Site induction: proving who was told what, before they start work

A site induction is the briefing everyone receives before starting work on a site: the hazards specific to this site, the rules, the emergency arrangements, and who to tell when something changes. It is required in substance by general health and safety duties, and in practice by every principal contractor who has ever had to answer questions after an incident.

Two things make an induction useful rather than ceremonial: it is about this site rather than construction in general, and it leaves a record showing who attended, when, and what they were told.

What a site induction has to cover

• The specific hazards on this site now — not a generic list: live services, deep excavations, overhead lines, traffic routes, neighbouring occupants.
• Emergency arrangements: alarm, muster point, first aiders, how to call for help and what address to give.
• Site rules: PPE, permits, exclusion zones, speed limits, no-go areas, drugs and alcohol policy.
• Welfare: where facilities are, and the arrangements for breaks.
• How to report a hazard, a near miss or an accident, and to whom.
• Who the supervisors are, and how work is authorised to start.
• Confirmation of competence and any required cards or tickets for the work being done.

The specificity test is simple: if the induction could be delivered unchanged on another site, it is not a site induction. It is a general safety talk, and it will be characterised that way if it is ever examined.

The record that makes it evidence

1. Capture attendance individually: name, employer, date, time, and who delivered the induction.
2. Record what was covered, by reference to the version of the induction content in force that day.
3. Keep a signature or an equivalent confirmation from the person — an attendance list with no acknowledgement is weaker evidence.
4. Record competence checks done at the same time: cards, licences, qualifications for the specific task.
5. Re-induct when the site changes materially, and record the reason for re-induction.
6. Keep the records for the life of the project and beyond, in line with the retention period for accident-related records.

Language matters more than most induction packs admit. An induction delivered in English to a worker who does not speak it fluently produces a signature and no understanding — which is worse than no record, because it looks like compliance. Where the workforce is multilingual, plan for that rather than discovering it at the sign-in desk.

Keeping it short enough to work

Inductions get longer every year as clauses are added after incidents, until they run past an hour and stop being absorbed. The fix is separation: the induction covers what someone needs to be safe from the moment they walk on; task-specific detail belongs in the briefing for that task, delivered by the person supervising it.

Because the induction is a repeated data-capture exercise with a signature and an expiry, a form is the right shape for it. Ettex Forms captures attendance, competence details and acknowledgement at the point of induction, so the register is a queryable record rather than a folder of scanned sheets. The content of the induction, and whether it reflects the site today, remain the principal contractor’s responsibility under the cdm regulations.