers and contractors,” Osborne confirms.

She also highlights the system’s potential to become smarter, emphasizing that leadership is responsible for ensuring compliance on-site. “If a company is experiencing frequent hand injuries, for example, we can send them a notification requiring a refresher course on safety. Employees who complete the training receive certification, and the system tracks this for future incidents.”

REMAINING EXCITING

Looking ahead, Osborne says that HSEC Online® will continue to receive substantial investment, with Saryx focused on developing new features and innovations.

“The product is quite mature now,” she admits. “We’re staying ahead of the latest tech and adding exciting features, including AI. We need to ensure the system remains both effective and engaging.”

The organic growth of HSEC Online® has also exceeded expectations, with more large companies adopting the system and bringing their suppliers, contractors, and partners into compliance. “We didn’t anticipate this level of business development,” Osborne says. “That’s why we’re expanding our resources, ensuring we have the staff to support our growing client base.”

Much like the shift from branch banking to online banking, Saryx is spearheading a movement toward digitization, with zero-harm at the core of HSEC Online®. “Zero-harm is our guiding principle,” Osborne explains. “There are still far too many accidents, injuries, and deaths. We believe that everything we build into the product should contribute to achieving zero-harm.”

In the not-so-distant future, paper-based compliance checks may become a relic of the past, and contractors will no longer be turned away due to incomplete paperwork. Instead, they’ll arrive at sites ready to work, confident that compliance is fully managed. The opportunities for progress are endless.