Compliance Management for Civil Engineering
Handle infrastructure project compliance with digital tools built for roads, bridges, and utilities.
The Challenge
Civil engineering contractors operate in a uniquely demanding compliance environment - infrastructure clients like National Highways and Network Rail have extensive safety frameworks, environmental regulations create strict pollution prevention requirements, and street works legislation adds permit management complexity. Projects spread across miles with multiple work fronts make paper-based compliance impossible. When Environment Agency or client auditors arrive, you need instant access to comprehensive records that prove systematic compliance.
How Assistant Manager Solves Civil Engineering Compliance
Each module is designed to address the specific challenges civil engineering businesses face every day.
Checklist Management
Civil engineering projects need compliance management that understands linear infrastructure - tracking inspections by chainage rather than fixed locations, managing multiple simultaneous work fronts, and meeting the specific requirements of infrastructure clients
The Problems
Why This Matters for Civil Engineering
- Traffic management inspections must be completed regularly on live highways, but the volume of TM schemes across a linear project makes paper-based tracking impossible
Failed TM inspections lead to Chapter 8 non-compliance, National Highways enforcement, and potential lane rental penalties that far exceed the inspection cost
- Environmental compliance checks (spill kit inspections, silt control, protected species measures) are spread across miles of worksite and easily overlooked
Environment Agency prosecution for pollution incidents where you cannot demonstrate prevention measures were in place, plus reputational damage with environmentally-conscious clients
The Solution
How Checklist Management Helps
Location-tagged digital checklists with GPS verification, scheduled inspections at defined intervals, and chainage-referenced compliance records accessible from any point on the project
Every TM layout, environmental measure, and safety inspection is verified at the correct location with photographic proof, inspection schedules are enforced automatically, and you have complete audit trails by chainage
Use Cases:
- • TM layout inspections with Chapter 8 compliance verification
- • Environmental control checks at each work location
- • Spill kit and emergency response equipment inspections
- • Temporary works daily and weekly inspections
- • Street works reinstatement quality checks
- • Utility strike prevention verification
- • Welfare facility compliance across dispersed locations
Feature Screenshot
Checklist Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Traffic management inspections must be completed regularly on live highways, but the volume of TM schemes across a linear project makes paper-based tracking impossible
Real Scenario
"A National Highways inspection finds a TM layout that has drifted from the approved design - cones are missing, signs are obscured, and the taper is incorrect. Your last recorded inspection was eight days ago. Lane rental charges and improvement notice costs exceed £50,000."
Example 2: Environmental compliance checks (spill kit inspections, silt control, protected species measures) are spread across miles of worksite and easily overlooked
Real Scenario
"Surface water runoff carries silt from your earthworks into a chalk stream. The EA asks for evidence of silt control measures. Your nearest spill kit inspection record is from two weeks ago for a compound three miles away. You cannot demonstrate any pollution prevention at the work location."
Employee Scheduling
Civil engineering requires diverse competencies - street works supervision, TM sector schemes, rail industry certifications, plant operation, and client-specific requirements - all needing coordination across mobile workforces on extended projects
The Problems
Why This Matters for Civil Engineering
- Traffic management operatives must hold NHSS sector scheme qualifications, but scheduling across multiple TM installations on a linear project makes competency tracking difficult
Unqualified operatives install or maintain TM schemes, creating serious public safety risks and exposing the company to prosecution
- Network Rail and other infrastructure clients require specific competencies (PTS, COSS, etc.) that expire at different intervals and vary by possession type
Workers are turned away from possessions for lacking valid certification, causing delay costs and embarrassment with clients
The Solution
How Employee Scheduling Helps
Scheduling system with sector scheme qualification validation, infrastructure client competency tracking, and automatic blocking of unqualified workers from roles requiring specific certifications
Every worker assigned to TM, rail, or other specialist work has verified current qualifications, expiring certifications are flagged in advance, and scheduling errors cannot create compliance gaps
Use Cases:
- • NHSS sector scheme qualification verification for TM
- • Network Rail PTS and competency tracking
- • Street works supervisor NRSWA qualification checks
- • CPCS plant operator scheduling with category validation
- • Appointed person and lift supervisor allocation
- • Confined space team competency verification
- • Cross-project workforce deployment optimisation
Feature Screenshot
Employee Scheduling
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Traffic management operatives must hold NHSS sector scheme qualifications, but scheduling across multiple TM installations on a linear project makes competency tracking difficult
Real Scenario
"An incident occurs on your works where a vehicle enters the worksite through inadequate TM. Investigation reveals the operative who installed the layout had a 12A qualification but the scheme required 12B. Nobody checked before assigning him."
