Keeping track of staff cards and tickets before they expire
A simple way to know which of your team's site cards, safety tickets and qualifications are about to run out, so nobody is turned away at the gate.
By The Osmuch team · · 4 min read
In short
- Keep one list of every card and ticket your team hold, with its expiry date.
- Record when it runs out, not just that somebody has one.
- Look ahead at least two to three months, since renewal courses book up.
- An expired card is the urgent one, so do not let it drop off the list.
- Keep a copy of each card, and treat it as personal data.
Site cards, safety tickets and trade qualifications all have something in common: they expire, and nobody notices until a site manager asks to see one. An engineer turned away at the gate on the morning of a job costs a day's work and, sometimes, the customer's confidence.
One list for everyone
Most small businesses keep this information in people's wallets and heads. Write it down in one place instead: for each person, each card or ticket, who issued it, its reference number, when it was issued and when it expires. Construction site cards, gas and electrical qualifications, access equipment tickets, first aid and asbestos awareness are typical, but the list is whatever your work needs.
Some qualifications never expire, such as an NVQ. Record those too, with no expiry date, so the list is complete without raising alarms about something that cannot lapse.
Look far enough ahead
Renewal courses and assessments book up, especially in winter. Looking a month ahead is often too late. Review the list each month and act on anything expiring in the next two to three months, giving the most notice to tickets your work cannot go ahead without.
Do not lose the expired ones
A list that only shows what is expiring soon can quietly drop a card that has already expired, which is exactly the one that will stop somebody working. Keep expired cards on the list, with how long ago they ran out, until they are renewed.
Keep a copy, and keep it safe
Keep a scan or photo of each card so you can send it to a main contractor without chasing your engineer for it. A card usually carries a name, a photograph and a registration number, so store the copies somewhere secure that only the people who need them can see.
Questions
How far ahead should I check staff qualifications?
Two to three months is a sensible window. Renewal courses can be booked up weeks in advance, particularly in winter.
Do I need to keep copies of staff cards?
It is useful to, so you can show them to a main contractor quickly. Store them securely, because they are personal data.
Doing this in Osmuch
In Osmuch each employee can have their certifications recorded with the issuer, reference, issue date, expiry date and a scan of the card. A certification with no expiry date is treated as one that never lapses. Anything expiring soon, or already expired, appears on the Employees overview and as a deadline on the team calendar, showing how many days are left or how long ago it ran out. Only administrators can add or change certifications, the files are stored securely, and each employee sees only their own.
Guide: employee records and sensitive data · Guide: inviting your team · Guide: roles and what members can see