Five Things the C-Suite should be Asking Workforce Management Partners

Across all industries, digitalisation involves taking a step away from traditional processes, putting down the pen and paper, and creating digital solutions for common issues. This can be used to create a digital record of people, activities and objects in real time – ensuring workers and materials are where they need to be, when they need to be there, doing what they need to do. By putting technology in the hands of every worker, by way of an app or similar, it also makes them accountable for more aspects of their work.

In the construction industry, this can be utilised to support workforce management, inspired by the Building Safety Act principle of the ‘golden thread’. In recent times we have seen buildings be made safer and the industry become more efficient through the use and appreciation of data, a view which we can also employ when considering workforce management.

One of the biggest ongoing issues facing the construction industry is modern slavery. Also known as forced labour, untrained workers are brought to construction sites and asked to take up a trade on the spot. Contech allows us to vet workers, validating their qualifications and right to work documents, making it increasingly difficult for victims of modern slavery, or gangmasters, to make it onto sites.

Removing untrained workers from site is just one of the ways digital transformation can reduce risk associated with construction. Risk comes in all shapes and sizes but being able to ensure compliance is key to reducing this across the board. Having access to workforce and site data through digital solutions is a sure-fire way to support this challenge.

Both these factors also contribute to raising standards on sites. While this was often seen as a top-down job, with regulation and accreditation lying in the hands of official regulatory bodies, the workforce themselves can play a huge role in establishing and maintaining standards. Embracing digital solutions lets them take accountability for remaining competent and compliant throughout the whole worker journey.

To read more in depth about the benefits of digitalisation, visit our blog where we have taken a deeper dive into reducing risk, raising site standards, and removing modern slavery.

There is an increasing need in recent years to report on aspects of business such as health and safety, modern slavery, social value and carbon footprint – much of which comes under the umbrella of ESG. Our platform centralises all of this, allowing clients to meet KPIs, adhere to regulatory standards and remain compliant without the need for stacks of documents.

Digital platforms such as ours also support with site and worker specific data relating to number of workers on site and hours worked as well as whether your workers have completed pre-registration and relevant training. Access to this data creates a single source of truth across sites, improving efficiency and profitability.

The simple answer is yes. Here at MSite we talk about this in the context of a worker journey which encompassed end-to-end delivery in three stages – pre-site, on-site and in-site – with solutions targeted towards them all.

Pre-site relates to anything that happens before workers clock in for their first day. Historically, this has been limited, however with the introduction of digital solutions a lot of the first-day admin can be ticked off ahead of time. This simplifies onboarding by putting registration, inductions and right work checks in the hands of the worker, all on an easy-to-use app.

Have you ever wanted more clarity on who is on site at any given time and for how long? This is covered in the on-site stage of the worker journey. Biometric access control solutions mean only those pre-registered can step foot on site. Not only does this make construction sites safer, but by clocking in and out this way we are also able to track and validate worker hours down to the second, boosting productivity and saving up to 20% on agency labour.

Reporting has always been a tedious manual task, but our in-site solutions allow you to gain valuable insights which are key to compliance. Whether your focus is on ESG or workforce management, digitalisation allows you to see your credentials at the click of a button. By monitoring what was done well and where improvements need to be made you can focus on continued improvement and optimal delivery.

You can find out more about the workforce management solutions offered at MSite here or contact us for a personalised consultation with one of our experts.