Compliance Management for Commercial Construction
Handle complex client requirements and CDM compliance with digital tools built for commercial projects.
The Challenge
Commercial construction contractors face a perfect storm of compliance pressures - demanding clients with their own safety frameworks, complex CDM principal contractor duties, high-risk operations requiring permit systems, and extensive subcontractor supply chains needing management. Paper-based systems cannot handle the volume and complexity of documentation required, leading to gaps that surface during client audits or HSE investigations when it is too late to fix them.
How Assistant Manager Solves Commercial Construction Compliance
Each module is designed to address the specific challenges commercial construction businesses face every day.
Checklist Management
Commercial construction requires robust permit systems for hot works, confined spaces, working at height, and electrical isolations, often with multiple permits active simultaneously across large sites - plus adaptability to different client compliance frameworks
The Problems
Why This Matters for Commercial Construction
- Permit-to-work systems rely on paper forms that get lost, are illegible, or are not properly closed out - creating gaps in high-risk activity documentation
Following an incident involving hot works or confined space entry, investigation reveals the permit system was not being followed properly, exposing principal contractor liability
- Client-specific inspection requirements vary by project, and site teams struggle to maintain different checklists for different clients
Client audits find inconsistent compliance with their specific requirements, damaging relationships and threatening framework positions
The Solution
How Checklist Management Helps
Digital permit-to-work system with approval workflows, auto-expiry, and live permit registers, plus configurable checklists that adapt to different client requirements
Every high-risk activity has a valid, approved permit that cannot be overlooked, client-specific requirements are built into project checklists, and you can demonstrate systematic compliance to any client format
Use Cases:
- • Hot works permit-to-work with fire watch verification
- • Confined space entry permits with rescue plan confirmation
- • Working at height permit system with equipment checks
- • Electrical isolation permits with lock-out/tag-out
- • Client-specific weekly safety inspection formats
- • Scaffold handover and inspection records
- • Temporary works check and inspection schedules
Feature Screenshot
Checklist Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Permit-to-work systems rely on paper forms that get lost, are illegible, or are not properly closed out - creating gaps in high-risk activity documentation
Real Scenario
"A fire starts from hot works on the third floor. The fire service requests the hot works permit. It cannot be located. When eventually found, it was issued two days ago for work on a different floor - nobody had issued a permit for today's work at all."
Example 2: Client-specific inspection requirements vary by project, and site teams struggle to maintain different checklists for different clients
Real Scenario
"Your largest client conducts a surprise audit and asks to see their specific weekly safety inspection format. Your site manager shows the standard company checklist. The client points out three specific items from their framework that are not covered. Your audit score drops to amber."
Employee Scheduling
Commercial construction involves complex coordination of trades and specialists, with specific competency requirements for supervisory roles that must be verified - not assumed - before high-risk work proceeds
The Problems
Why This Matters for Commercial Construction
- Critical supervision roles are not always filled - appointed persons for lifting, confined space supervisors, and temporary works coordinators are scheduled without verification of competence
High-risk operations proceed without qualified supervision, and incidents reveal that the person supposedly supervising lacked the required qualification
- Labour forecasting for large commercial projects is based on experience rather than data, leading to boom-bust cycles of overstaffing and understaffing
Preliminary costs overrun due to inefficient labour deployment, or programme slips because critical trades are unavailable when needed
The Solution
How Employee Scheduling Helps
Scheduling integrated with competency matrix that enforces qualified supervision for high-risk activities, with cross-project visibility of labour deployment and availability
Every high-risk operation has verified qualified supervision scheduled before work can proceed, labour conflicts across projects are visible in advance, and you can optimise workforce deployment across your project portfolio
Use Cases:
- • Appointed person scheduling for lifting operations
- • Confined space supervisor and rescue team allocation
- • Temporary works coordinator availability tracking
- • Cross-project trade contractor coordination
- • First aider and fire warden coverage per zone
- • Night shift and weekend working supervision
- • Peak resource planning across project portfolio
Feature Screenshot
Employee Scheduling
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Critical supervision roles are not always filled - appointed persons for lifting, confined space supervisors, and temporary works coordinators are scheduled without verification of competence
Real Scenario
"A lifting operation goes wrong and the load is dropped. Investigation asks to see the appointed person's qualifications. The site manager says John was the AP. John has a slinger/signaller card but has never completed AP training - he was just the most experienced person available."
