Turned away at the gate
A gang arrives at a main contractor's site for an induction. The site checks cards. One operative's card expired last month. He is sent away, the gang is a man short, and the job starts late. The owner had no idea, because the photocopy in the folder was taken when the card was new.
The next day, a different contractor emails asking for copies of cards for everyone who will be on their site next week. The office spends an hour finding them.
Why card records drift
Cards and training certificates are held by the individual, renewed on their own timetable and photocopied once when they start. Nothing checks the dates, and the records are not linked to who is being sent where.
- Card copies are in a folder or on someone's phone.
- Expiry dates are not tracked anywhere.
- Operatives renew cards and do not send the new copy.
- Other training records are kept separately, if at all.
- Site requests for records are answered by hand.
What out-of-date records cost
Operatives turned away from sites, and jobs started late. Contractors losing confidence in your paperwork. Office time chasing copies and building packs for each site. And the risk of sending someone to a job your own business rules say they should not be doing, simply because nobody checked.
It also affects tenders. Main contractors increasingly ask for evidence of cards and training for the gangs you would send, and a firm that can produce it quickly and completely looks better prepared than one that has to go and look.
We keep records and dates. Which cards and training your business requires for which work is for your business to decide.
The card and training register we build
- Each operative has a record with their cards and training certificates: type, level, number, issue and expiry dates, and a photo of each document.
- Operatives can upload new cards themselves from their phone when they renew, and the office confirms them.
- Alerts go to the office and the operative ahead of each expiry, at intervals you set.
- Records are linked to the gang board, so an operative whose record has expired is flagged when allocated.
- Requirements your business sets for types of work can be checked against each gang's records.
- When a contractor asks, a pack of current records for the named operatives is produced and sent in one step.
- A report lists upcoming expiries across the business, so renewals can be planned.
| Record | Tracked |
|---|---|
| Scaffolding card | Level, number, expiry, photo |
| Site safety cards your business requires | Number, expiry, photo |
| Other training certificates | Type, date, expiry if any |
| Inductions | Site and date |
| Renewals | Uploaded by operative, confirmed by office |
We do not advise on which qualifications are needed. We keep the records you decide to keep and tell you when they run out.
After the register is running
Expiries are seen coming, with time to book renewals. Nobody is turned away at the gate for an expired card. Contractor requests are answered in minutes. And the gang board warns before someone is allocated to work your rules say they should not do.
Is this how you manage cards?
- Card copies are in a folder or on a phone.
- You found out a card had expired at a site gate.
- Contractor requests for card copies take time.
- Nobody tracks expiry dates.