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Site register and fire roll call: who is on site right now
In an emergency, and in a dispute afterwards, the first question is who was on site. Here is what a register should record, how to run a roll call, and where registers usually fail.
Why you need to know who is on site
There are two moments when a site register matters. The first is an emergency. If the alarm goes, someone has to establish quickly whether everyone is out, and if not, who is missing and where they were likely to be. The second is afterwards, when an accident, a claim or an inspection raises the question of who was on site on a given day and who they worked for.
A register that is accurate at 07:30 but wrong by 10:00, because people came and went, does not do either job.
What a site register should record
- Name and employer. Everyone, including visitors, deliveries that come onto site and subcontractors' casual labour.
- Time in and time out. Both, every time. A register with arrival times but no departure times cannot tell you who is on site now.
- Who they are visiting or working for. Particularly for visitors, so you know who is responsible for them.
- Contact number. Someone you can reach if you need to find out where they are.
- Induction status. Whether they have been inducted, and when.
- Competence evidence. CSCS or other card details and expiry for the work they will do.
- Vehicle or other details, if your site rules need them.
The weak point is signing out. People sign in because they have to get through the gate. They forget to sign out because nothing stops them leaving. Decide how you deal with that, because every stale entry is a person your roll call will chase who has already gone home.
Running a fire roll call
Employers are required to have emergency procedures, and on a construction site that includes a way to account for everyone. The detail depends on your fire risk assessment and the site, but a workable roll call usually looks like this.
- Agree the assembly point and tell everyone in the induction where it is.
- Name a person responsible for the roll call and a deputy, because the person in charge may be the one who is absent.
- Take the list with you. The list has to be available outside the building, not locked in an office that is on fire.
- Check people off at the assembly point against the register, and include visitors.
- Report missing people to the fire service, with where they were last known to be. Nobody goes back in to look.
- Practise it. Run a drill, record it and note anything that went wrong, such as a list that was out of date.
Paper or digital
A paper register at the gate is cheap and works without power or signal. Its problems are that it is slow to search, easy to lose or soak, tells you nothing about who has left, and cannot warn you that someone's card has expired or that they have not been inducted.
A digital register can show who is on site right now, build the roll call from it, and check cards and inductions before someone is let in. The downside is dependence on a phone, a signal and charge. Whatever you use, keep a printed fallback list and a plan for when the system fails, because an emergency is when systems are most likely to let you down.
Keeping the register
A register contains personal data, so only keep what you need, keep it secure, and tell people what you hold and why. There is no single legal retention period for site registers. The usual practice is to keep them for as long as a claim could reasonably be brought, which can be many years, so ask your insurer how long they expect you to hold them.
The free 3-minute assessment asks how you run your register today, including what happens when you need to find out who was on site on a particular day.
Know who is on site right now
SiteHub gives each site a printed QR poster. Workers and visitors scan it and sign in on their own phone, with no app or account, and sign on screen. Mobile numbers are collected, expired cards are refused, and outstanding inductions and RAMS must be dealt with before the sign-in is recorded. Anyone still signed in after their shift end is flagged to the site managers, and nobody is removed from the live register automatically. The fire roll call is checked against that register. The QR sign-in needs a mobile signal, so keep a printed fallback list.
No card needed. £19 a month for your first site and £15 for each extra site after the trial.
This guide is general information for contractors, not legal advice. Your fire safety duties depend on your premises and project, so check the fire risk assessment for your site or take advice from a fire safety or health and safety consultant.