Founded in 1994 as Capricorn Drilling Services, Central Queensland Exploration (CQE) has grown into one of Queensland’s most respected names in drilling and rehabilitation. Following strategic acquisitions in 2022 and 2024, the company consolidated under a single banner and now operates a fleet of 20 drill rigs, with a workforce exceeding 130 people.
CQE services major mining clients across the Bowen Basin and runs crews on ‘two week on, two week off rosters, creating a constant need for efficient onboarding and induction processes. As Human Resources (HR) Manager, Taylah Neal oversees CQE’s end-to-end HR function and works closely with Mackay Safety and the 4PS team on digital solutions that streamline operational workflows.
Most recently, Taylah led the rollout of the new 4PS Software employee induction system, which aimed to modernise the company’s onboarding experience, strengthen compliance, and significantly reduce manual handling.
Taylah said: “I’ve been working in collaboration with 4PS for quite some time, but most recently I’ve been working on the 4PS induction system and having that process streamline our induction process. It is incredible.”
Before adopting 4PS, CQE’s induction system was technically online but extremely manual behind the scenes. The process created a heavy administrative load, confusion for new employees, and ongoing frustration for HR. This was not an ideal introduction to the business for new employees.
Challenges for administration
Under the old system, new starters received between 15 and 20 separate emails, each containing an individual induction module. HR then had to check every induction manually, cancelling and resending incomplete modules and regularly chasing personnel for updates. Once an induction was finally completed, the team had to manually convert it into a certificate and save it into both SharePoint and 4PS, one at a time. This created significant bottlenecks for administration, with staff often arriving on Monday mornings to inboxes flooded with 60 or more emails from inductions completed over the weekend. As Taylah noted, “It was quite labour-intensive and time-consuming. Creating those certificates and saving 15 individual files into 4PS is not a quick task.”
Challenges for new starters
For new employees, the experience was equally difficult. The sheer volume of separate emails made it hard to keep track of which inductions had been completed and which were still outstanding. The system delivered modules one at a time with no dashboard or central view, leaving new starters with no clear sense of their progress. This fragmented approach created unnecessary stress and a poor first impression, particularly for drillers and offsiders who are highly capable on the tools but not always tech savvy. As Taylah explained, “When they received 15 to 20 emails, they would think they’ve completed them, but they’d lost track of which ones they had done and hadn’t. It just didn’t give a very professional vibe to the start of employment with CQE.”
Challenges updating induction content
Even small changes were time-consuming. Updating a single induction required converting PowerPoint slides to JPEGs and uploading them one at a time into the old system.
“I lost hours and hours just updating one induction. It was extremely time consuming.”
Limited software support
Support for the previous system was limited to an offshore chat tool with no direct contact.
“There was no phone number, no one to talk to. Having a personal relationship with someone just up the road is very valuable.”
CQE needed a modern, centralised induction system that would simplify onboarding, remove manual effort and scale with the company’s ongoing growth.
CQE partnered with Mackay Safety and the 4PS Software team to implement a dedicated 4PS induction system designed to automate, streamline, and modernise onboarding processes.
Single email onboarding with role-based induction groups
Instead of issuing inductions individually, Taylah now assigns each new starter to a role-based induction group.
“You just select the group, and it sends one email with a magic link. They log in and can see all the inductions they need to complete on one page.”
Automated certificates and filing
Taylah worked with 4PS to design a standardised certificate template. Once an induction is completed, the system automatically generates the certificate, files it into the employee’s 4PS record and removes all manual processing.
“It now automatically saves the certificate with the relevant information into their employee file on 4PS. It is a game changer.”
Simple, fast content updates
With inductions now linked through Google Drive, Taylah can update content herself.
“I updated three inductions yesterday. I just updated the PowerPoint, converted it to a PDF, put it in Google Drive and refreshed the link. What a huge difference.”
Responsive, local support
Taylah highlighted the partnership with Mackay Safety and 4PS as a standout advantage.
“They’re amazing. Barb has been incredibly helpful and always prompt to reply. Even if she’s out of the office, she sends a message. Having that personal relationship is very valuable.”
Together, these improvements have delivered clear and measurable benefits for CQE, with outcomes that span efficiency, user experience, and long-term capability. These include:
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Thank you to Taylah Neal for sharing her experience partnering with Mackay Safety and 4PS software.
Contact Mackay Safety today on 07 4944 1272 or explore the website to learn more about how we can support your operations with services and technology that ensure you keep on top of your safety and compliance requirements.