Example 2: Network Rail and other infrastructure clients require specific competencies (PTS, COSS, etc.) that expire at different intervals and vary by possession type
Real Scenario
"Your team arrives for a Network Rail possession to find their PTS certification expired last week. They are denied access. The possession continues without your work, and you face delay costs of £20,000 plus reputational damage."
Time & Attendance
Linear infrastructure projects cannot have single entry points - workers access sites at multiple locations along the route, often in remote areas. Compliance needs a system designed for distributed access rather than fixed site gates
The Problems
Why This Matters for Civil Engineering
- Workers are spread across miles of project length with multiple access points - traditional site sign-in is impossible and nobody knows exactly who is where
Emergency response is compromised when you cannot locate or account for workers, and fatigue from excessive hours goes undetected
- Shift patterns on highway works often involve night shifts and weekend working with premium rates - verifying actual attendance for payment is difficult
Labour costs spiral as self-reported night and weekend hours cannot be verified, and disputes with workers damage relationships
The Solution
How Time & Attendance Helps
Mobile clock-in with GPS location verification, real-time tracking of worker locations across project length, automatic working time monitoring, and verified attendance for payment
You know where every worker is on your project at all times for emergency response, working time compliance is enforced, and attendance records are independently verified for accurate payment
Use Cases:
- • GPS-verified clock-in at any project location
- • Real-time worker location tracking across project length
- • Emergency evacuation and location-based roll call
- • Night shift and weekend attendance verification
- • Working Time Regulations monitoring across shifts
- • Possession access logging for rail work
- • Subcontractor gang attendance for payment
Feature Screenshot
Time & Attendance
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Workers are spread across miles of project length with multiple access points - traditional site sign-in is impossible and nobody knows exactly who is where
Real Scenario
"A vehicle incursion injures workers at chainage 3+400. Your site office is at chainage 0+000. It takes 45 minutes to establish who was working in that area because your sign-in book is at the compound and people come and go at various access points along the route."
Example 2: Shift patterns on highway works often involve night shifts and weekend working with premium rates - verifying actual attendance for payment is difficult
Real Scenario
"A gang claims for night shift working last Saturday. Your supervisor says they were not there - the works were cancelled. The gang produces their own timesheets showing eight men for ten hours. Without independent verification, you pay or face a dispute."
Training & Development
Civil engineering contractors work across multiple infrastructure client frameworks, each with specific training requirements on top of statutory and industry competencies - managing this matrix manually is error-prone and time-consuming
The Problems
Why This Matters for Civil Engineering
- Infrastructure client training requirements are extensive and specific - National Highways requires certain courses, Network Rail has its own system, and utility companies add more layers
Workers are not permitted on client networks because they lack client-specific training, causing delays and demonstrating inadequate preparation
- Keeping track of which certifications each client requires, when they expire, and which workers have them becomes overwhelming across multiple framework contracts
Compliance gaps emerge when workers move between client projects, and the administrative burden of manual tracking consumes significant management time
The Solution
How Training & Development Helps
Client-specific training matrix management with automatic requirement identification based on project assignment, integrated expiry tracking, and competency gap analysis for workforce planning
When workers are assigned to client projects, missing training is automatically identified, renewal is managed proactively across all client schemes, and you can demonstrate training compliance for framework reviews
Use Cases:
- • National Highways network access training tracking
- • Network Rail competency management and Sentinel integration
- • Water company client-specific safety courses
- • NRSWA supervisor and operative qualifications
- • NHSS sector scheme progression and renewal
- • CPCS and NPORS plant operator certification
- • Framework-specific induction management
Feature Screenshot
Training & Development
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Infrastructure client training requirements are extensive and specific - National Highways requires certain courses, Network Rail has its own system, and utility companies add more layers
Real Scenario
"You win a National Highways framework contract but discover half your supervisors need specific Highways England safety courses before they can work on the network. Booking them takes three months. Meanwhile, you cannot staff the project properly."