Example 2: Labour forecasting for large commercial projects is based on experience rather than data, leading to boom-bust cycles of overstaffing and understaffing
Real Scenario
"The fit-out phase is three weeks behind because M&E subcontractors are stretched across three of your projects simultaneously. Nobody coordinated when each project would need their peak resources. Now they cannot supply enough electricians to any project."
Time & Attendance
Large commercial sites may have multiple gates, tower access points, and zones with different access restrictions - accurate tracking requires a system that handles complexity while remaining simple for workers to use
The Problems
Why This Matters for Commercial Construction
- Large commercial sites with multiple access points and hundreds of workers make accurate headcount impossible with paper sign-in systems
Fire drills reveal significant discrepancies between signed-in numbers and actual headcount, and in a real emergency, the uncertainty could cost lives
- Subcontractor payment verification relies on self-reported hours that are difficult to verify, leading to disputes and potential overpayment
Monthly payment applications are challenged, relationships with subcontractors sour, and project costs creep up through unverified labour claims
The Solution
How Time & Attendance Helps
Multi-point digital site access with individual verification, real-time headcount by zone, automatic working time monitoring, and verified attendance records for payment purposes
You know exactly who is on site at all times for emergency response, working time compliance is automatically monitored, and subcontractor attendance is independently verified for accurate payment
Use Cases:
- • Multi-gate site access with unified headcount
- • Zone-based tracking for building areas
- • Contractor attendance verification for payment
- • Fire evacuation with zone-by-zone roll call
- • Working Time Regulations monitoring for all workers
- • Visitor and delivery driver tracking
- • Restricted area access logging
Feature Screenshot
Time & Attendance
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Large commercial sites with multiple access points and hundreds of workers make accurate headcount impossible with paper sign-in systems
Real Scenario
"A fire alarm activation triggers evacuation of 400 workers. The muster count shows 380. Site management cannot determine if 20 people are missing or if the sign-in records were inaccurate. The building cannot be re-entered for two hours while fire service conducts a search. All 20 had actually signed out but their sheets had not been collected."
Example 2: Subcontractor payment verification relies on self-reported hours that are difficult to verify, leading to disputes and potential overpayment
Real Scenario
"A subcontractor submits a daywork claim for 12 operatives working Saturday and Sunday. Your site was officially closed that weekend for a concrete pour that was cancelled. The subcontractor insists their people were there - you have no way to prove otherwise and end up paying."
Training & Development
Commercial construction involves work for clients with varying training standards - retail, pharmaceutical, data centre, and industrial clients all have different requirements that must be met alongside CDM and industry competency requirements
The Problems
Why This Matters for Commercial Construction
- Different clients require different training standards - some mandate specific courses or require refresher training more frequently than statutory minimums
Workers with standard industry qualifications are turned away from client sites for lacking client-specific training, causing programme delays
- High-risk activity training (confined space, working at height, lifting operations) expires at different intervals and tracking across a large workforce is overwhelming
Workers are assigned to high-risk tasks with expired competencies, and incidents reveal training had lapsed months earlier
The Solution
How Training & Development Helps
Flexible training management that handles client-specific requirements alongside industry standards, with competency tracking linked to task assignment and automatic expiry management
Every worker meets both industry and client-specific training requirements before site access, competency gaps are identified before they cause problems, and renewal is managed proactively
Use Cases:
- • Client-specific safety passport tracking
- • CSCS card verification with category validation
- • Confined space entry and rescue team training
- • IPAF and PASMA powered access certification
- • Appointed person and crane supervisor qualifications
- • Asbestos awareness with client-specific additions
- • Site-specific induction with client content
Feature Screenshot
Training & Development
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Different clients require different training standards - some mandate specific courses or require refresher training more frequently than statutory minimums
Real Scenario
"A steelfixer gang arrives at a major retail client site. The client requires their own safety passport course in addition to CSCS. Nobody told the subcontractor. The gang is turned away, and the concrete pour is delayed by three days while they complete the training."
Example 2: High-risk activity training (confined space, working at height, lifting operations) expires at different intervals and tracking across a large workforce is overwhelming
Real Scenario
"A worker is injured during a confined space rescue. Investigation reveals the rescue team member's confined space rescue training expired eight months ago. The training provider had sent renewal reminders to an old email address. Nobody in your organisation knew."
