How K+S Potash Canada improved visibility and contractor cost control

From smooth implementation to successful turnaround

In 2023, K+S Potash Canada (K+S)'s site-wide outage proved to be more than an operational milestone—it became a turning point for how the company would manage costs. Contractor invoicing delays and incomplete labor, equipment, and materials (LEM) documentation created overrun pressure. They also presented significant opportunities to strengthen controls and systems.  

“Approvers didn’t have the back-up they needed to inform decisions, and it was hard to verify what we were signing off on,” said Chad Cunningham, Superintendent, Planning/Maintenance Systems. “The lack of visibility was limiting accountability on both sides.”

 K+S needed a way to track work in real time, control contractor costs, and give everyone a clear view of progress. PayShepherd was selected to provide that control.

Keys to a successful implementation

Software rollouts can often be challenging. As part of an international company, K+S’ past projects often required alignment with teams in other countries. Differences in processes, standards, and priorities slowed coordination, adding layers of complexity.

The implementation of PayShepherd was managed entirely at the site level in Canada, giving K+S direct control over timelines and project direction. PayShepherd worked side by side with K+S from the start, providing templates, guidance, and system expertise at each step.

Anmol Kaur, the change management lead for the project, said the combination of local autonomy and active contractor support made a noticeable difference. “We were able to manage the messaging, timeline, etc., and that made the rollout much smoother,” she explained.

Keeping the implementation on track

K+S paired this site-level control with targeted expertise from PayShepherd. A K+S project manager kept work organized and decisions moving forward, while PayShepherd managed the technical components. This included configuring rates, connecting to their gate access system, and integrating with SAP. “That was critical for adoption,” Chad said. “We didn’t want to own the backend setup.”

Together, these efforts kept the implementation on schedule and free from major complications. With the internal rollout complete, the next step was ensuring contractors were ready to use the system effectively.

Onboarding contractors and keeping them engaged

One of the biggest concerns when introducing a different system or process like this is how contractors will react. Change can be difficult, and introducing a new solution can be seen as extra work or a loss of flexibility. For K+S, contractor adoption was a priority from the start.

The approach was simple. The change management process positioned PayShepherd as a tool that benefited both sides. “It’s not just about holding you accountable,” Chad said. “It holds us accountable too. You get paid the right amount, on time, for the work you’ve agreed to.”

PayShepherd’s team handled all of the contractor onboarding directly, which kept it from becoming a drain on K+S resources. This hands-on support meant contractors had a direct line for training, questions, and troubleshooting without delays. The result was a smooth transition and increased adoption. 

How contractors are adapting

Most contractors were already familiar with digital submission systems and adapted quickly. “The days of sending a LEM or service report on paper, having it manually signed, and passing it back through the service provider are coming to an end,” explained Chad. “Vendors and contractors know they need to adapt to the new way of working. It’s simply the way the industry is moving.”

Once contractors began using PayShepherd, they also saw immediate value from features such as the integration with K+S’s gate access system. Swipe-in/out data was matched against LEM submissions, making it easier to resolve billing questions and giving them better oversight of their subcontractors.

By the time the system went live, contractors were prepared. The first turnaround with PayShepherd ran with no pushback. Contractors were actively using the data to improve their own operations.

Early Wins: Real-time visibility during a turnaround

With PayShepherd implemented, K+S was ready to tackle its first major project using it: a turnaround. As a part of its planned maintenance program, K+S took one of its multi-effect evaporator trains offline and broke down three of its boilers. The work spanned roughly three weeks and included around 150 contractors.

Keeping a project like this on time and on budget can be challenging, especially when you don’t have real-time visibility. “In the past, we would see invoices rolling in months after our outages would be completed, and there was a little bit of ambiguity,” explained Gord Peterson, Maintenance Coordinator, Shutdown at K+S. “We would always be wondering, is this the last invoice we're going to see? What surprises are still coming?” 

PayShepherd ingests all LEMs from the contractors, providing the insight that allowed Gord to monitor the entire turnaround. “Now that we can see the LEMs coming in daily, we know what is still coming in the future.” 