Example 2: Keeping track of which certifications each client requires, when they expire, and which workers have them becomes overwhelming across multiple framework contracts
Real Scenario
"A supervisor moves from a Water Company project to a Network Rail project. Someone remembers he needs PTS but nobody remembers he also needs specific Track Safety courses for the work type. He completes PTS refresher but is still denied access for lacking the additional certification."
HR Management
Civil engineering framework contracts increasingly emphasise supply chain transparency, workforce development, and continuous improvement - demonstrating this requires integrated data that paper systems cannot provide
The Problems
Why This Matters for Civil Engineering
- Framework contract requirements demand evidence of workforce competency, subcontractor due diligence, and compliance systems - gathering this for each framework renewal is a major exercise
Framework positions are lost or downgraded because renewal submissions are incomplete or do not demonstrate continuous improvement
- Supply chain management for civil engineering involves hundreds of subcontractors and suppliers, each requiring ongoing due diligence for insurance, accreditations, and performance
Subcontractors with lapsed accreditations or poor performance continue working, creating risk and embarrassment when clients audit your supply chain
The Solution
How HR Management Helps
Integrated workforce and supply chain management with automatic accreditation tracking, performance monitoring linked to project outcomes, and pre-formatted reports for framework requirements
Framework renewals are supported with comprehensive, pre-compiled data, supply chain compliance is continuously monitored, and you can demonstrate systematic workforce and supplier management
Use Cases:
- • Framework renewal documentation compilation
- • Subcontractor accreditation tracking (FORS, CHAS, etc.)
- • Supply chain insurance and certification monitoring
- • Workforce competency matrix for framework reporting
- • Apprenticeship and training investment tracking
- • Subcontractor performance scoring by project
- • Right to work verification across workforce
Feature Screenshot
HR Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Framework contract requirements demand evidence of workforce competency, subcontractor due diligence, and compliance systems - gathering this for each framework renewal is a major exercise
Real Scenario
"Your largest framework is up for renewal. The client requests three years of workforce competency data, training investment metrics, and subcontractor performance records. Compiling this from spreadsheets and paper files takes six weeks of senior management time."
Example 2: Supply chain management for civil engineering involves hundreds of subcontractors and suppliers, each requiring ongoing due diligence for insurance, accreditations, and performance
Real Scenario
"A client audits your supply chain and finds that your main earthworks subcontractor's FORS accreditation expired four months ago. They ask why you are still using them on their project. You had no system to track the expiry."
Risk Assessment
Civil engineering environmental and temporary works risks are fundamentally location-specific - a one-size-fits-all approach misses the local factors that determine whether controls are adequate for conditions at each point along the route
The Problems
Why This Matters for Civil Engineering
- Environmental risk assessments for linear projects must account for conditions that change along the route - watercourses, protected habitats, contaminated land - but generic assessments miss location-specific hazards
Pollution incidents occur because local environmental sensitivities were not identified in risk assessments, leading to EA prosecution and client enforcement
- Temporary works design and checking requirements are complex, but site teams struggle to maintain proper documentation for multiple TW items across extended projects
Temporary works failures cause injuries or structural damage, and investigation reveals design checking procedures were not followed
The Solution
How Risk Assessment Helps
Location-specific risk assessment with environmental sensitivity mapping, temporary works register with design, checking, and inspection integration, and chainage-referenced hazard management
Environmental risks are assessed with reference to actual sensitive receptors at each location, temporary works are properly designed, checked, and inspected with full audit trails, and hazard controls are verified at the point of work
Use Cases:
- • Chainage-referenced environmental risk assessments
- • Watercourse and ecology proximity hazard mapping
- • Temporary works design and checking register
- • Excavation support design and inspection tracking
- • Contaminated land working assessments
- • Buried services risk assessments with utility records
- • Traffic management risk assessments per scheme
Feature Screenshot
Risk Assessment
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Environmental risk assessments for linear projects must account for conditions that change along the route - watercourses, protected habitats, contaminated land - but generic assessments miss location-specific hazards
Real Scenario
"Fuel from plant refuelling reaches a watercourse designated as SSSI habitat for protected species. Your environmental risk assessment covered generic pollution prevention but did not identify this specific watercourse 50 metres from the refuelling location. EA prosecution follows."
Example 2: Temporary works design and checking requirements are complex, but site teams struggle to maintain proper documentation for multiple TW items across extended projects
Real Scenario
"A temporary road bridge fails, dropping a lorry into an excavation. Investigation finds the bridge was modified on site without redesign or checking. The TW coordinator did not know about the modification. Documentation shows no inspection since the original installation six weeks earlier."