HR Management
Commercial contractors compete for work based on their safety credentials and supply chain management - having robust, demonstrable systems is a competitive advantage in pre-qualification as well as a compliance requirement
The Problems
Why This Matters for Commercial Construction
- Major client pre-qualification requires extensive documentation about your workforce, training, and compliance systems - gathering this for each tender is enormously time-consuming
Tender opportunities are missed because documentation cannot be compiled in time, or submissions are incomplete and score poorly on compliance sections
- Supply chain due diligence for CDM compliance requires ongoing verification of subcontractor insurance, competency, and safety performance - not just at onboarding
Subcontractors whose standards have slipped or whose documentation has expired continue working, creating liability gaps in your supply chain
The Solution
How HR Management Helps
Comprehensive workforce and supply chain documentation system with automatic monitoring, expiry alerts, and pre-formatted reports for common PQQ requirements
Tender responses are faster and more complete, subcontractor due diligence is continuous rather than point-in-time, and you can demonstrate supply chain management excellence to clients
Use Cases:
- • Subcontractor pre-qualification and approval
- • Insurance certificate tracking with auto-renewal chasing
- • CHAS, Constructionline, and SafeContractor integration
- • PQQ response documentation generation
- • Workforce competency reports by project
- • Right to work verification with audit trail
- • Supply chain performance scoring
Feature Screenshot
HR Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Major client pre-qualification requires extensive documentation about your workforce, training, and compliance systems - gathering this for each tender is enormously time-consuming
Real Scenario
"A Tier 1 contractor issues a PQQ for a £50M project with a two-week deadline. Compiling the required workforce competency data, training records, and subcontractor documentation takes three people two weeks. You miss the deadline because the HR director was on leave."
Example 2: Supply chain due diligence for CDM compliance requires ongoing verification of subcontractor insurance, competency, and safety performance - not just at onboarding
Real Scenario
"A subcontractor's insurance renewal email bounces because they changed accounts. Their policy lapses for three weeks before anyone notices. During that time, they cause damage to a neighbouring property. You discover you have no valid certificate of insurance for them."
Risk Assessment
Commercial construction creates complex interfaces between trades where risks are often created by combinations of activities rather than individual tasks - systematic review of RAMS interactions is essential but impossible without digital tools
The Problems
Why This Matters for Commercial Construction
- Complex commercial projects require thousands of risk assessments and method statements from multiple subcontractors - reviewing them all properly is impossible with paper systems
RAMS are approved without adequate review, gaps in the construction phase plan go unnoticed, and incidents occur because risks were identified on paper but controls were never actually implemented
- Risks change as projects progress through phases, but risk assessments written at tender stage are not updated to reflect actual site conditions
Risk assessments become historical documents rather than live controls, and site teams work from memory rather than current documented procedures
The Solution
How Risk Assessment Helps
Structured RAMS review workflow with conflict detection, phase-linked risk assessment updates, and integration with permits and inspections to verify controls are implemented
Every RAMS is properly reviewed with conflicts identified before work starts, risk assessments evolve as projects progress, and there is a direct link between assessed risks and implemented controls
Use Cases:
- • Subcontractor RAMS review and approval workflow
- • Interface risk assessment for trade coordination
- • Phase-specific risk assessment updates
- • Lifting operation risk assessments with lift plans
- • Temporary works design risk integration
- • Environmental risk assessments for site activities
- • Construction phase plan live documentation
Feature Screenshot
Risk Assessment
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Complex commercial projects require thousands of risk assessments and method statements from multiple subcontractors - reviewing them all properly is impossible with paper systems
Real Scenario
"An M&E subcontractor is injured when a ceiling grid collapses during installation. The RAMS mentioned the suspended ceiling but assumed the main contractor would provide platform access. The main contractor's RAMS assumed the subcontractor would bring their own. Nobody coordinated. Nobody reviewed for conflicts."
Example 2: Risks change as projects progress through phases, but risk assessments written at tender stage are not updated to reflect actual site conditions
Real Scenario
"Ground conditions on a commercial project are worse than expected - the water table is higher and ground is contaminated. The excavation risk assessment still references the pre-contract ground investigation. Nobody updated it with the actual conditions discovered during work."
