CSCS card fraud is still a major problem on building sites, survey finds

Construction card fraud is still rife on the UK's building sites due largely to the fact that the majority of firms still check workers' CSCS cards using a paper-based system, recent data from a UK-wide survey conducted by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) has been able to find.

All 1.4 million CSCS cards have microchip technology embedded in them, which allows a site manager access to a wealth of information about each worker, including their qualifications. However, 69% of the 1180 respondents said they were still checking cards using a paper-based system, with only 6% using smart technology.

The poll also showed that while 86% of cardholders had their cards checked, under half (43%) were checked to see if they were actually qualified to do the job.

The survey, by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) is part of a drive for construction firms to adopt new technology which will make it quicker and easier to identify fraudsters.

CSCS Chief Executive Graham Wren said: "Thorough card checks must be carried out before allowing workers on site and employers need to ensure workers have the correct qualifications for the work they do. More and more people are realising technology, such as a CSCS SmartCard, is a simple and cost effective way to do this. By simply placing the card into a reader or compatible device such as a tablet or smartphone you can instantly check the validity of a card and the qualifications held by the card holder.

"There is still a lot of work to be done to increase the use of technology so that relying on visual card checks becomes a thing of the past."

Tensor — your preferred CSCS partner for Construction / Building Site Access Control

Tensor is a preferred CSCS IT Partner and, as such, has further advanced our integration with the CSCS smartcard to enable features such as auto-learn where in learn mode, when a CSCS smartcard is scanned, several credentials from the CSCS smartcard are auto-inserted into the Tensor.NET software including photograph, name, title, CSCS card number and CSCS card expiry date to allow a seamless data entry facility. Tensor .NET then auto-inserts the CSCS smartcard's expiry date into the employee leavers date field to ensure that the Tensor.NET denies access to a CSCS smartcard user who attempts to gain access with an expired CSCS smartcard.

Other advanced features that can be enabled include a separate verification process where CSCS smartcard holders must report to a Site Manager for the Site Manager to verify the Contractor's details before permitting the CSCS smartcard to enter a site. This can be conducted on a site-by-site basis or can be applied to permit usage of a CSCS smartcard across a number of sites.

The CSCS smartcard, when used in conjunction with Tensor's .NET software, Access Control and Time & Attendance products, provides a very powerful and cost effective means of centralising Time & Attendance, Advanced Access Control and Fire/Evacuation roll-call, re-using an existing CSCS smartcard as base for the entire system.

If you'd like to find out more about the Tensor access control systems and its integration with CSCS cards, just contacts us or Book a Demo, our representatives will be more than happy to answer all of your questions and queries.