GAP Group is the UK’s largest independent hire company, operating across nearly 200 depots nationwide and serving construction, utilities, marine, infrastructure, industrial and events customers. Their Test, Inspect and Certify (TIC) division handles LOLER, PUWER and PPE inspections, load testing, servicing, repairs & installations for a large and varied customer base – a role that carries serious regulatory consequences if records slip. Before CheckedOK, they were using less advanced software to generate certification and manage bookings using shared calendars and spreadsheets, keeping things moving through effort rather than process.
Managing LOLER and PUWER inspections
GAP Group had previously tried another platform for their inspection processes, but it stopped keeping pace. The volume of inspections was too high, the cost was hard to justify, and when things went wrong, support was slow to respond. Engineers had reverted to paper. They went out to tender.
The manual workflow sitting alongside that platform added its own layer of friction. Every new enquiry was entered into Excel, tracked through to quotation and job scheduling via Outlook, with risk assessments, method statements and contracts attached by hand. With 17 engineers completing 100,000 events per annum, the calendar was being used for things Outlook was never designed to handle. Jobs were getting scheduled, but the process required constant manual effort to hold together.
In the field, engineers completed paper timesheets that were scanned back to the TIC office and manually uploaded to the central system. Every job touched the data multiple times: captured on paper, scanned, re-entered. The more jobs in the system, the greater the risk. Frozen screens slowed processes and records were hard to locate under audit. For larger accounts with specific KPI requirements around response times and service delivery, the reporting had to be compiled manually each time it was requested.
How GAP Lifting Hire Solutions by CheckedOK changed the workflow
GAP Group ran a formal tender process. CoreRFID’s CheckedOK was selected to replace the existing platform and take over the full TIC workflow.
What set the implementation apart was how CoreRFID approached it. Managing Director Munzi Ali worked directly with Paul Harrison, GAP Group’s Head of Lifting – TIC, through multiple rounds of configuration and testing until the system matched GAP’s processes precisely. That iterative approach shapes how CheckedOK is developed across the board. Customer feedback drives the product roadmap, and every improvement is released to all users at no additional cost.
Enquiries now go straight into CheckedOK. From there, the job moved through quotation, scheduling and engineer assignment without leaving the system. Before any site visit, the TIC office completes a digital booking form covering parking, site and office contacts, PO number and PPE requirements, which the engineer reads on their tablet before departure. No phone calls to clarify details. No arriving on site underprepared.
LOLER and PUWER inspections are completed digitally on mobile forms built for each asset type, and data uploads automatically. Client sign-off is captured digitally on completion and linked to the timesheet, giving management a cleaner picture of how engineer time is being used. Customers requiring KPI reporting get dashboards generated from data captured during the normal workflow, with no separate compilation required.
“The system we were using had reached the point where the workarounds were almost as much effort as the job itself. With the volume of inspections we carry out, that quickly turned into days of wasted time and unnecessary administration. CheckedOK eliminated all of that.”
– Paul Harrison, National Test, Inspect & Certify Manager – Lifting Division, GAP Group Ltd
What changed for GAP Group’s TIC team?
The TIC team now operates from a single system. More importantly, the nature of the work has shifted. Engineers spend less time on admin and more time on inspections. Office staff are no longer chasing paperwork, re-entering data or manually pulling reports together.
- Admin time per job has dropped significantly. Manual workflows of this kind – involving Excel, Outlook, paper scanning and manual uploads – typically take four to five times longer than their digital equivalents.
- Inspection records are complete, timestamped and immediately accessible. There is no lag between a job being completed in the field and the data being available centrally.
- Engineers arrive on site with everything they need. PPE errors and missing documentation, which had been a consequence of the old process, are no longer an issue.
- KPI reporting for major accounts is generated automatically. Customers who previously waited for manually complied reports now have access to accurate, timely data as standard.
- Invoicing on agreed-rate accounts is assisted by the system. Billing is faster and the errors that came with manual rate-matching have been eliminated.
- LOLER and PUWER compliance documentation is stored centrally, alongside risk assessments, method statements, manufacturers’ guides and more. Retrievable in seconds, it’s a practical difference when an auditor or customer asks for records at short notice.
“Our engineers can get on with the job, the office is no longer buried in paperwork, and our clients receive everything they need without us having to manually compile reports or chase documentation. It simply works the way a modern inspection system should have worked all along.”
– Paul Harrison, National Test, Inspect & Certify Manager – Lifting Division, GAP Group Ltd
Expanding across GAP Group
Since the TIC implementation, GAP Group’s Survey & Safety division has adopted a CoreRFID-built system of its own. The same approach, a different part of the business, with the same outcome.
Work is underway to bring GAP Hoist Services onto the platform. The longer-term plan is to integrate the CoreRFID-powered systems into GAP Connect, GAP Group’s internal platform which customers also use to manage hire and service agreements. The aim us a single unified view of operations, accessible to both the GAP team and their customers in one place.