Incident Reporting
Civil engineering works often occur in areas with poor communications and long distances from site offices. Incident reporting must work in these conditions and ensure critical information reaches the right people immediately
The Problems
Why This Matters for Civil Engineering
- Incidents on highway works require immediate client notification but site teams in remote locations struggle to complete proper reports and communicate with head office quickly
Clients learn about incidents through traffic reports or social media before you notify them, damaging trust and framework relationships
- Environmental incidents require immediate containment and notification to Environment Agency, but workers on remote sites may not have communications or know what to report
Pollution spreads before response occurs, and failure to notify EA promptly adds offences to those arising from the original pollution
The Solution
How Incident Reporting Helps
Mobile incident reporting with GPS location, automatic client notification based on incident type and severity, environmental incident specific workflows with EA notification prompts, and offline capability for remote locations
Incidents are reported immediately from any location, client notification happens automatically based on their requirements, environmental incidents trigger appropriate response and notification, and nothing waits for return to the office
Use Cases:
- • Vehicle incursion and near-miss reporting
- • Environmental incident with EA notification workflow
- • Public interface incidents on live highways
- • Third party damage claims documentation
- • Utility strike incident management
- • RIDDOR determination and reporting
- • Client-specific incident notification automation
Feature Screenshot
Incident Reporting
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Incidents on highway works require immediate client notification but site teams in remote locations struggle to complete proper reports and communicate with head office quickly
Real Scenario
"A vehicle incursion onto your works is reported on local radio before your project manager knows about it. The National Highways project manager calls your MD asking why they heard about an incident on their network from a journalist rather than from you."
Example 2: Environmental incidents require immediate containment and notification to Environment Agency, but workers on remote sites may not have communications or know what to report
Real Scenario
"A hydraulic hose failure causes oil to reach a ditch leading to a stream. The operative cleans up what he can but does not report it. Rain overnight washes remaining oil into the stream. By morning, pollution has spread 500 metres. EA arrives before you know anything has happened."
COSHH Management
Civil engineering projects consume fuels, oils, and chemicals at multiple locations that change as work progresses - static COSHH registers become outdated immediately, and field workers need mobile access to current safety information
The Problems
Why This Matters for Civil Engineering
- Civil engineering uses significant quantities of fuels, oils, and specialist products across extended sites, with storage locations that change as work progresses
Spill response is compromised when emergency responders do not know where hazardous substances are stored, and EA finds inadequate containment of mobile fuel stores
- Specialist civil engineering products (curing compounds, mould release, structural adhesives) have specific handling requirements that are not always communicated to operatives in the field
Workers suffer chemical injuries or ill-health from improper handling of products they have used before without incident - but the new batch has different formulation
The Solution
How COSHH Management Helps
Mobile COSHH register with location tracking of hazardous substance stores, automatic SDS updates when suppliers change formulations, and field access to handling requirements
Emergency responders can identify all hazardous substances at any project location, product information is current and accessible in the field, and storage locations are tracked as they move during project progression
Use Cases:
- • Fuel and oil storage location tracking
- • Mobile COSHH register by project location
- • Automatic SDS update notification
- • Emergency response substance information by chainage
- • Specialist concrete and bitumen product assessments
- • Confined space atmosphere monitoring products
- • Environmental product restrictions for sensitive areas
Feature Screenshot
COSHH Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Civil engineering uses significant quantities of fuels, oils, and specialist products across extended sites, with storage locations that change as work progresses
Real Scenario
"A bowser overturns during refuelling, spilling 1000 litres of diesel. Emergency response asks what absorbent products are available and where. Nobody knows - stores have been moved as work progressed and the COSHH register shows products at the main compound, not at the current work location."
Example 2: Specialist civil engineering products (curing compounds, mould release, structural adhesives) have specific handling requirements that are not always communicated to operatives in the field
Real Scenario
"A concrete finisher develops severe dermatitis from a curing compound he has used for years. Investigation reveals the supplier changed formulation and the new version requires gloves. The updated SDS was sent to your office but never reached the site operative."
Results Civil Engineering Businesses Achieve
Other Construction Solutions
Ready to Master Civil Engineering Compliance?
Join civil engineering contractors using Assistant Manager for infrastructure excellence.