Anyone who’s worked in the construction industry knows that every project presents its own specific risks and failing to address these risks sensibly and efficiently can expose a business to serious time and cost overruns.
Whatever the size of a construction site, complying with health and safety regulations, implementing new legal requirements and keeping legible accurate records is an ongoing, time-consuming job. Yet failing to comply often leaves contractors vulnerable to litigation, reputational damage and the possibility of financial claims from on-site workers.
And the very nature of construction - the fact that site-based workforces are often fragmented, dispersed across many different sites and have a mix of direct employees, sub-contractors and agency staff working on a number of different projects in different places – often makes it extremely difficult for companies to accurately and efficiently manage site by site or across supply chains in real-time.
Dominant among the digital solutions enabling contractors of all sizes to better manage risk, labour and compliance is biometric technology, which can provide contractors with a complete and accurate view across all projects.
Embracing biometric technology on-site
The Causeway Donseed labour management solution combines cloud-based technology with real-time biometric identification identifiers to help contractors reduce risk, maintain compliance and improve profitability. In short, the solution requires operatives and site visitors to sign-in when entering site and sign-out when leaving, either using fingerprint recognition technology or facial recognition technology.
Unlike passwords or smartcards, biometric identifiers, cannot be copied or used fraudulently; every site operative’s biometric template is encrypted. This means that the data cannot be used for any other purpose than verifying site activities or accessing their work-related records, including managing construction site access and recording accurate time and attendance.
The Causeway Donseed biometric labour management software has been designed specifically for the construction industry and allows companies to identify site-based operatives using industry-leading fingerprint recognition technology and/or state-of-the-art facial recognition technology through a range of bespoke mobile and access control solutions.
2020 set to be a pivotal year for biometric labour management
Almost half of the construction professionals responding to a Causeway’s recent Digital Front Line report say they are planning to invest in new technology in the next 12 months to help better control their site-based workforce. A similar proportion admits to already having an integrated solution in place. And it’s not just the larger industry players: a growing number of construction SMEs have emerged as early adopters of construction-specific biometric software solutions.
With time and attendance reporting at the core of the Causeway Donseed biometric labour management software solution, the positive impact that this type of digital solution can have on a company’s bottom line – an average reduction of up to 20% in labour costs, according to Causeway’s Digital Front Line report - is rightfully fueling its popularity.
So too is the fact its construction-specific modules can provide answers to the most fundamental questions relating to issues of site security, and health and safety, including knowing who exactly is on your construction site at a particular time, and who is, for example, a qualified first aider, and even who needs to update their first aid qualifications.
By giving contractors the data that they require in real-time, biometric labour management technology delivers tailored solutions to fit the needs of any construction contractor. It enables accurate, real-time information to be held securely online, dispensing with the need for inefficient manual timesheets and signing-in books, providing immediate access to live and historical data across all projects.
Ultimately, biometric technology is an enabler which helps to ensure that a contractor’s data is reliable and accurate.
It’s an on-site approach to on-site risks.
With the large swathe of construction firms planning to invest in new technology in the next 12 months to help better control their field workforce, it seems safe to assume that a shift towards biometric technology is well underway in the UK construction industry, helping re-shape and vastly improve the face of labour management.