Given the fact that there were over 8,500 LEMs approved during this turnaround, this visibility alone was extremely valuable. However, the benefits didn’t start there. Since the LEMs are entered as the work is being completed, K+S was able to address issues proactively.

Catching a mistake as it happened, instead of during invoicing

On the third day of the outage, the supervisor approving the LEMs in PayShepherd noticed that one of the contractors had submitted LEMs for more workers than what was on the PO. After a quick conversation, they discovered there was a misunderstanding around the crew size and the inclusion of supervisors.

By addressing this immediately, they were able to correct the issue and avoid exceeding the PO by 10% (approximately $60,000).  

“Being able to see that almost immediately, and having that conversation on day three instead of on day 14 or two months from now when the invoice is submitted was huge,” said Gord. “It was easy enough for them to correct it, and since we caught it early, the cost was minimal.”

Beyond the cost overrun, this type of error can cause friction and ultimately harm relationships with contractors. 

“You know, Saskatchewan's not that big,” Gord explained. “Our bid lists are not 50 deep, so it's crucial to have great relationships. Also, there's a value to hiring the same vendors over and over. They've gained experience with your site and are comfortable with your processes.”

Additional anomalies flagged by PayShepherd

Manually enforcing contract compliance is an extremely time-consuming and difficult task. The sheer number of rates and line items, especially during a large shutdown, makes human error inevitable. PayShepherd helps reduce the burden on approvers by reviewing all LEMs and highlighting non-compliant submissions for review. During this turnaround, there were numerous instances where submissions didn’t match contract terms or other errors were flagged.

 This included:

• Overtime rates being applied before standard time was maximized
• Night shift premiums being submitted to labor working days
• Daily equipment rates being charged across multiple LEMs
• Duplicate third-party invoices

The team at K+S may have caught issues like these previously without a solution like PayShepherd. But given the scale of this turnaround, it's unlikely they would have caught them all, and that exposes them to risk. 

Another potential area of risk was related to gate data. PayShepherd was integrated with the K+S gate access system and matched swipe-in/out times against each LEM submission. Minor mismatches are common, as times can be off by a few minutes. 

However, during the turnaround, PayShepherd flagged more than 2,300 hours of submissions that had no gate data at all. Identifying these gaps enabled K+S to verify the work and ensure labor costs were accurate.

Making strategic decisions in real time

Another example of how the K+S team was able to use data insights was when they uncovered additional work. PayShepherd provides a real-time view into progress against POs, which gave K+S the ability to make an informed decision.

 “We had some emergent scope come up on one of our tanks, and our internal resources at this point in the outage were pretty capped,” said Gord. “But since we had PayShepherd, we could see that we were going to finish well under the PO value for one of our contractors. We were able to take that crew, add this additional scope, complete this repair, and still maintain our budget with them.”

This type of adjustment wouldn’t have been possible before and would have likely resulted in a change order after the fact. However, PayShepherd had actually improved its change order process as well.

“There were a number of times when we could see our PO value was approaching its limit and we could get the ball rolling on a change order process,” explained Gord. 

In the past, K+S wouldn’t have seen this until after invoices came in over the PO value. This would trigger a manual process where they would need to backtrack and get new approvals for completed work. “Now, we were doing that proactively,” said Gord, “which allowed our contractors to continue to submit LEMs and allowed the invoicing to occur fairly seamlessly.”

Results that build confidence

What began as a way to prevent budget overruns has become an everyday tool for decision-making and contractor management. The first turnaround with PayShepherd marked a shift in how K+S managed contractor work, costs, and communication. 

By the end of that project, they had kept spending under control, strengthened relationships with contractors, and replaced reactive workflows with coordinated, accountable processes.

“This turnaround, we were only about 1% over budget and only due to unforeseen costs,” said Chad. “That’s a big change from where we were before.” 

Building on the success of this first project, K+S expects to see continued value from PayShepherd during future outages and routine maintenance.

"Being able to see that almost immediately, and having that conversation on day three instead of on day 14 or two months from now when the invoice is submitted was huge.”
Gord Peterson, Maintenance Coordinator, Shutdown at K+S

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