Incident Reporting
Commercial contractors work for multiple clients with different reporting expectations while managing subcontractor supply chains where incident transparency is essential for genuine safety improvement rather than statistical performance
The Problems
Why This Matters for Commercial Construction
- Subcontractor incidents are under-reported because subcontractors fear consequences for their future work allocation and do not want to damage their safety statistics
The principal contractor has an incomplete picture of site safety performance, trends are invisible, and serious incidents occur that earlier warnings could have prevented
- Client notification requirements vary - some want immediate notification of any incident, others only want reportable incidents, and getting this wrong damages relationships
Clients learn about incidents on their sites through informal channels rather than proper notification, creating trust issues that affect future work opportunities
The Solution
How Incident Reporting Helps
Unified incident reporting across all subcontractors with anonymous near-miss option, configurable client notification rules, and trend analysis that spans your project portfolio
All incidents are captured regardless of employer, client notification is automatic based on their specific requirements, and you can identify patterns across projects that individual sites would never see
Use Cases:
- • Unified incident reporting across all contractors
- • Anonymous near-miss and concern reporting
- • Automatic RIDDOR determination and submission
- • Client-specific notification rule configuration
- • Investigation workflow with evidence management
- • Cross-project incident trend analysis
- • Subcontractor safety performance dashboards
Feature Screenshot
Incident Reporting
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Subcontractor incidents are under-reported because subcontractors fear consequences for their future work allocation and do not want to damage their safety statistics
Real Scenario
"A subcontractor operative breaks his wrist. His supervisor tells him to go to A&E and say it happened at home. Three months later, the same subcontractor has a fatal fall. Investigation reveals a pattern of unreported incidents across multiple sites - including two previous falls from the same cause."
Example 2: Client notification requirements vary - some want immediate notification of any incident, others only want reportable incidents, and getting this wrong damages relationships
Real Scenario
"An operative is taken to hospital after a fall. It turns out to be minor and he returns to work next day. But your client's project manager saw the ambulance and heard nothing from you. She calls your MD asking why she learned about an incident from a passing comment at lunch."
COSHH Management
Commercial construction often occurs in or adjacent to sensitive environments - operational buildings, cleanrooms, food production, data centres - where COSHH management extends beyond worker protection to preventing contamination of client processes
The Problems
Why This Matters for Commercial Construction
- Multiple subcontractors use hazardous substances simultaneously without coordination - paint crews, floor layers, and sealant applicators can create dangerous combinations of vapours
Workers are exposed to combined effects that individual COSHH assessments did not consider, leading to illness, evacuation, or acute reactions
- Client sites (especially pharmaceutical, food, and cleanroom environments) have restrictions on permitted substances that subcontractors are not always aware of
Products are used that contaminate sensitive environments, causing production shutdowns and massive claims against the contractor
The Solution
How COSHH Management Helps
Site-wide COSHH coordination with substance compatibility checking, client restriction enforcement, and activity scheduling to prevent hazardous combinations
All substances on site are registered and compatible, client restrictions are automatically enforced in approval workflows, and activities using hazardous substances are coordinated to prevent dangerous combinations
Use Cases:
- • Site-wide substance register across all contractors
- • Compatibility checking for simultaneous activities
- • Client-specific restricted substance lists
- • Ventilation requirement coordination
- • PPE requirement harmonisation across trades
- • Emergency response chemical information
- • Substance substitution recommendations
Feature Screenshot
COSHH Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Multiple subcontractors use hazardous substances simultaneously without coordination - paint crews, floor layers, and sealant applicators can create dangerous combinations of vapours
Real Scenario
"A floor screeder and an epoxy floor coating crew work in adjacent areas. Each has a COSHH assessment. Neither mentions the other product. Combined vapours create a reaction that sends three workers to hospital. The ventilation was adequate for either product alone, but not both."
Example 2: Client sites (especially pharmaceutical, food, and cleanroom environments) have restrictions on permitted substances that subcontractors are not always aware of
Real Scenario
"A subcontractor uses a silicone sealant in a pharmaceutical cleanroom. The client's specification prohibited silicone-based products. Nobody checked. The room fails validation. Remediation and delay costs exceed £500,000, and your subcontractor cannot pay."
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