Which code where
| Job | Code type | Static or dynamic | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plant and scaffold inspection records | URL | Dynamic | Asset tag, scaffold tag, ladder |
| Safety data sheets (SDS) | URL | Dynamic | Chemical store, container racks |
| Site induction and sign-off | URL | Dynamic | Entrance, welfare unit |
| Permits to work | URL | Dynamic | Permit board, work area |
| Method statements and drawings | URL | Dynamic | Drawing station, task area |
| Emergency contacts | vCard or URL | Static | Welfare unit, first-aid point |
Inspection records
Every piece of plant, every scaffold and every ladder has an inspection record, and today it lives in a folder in the site office while the asset is on the third floor. A dynamic code on the asset tag opens that asset’s record: last inspection, who signed it, next due. The inspector scans, checks, signs off on the phone, and the record is current for the next person who scans.
One code per asset, dynamic, so the record system can change and the tags stay on. The batch generator makes a set from the asset register. Because it is dynamic you also get a scan log, which is a record of when the tag was actually looked at.
Safety data sheets and permits
A safety data sheet (SDS) is the document that says what a substance does to a person and what to do about it. It must be at hand where the substance is, and it changes when the supplier reformulates. A code on the store door and on each rack that opens the current sheet is easier to keep right than a laminated copy in a wallet. Dynamic, so the label survives a supplier change.
The permit board works the same way. One code per permit area shows the live permit, who issued it and when it expires. Anyone on that floor can check before they start.
Induction videos
A new arrival at the gate scans the induction code, watches the site-specific video in the welfare unit and signs the form on their phone. The manager sees the sign-off before the person is issued a pass. The code at the entrance is large, 10 cm or more, and the same code is inside the welfare unit at seated height. Dynamic, because the video changes with each phase of the works.
Getting the site label right
The site is the hardest environment a code lives in. Rain, mud, sun, paint, gloves and distance all work against it.
- Level H. No exceptions on site.
- Size: 5 cm on a tag read at arm’s length, 8 to 10 cm on a board read from a metre, larger at the gate. Check with the size calculator. Gloves mean a less steady phone, so round up.
- Material: UV-stable printed vinyl with a matte laminate, or an engraved or anodised plate for anything permanent. Paper in a plastic wallet is fogged and unreadable in a month.
- Metal: never print on bare metal. A matte label or plate on top. Bare galvanised steel reflects and the phone reads it as white. The difficult surfaces guide covers metal, curves and textured board.
- Colour: black on white or black on safety yellow. Both pass with margin. Do not use red or orange as the dark colour.
- Margin: a clear border at least four modules wide, and keep site stickers and cable ties off it.
- Words: “Scan for inspection record”, in letters readable from the same distance as the code.
Do this
An 8 cm level H black-on-yellow code on a matte laminated plate riveted to the scaffold at eye height, 'Scan for inspection record' beneath, pointing at a dynamic link to that scaffold's record.
Not this
A 3 cm level L code printed on office paper in a clear wallet, cable-tied to a galvanised upright at knee height, pointing at a PDF that was replaced two revisions ago.
In practice
Fit one label to the most exposed asset on site and leave it a fortnight through whatever the weather does. Scan it in gloves from a metre away. If it reads, order the rest to the same specification.
Security and data note
Site codes are public and anyone on site can scan them. Never put a worker’s personal details, a gate code or a site alarm code in a code. Point codes at pages behind the site’s own login where the record is sensitive, and keep the public pages, such as SDS and the induction video, free of anything you would not put on the hoarding. Dynamic codes give you a scan log, which is useful evidence that an inspection record was actually consulted.
Try it yourself
Paste the asset register, one asset and its record link per line, and the batch generator returns a sheet of level H codes ready for the label printer. In QR Studio make them dynamic so the record system can change without new tags.