For over 10 years employers have used Go Smart to verify the skills and training of Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card holders.

Last year CSCS announced that Go Smart will be withdrawn on March 31st 2024 with many employers having since made the switch to CSCS Smart Check via their technology providers.

However, those sites yet to transition are reminded that come April 1st 2024 card reads via Go Smart, including via any turnstiles or site access systems that relies on Go Smart’s API, will no longer work.

All existing users of Go Smart who wish to retain a card checking function as part of site induction and site access solutions must put transition plans in place to move across to CSCS Smart Check to ensure card checks can continue to take place.

In the first instance, employers should contact the IT provider responsible for their entry system technology to discuss a transition plan to CSCS Smart Check. These providers will then be able to access the API via CSCS and build it into site systems.

CSCS Director of Communications and Marketing, Alan O’Neile, said: “Now that CSCS Smart Check has been established it is imperative that employers discuss the removal of Go Smart with their IT providers and continue to check cards digitally from April onwards.

“Card checks via CSCS Smart Check are vital in ensuring that everyone entering a construction site has the right qualifications and training for the job they do – helping improve safety on site and also enabling the industry to tackle card fraud.”

CSCS Smart Check allows all 2.1 million cards displaying the CSCS logo to be verified using a single interface. In addition to being available as an API for existing systems, it is also available as a free mobile app with a website version coming soon.

Launched in April 2022 by the CSCS Alliance – the 38 card schemes that carry the CSCS logo – the platform has averaged more than 100,000 scans per month in 2024 and is designed to improve the construction industry’s card checking procedures and site safety while helping tackle card fraud.

CSCS continues to work closely with its IT partners to ensure industry is aware of the removal of Go Smart and encourages any employers using site access or induction systems to contact their provider in the first instance.

Sites without Go Smart or any other card checking technology in place who are interested in integrating or using CSCS Smart Check should contact [email protected].

For further information on CSCS Smart Check, visit: CSCS.uk.com/SmartCheck.