Gleeson Homes adopts Zutec for digital quality control

Housebuilder Gleeson Homes is partnering with Zutec to digitise its quality control processes and deliver more efficiency on site.

The shift to a digital approach includes multiple forms and checklists for quaity assurace inspections, as well as photographic evidence for Part L.

The move is expected to help Gleeson maintain standards in quality, and meet regulatory compliance, while also bringing structure to the process. It will also complete data visibility, not only on a plot to plot basis, but also project to project, which will help deliver more on-site efficiencies.

In June 2023, it became a requirement that all housebuilders in the UK with new developments provide mandatory photographic evidence to the SAP Assessor. This is to prove that work and materials used comply with updated energy efficiency requirements to reduce carbon emissions – Part L.

Gleeson implemented Zutec’s Part L Photographic Evidence solution across 82 sites earlier in the year. This was the first step in digitising the company’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.

Matt Ball, Gleeson’s solutions architect, said: “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 anagement 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.”

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.

Aligning its internal process and working with Zutec, Gleeson says it 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, the company says. 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.

James Cannon, Zutec’s commercial director, said: “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.”

Image credit: bogdanhoda/Shutterstock

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