New Digital Platform Set to Unite the Construction Industry on Tackling Modern Slavery

Posted by Construction Industry News Magazine on 27th February 2023 -

For decades the UK construction industry has been plagued by issues such as modern slavery, data silos, lengthy onboarding, fake credentials and a lack of digital standards, according to the team behind newly launched digital construction platform Construct.id.

Construct.id is a new industry-wide platform that aims to raise standards and provide betterment for all, serving the entire construction community with a single source of trusted and verified identity, skills and competency data.

Skilled workers, subcontractors and main contractors all now have the opportunity to join the platform, which consists of two components. The first is a free app that enables skilled workers to digitally store and present their verified identity, work history and credentials to site managers across every project they work on. The second is a portal for contractors and subcontractors to set standards, get full visibility of the total supply chain and ensure workers have the right credentials.

Two of the co-founders, Martin Ward and Dominic Howkins, have a combined 55 years of experience in technology and systems development for some of the largest UK construction organisations. They grew dissatisfied with the lack of industry-wide change, so set out to create an independent digital platform that would simplify processes, raise standards, benefit everyone in construction and unite the industry.

Martin Ward, co-founder and managing director of Construct.id, said: “Thanks to widespread backing and input from the industry, we have been able to get the platform ready for market quickly. However, it was a chance meeting with Chris Hurley, our other co-founder, that led us to the real game-changing moment. Chris has been a digital identity pioneer within the aviation industry, working across the globe to introduce new digital identity services and often advising governments on meeting the most stringent security standards. Combining tried-and-tested aviation knowledge with our experience in construction is proving to be a powerful application of technology.”

“In a nutshell, we have created a platform that can connect any credentials across the industry and place these with the worker. We then allow contractors to set credential standards needed to attend site and match the two. This massively improves transparency and removes lengthy onsite verification, as the credentials are verified at source.”

Construct.id aims to use its platform and partnerships to support the industry in reducing modern slavery by providing free right to work checks for its members. It also hopes to address the skills shortage and plug gaps in mental health support in construction by reducing paperwork that can be a cause of workplace stress.

Mr Ward continued: “We have the ability to establish workers identity and provide free right to work checks to government standards. This information is provided to organisations and their supply chains, ensuring everyone working on site is who they say they are, and has the right skills and legal requirements.

“Because of this level of transparency, this tool can be used to fight labour abuse and modern slavery across the entire supply chain. We have to work collaboratively to address betterment at every level, and this is where Construct.id can support.”

Several high profile and leading organisations, such as national contractor Willmott Dixon, have already signed up as ambassadors, mandating the digital platform across their supply chain. Construct.id is now calling on the wider supply chain, including awarding bodies and trade associations, to help unite a fragmented industry.

Mr Ward added: “Raising standards begins at the point of qualification, which is why we want to work with awarding bodies to transfer old fashioned paper certificates into free online credentials, which will support the entire supply chain straight away. If you’re already using digital credentials, we want to work together to provide a single source of data for the betterment of all.”

More ambassadors are set to be announced in the coming weeks.

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