Gleeson Homes and Zutec today announce they have partnered to digitise Gleeson’s quality control processes, which includes multiple forms and checklists for Quality Assurance inspections, as well as Part L Photographic Evidence.
This will help Gleeson maintain standards in quality and meet regulatory compliance, while bringing structure to process and providing complete data visibility plot to plot, and project to project, helping deliver more on-site efficiencies.
Since June 2023, all housebuilders in the UK with new developments now have to provide mandatory photographic evidence to the SAP Assessor to prove that work and materials used in new homes comply with updated energy efficiency requirements that reduce carbon emissions – outlined in Part L, or Approved Document L, Appendix B. Implementing Zutec’s Part L Photographic Evidence solution across 82 sites earlier in the year, this was the first step in digitising Gleeson’s Quality Control Plot Book, providing the ability for teams to update and submit as-built Buildings Regulations England Part L (BREL) reports to assessors for approval and faster plot completion.
As part of its Quality Management Solution Suite, Zutec’s Part L Photographic Evidence solution allows users to capture, store, share and manage geo-located photographic evidence and supporting documents required for the as-built BREL report. Spec’d to meet requirements of the Part L Building Regulations framework, the solution ensures users on site can capture the right quality photos with the right information. Using Zutec’s field app photos can be captured and submitted to an assessor for sign off, speeding up process and bringing building information together in one place to remove the complexity of gathering evidence and submitting for approval.
Aligning its internal process and working with Zutec, Gleeson has now configured, digitised, and sequenced multiple forms and checklists, including its build stage and customer care forms as part of its Quality Control Plot Book. Bringing everything together in one place, ensures all on and off-site teams are working to the same process and have structure to inspections by following consistent practice and workflows. By standardising it quality process, Gleeson can track progress, analyse reports, and have an audit trail of work done and inspections completed by who and when.
Matt Ball, solutions architect at Gleeson, commented:
“We want to raise the bar in quality housebuilding, and believe innovation in this area is key. We partnered with Zutec for their Part L innovation to help us meet regulatory requirements, but quickly realised that we could work together to digitise our quality control process and plot book to give us more control and consistency on what was happening site by site and project to project.
“Zutec’s Quality Management solutions form the foundation of our digitised Quality Control Plot Book, which is used for inspections on site, it gives us complete data visibility of project progress and contractor performance via a dashboard view where we can analyse information to help us make more informed decisions and implement best practice.”
Using Zutec’s field app, Gleeson users will now be able to complete checklists, take photos during site inspections and add comments, meaning that issues found can be easily identified and resolved quickly. On site teams can also add status codes to inspections to track inspection progress, which can be marked up as draft, for review, complete or rejected. Additionally, an action register means items can also be assigned to users through notifications for faster resolution, and with full audibility there is a trail of information that can show if an action has been completed or not. With interactive reporting and dashboards, specific reports can be set up and easily exported for review and analysis meaning continual improvement of working practices.
“By configuring and rolling out our quality management solutions at Gleeson, we have been able to support them in digitising their Quality Control Plot Book, which sets new standards in quality across their business. As part of our solution onboarding, we are providing super user training that means our tools can be easily self-administered across sites. It is great to see user adoption and to partner with Gleeson on this project and be part of their transformation journey, as we both learn more about what the very best quality practice looks like,” said James Cannon, commercial director at Zutec.
To find out more about Zutec, and how it can help achieve compliance with the Part L Photographic Evidence Requirement, click here.