CSCS has teamed up with Persimmon Homes to showcase shows how the housebuilder has embedded the CSCS Smart Check API into its Persimmon Wayapp via a new case study and accompanying video explainer.
The app now automates CSCS Alliance card checking at the point of induction and again at site sign-in – helping site teams reduce admin, strengthen competency controls and improve visibility of workforce credentials.
The case study explains how Persimmon moved on from a manual and visual approach to checking where teams relied on collecting photographs of cards and paper-based records to then introducing automated checks via the API.
Visual checks are insufficient to stamp out fraud, with Smart Check designed to flag expired, revoked or fraudulent cards.
Lee Hollins, IT Programme Manager at Persimmon Homes, said: “Every worker who sets foot on a persimmon site is now expected to sign into site, and at that point we check their [CSCS Alliance] card via the API.
“When we were made aware of the API, we looked into the benefits for Persimmon and it was automating the entire process. It was a relatively easy project to implement, the development team worked really well with the guys over at CSCS and we got to exactly what we needed in a short space of time.”
For site managers, the shift addresses a familiar problem with traditional inductions: a photocopy of a valid card, even if genuine and gained legitimately, captures a moment in time but it doesn’t automatically flag when a card later expires or should it be subsequently revoked.
Gary Adams, Project Manager at Persimmon Homes, said: “Historically with the manual induction process, we would take a photocopy of the valid card at that point in time and there was no notification that that card expired unless I then routinely went back through my paper records to view the card.
“Now, with the API built into The Persimmon Way app, you get a notification that the card has expired. I think that has definitely helped reduce the chance of fraudulent cards as we may have been subject to fraudulent tickets in the past but just been unaware of it.”
The Smart Check API returns card details and qualifications information, which Persimmon displays in-app to support clearer oversight of competence levels and skills on site, with solution now in use across Persimmon’s 270 sites.
“Persimmon’s integration of the CSCS Smart Check API shows what ‘good’ now looks like when card verification is built into day-to-day site controls,” said CSCS Group Chief Executive, Sean Kearns.
“By moving beyond manual and visual checks to automated, real-time validation at induction and at sign-in, site teams get a far stronger, data-led picture of who is on site and whether their credentials are current – including flags for expired, revoked or potentially fraudulent cards.
“Just as importantly, it creates a clear audit trail that supports compliance and strengthens competency management without adding extra admin. With Smart Check now operating across Persimmon’s 270 sites, this is a practical example of why the wider industry should get behind Smart Check, as the Construction Leadership Council’s recommended route for card verification.”
Download the case study and watch the accompanying video explainer via the CSCS YouTube channel.