GM Business Connect caught up with Michael Dodd, CEO and Founder of V Site Pass, and asked him about his business which centred around a unique verification and compliance solution designed for industrial users such as the construction sector:
Tell us about your business?
“V Site Pass is a unique platform designed to digitally verify and store the credentials of workers. From a business perspective, this reduces workplace risk for both personnel and commercial users within sectors that require independent validation of workforce credentials to perform specific tasks. It also ensures your business is fully compliant as regards your workforce. Our platform independently verifies the credentials of a worker such as Identity, eligibility, professional qualifications, training and medicals. Companies can then use this data to ensure their workers are fully qualified to complete the job at hand. We also monitor expiration dates to ensure that credentials remain valid for the duration of the task and flag to employers when they are due for renewal.
“Using a single system for both verification and compliance, the platform offers a full audit trail and total visibility giving businesses the confidence to make decisions based on data and not guesswork. Whether it’s complying with new regulations, moving your workforce or opening a new location, the platform offers the business agility necessary to respond to change quickly and accurately.”
Where does your application work?
“The platform has been designed to sit in all environments and to benefit from widespread adoption across a business using mobile, tablet and desktop systems. This can guarantee complete flexibility from office to work site. We have also designed it to be intuitive and easy to use, whilst at the same time retaining the highest standards of security.”
What measures do you have in place to make sure users are genuine?
“V Site Pass account holders submit their documentation electronically via our app for verification. This information then undergoes a series of automated and manual checks by industry professionals – including enhanced identity verification. Each document submitted will not become available to share through the app until it has satisfied our strict criteria to ensure it is genuine and valid.”
Is the app for both contractor and employee to use?
“There are two sides to the solution, the worker app for use by both employees and contractors alike and the client side where the project requirements and requests are generated and managed. With the worker side of the application, all credentials are stored on a mobile phone and can be shared securely from your device to site in seconds. The expiry dates are also continually monitored allowing the worker not to miss an opportunity to work through missing or lapsed credentials. The Client side is where the project requirements and requests are generated, managed, and recorded.”
What type of businesses will your product disrupt and why?
“It’s not necessarily that our product will ‘disrupt’ any existing businesses, but what it will do is revolutionise the way that worker credentials are verified and overall reduce risk and improve the safety of vast sectors such as the construction industry. The V Site Pass solution will provide a seamless transition for a currently heavily labour intensive, potentially flawed, and costly process. It can be easily and quickly integrated into any working site or future project.”
How will your application save money for the construction sector?
“For the client there are a whole host of financial benefits to using V Site Pass:
- By outsourcing the eligibility to work and credential check there is no need to carry out in house checks.
- Every V Site Pass holder has eligibility to work in the UK (current immigration fines £20,000 per worker).
- Every task can go ahead as planned as you can verify in advance the workers are eligible and qualified for the task.
- Potential insurance discounts as you can guarantee everyone on site is who they say they are and are qualified for the task they are being employed to carry out.
“As well as the points listed, the fact that your workforce is 100% compliant and are fully accredited for the work they are doing mean that the chance of any workplace accidents are dramatically reduced. If any incidents do happen, then any insurance implications can be resolved positively and quickly.“
How secure is the technology used?
“V Site Pass uses an end to end encrypted solution to securely store and share your information. This ensures the highest levels of security across all users on a site. Safeguarding your data is an integral part of our business. We have therefore opted to host all data to the highest possible level with Amazon’s ISO27001 compliant AWS cloud infrastructure. As a business V Site Pass will never share your data with any third party.”
What are the GDPR considerations in using your App?
“The beauty of using the V Site Pass application removes the need for the site to become a data owner. Each individual user is in full control of their own data all the time. They can choose who they share their information with and when, for how long and when and where the recipient can view it. If they change their minds, they can simply withdraw the permission. Once the worker finishes the job and leaves site, so does their information. However, V Site Pass leaves a digital fingerprint of their verified data showing they were there and qualified to perform the project task(s).”
What sort of ongoing support do you offer construction businesses (for example a helpline/tech support?)
“We have 24/7 online tech support.”
Are you looking to update the technology created on an ongoing basis?
“Yes, we have several additional features going on in the development cupboard. Some of these have been our ideas and some are requests from current users. We will always listen to feedback from our customers and our early adopters have the chance to mould and shape the V Site Pass of the future.”
Is it just construction that you are currently looking to work with, or are you aiming your business model to other sectors?
“Currently construction, oil, gas and power including renewables, but once we’re further established we’ve got our sights on rail, maritime, aerospace, mining and defence.”
How can people get in touch with you?
For more information you can either visit our website www.vsitepass.com or follow our social media channels:
- Twitter – twitter.com/vsitepass
- Facebook – www.facebook.com/vsitepass/
- LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/company/vsitepass/
- YouTube – www.youtube.com
Or you can email: info@vsitepass.com or call 01624 639940
