Project Aims

For over 15 years, the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) has promoted the design and construction of buildings that are safe, accessible and environmentally efficient to comply with building regulations. Today, LABC has over 3,700 professional surveyors and supports technicians throughout 12 regions in England and Wales.  

LABC approached Sonin to develop a platform that would help ensure regulatory compliance for every building, supplementing in-person site visits with a remote resource. The aim was to create a valuable training platform that offers guidance to junior team members.

They also wanted the app to facilitate communication with site workers, providing a quick-response channel and the ability to record visits and easily share updates with site managers.  

Key Features

Video Inspections
On-site builders can request recorded, audited video calls with building control inspectors, minimising travel and enabling rapid feedback. The app provides users with contact information for specific jobs or inspections, and surveyors can use this tool to request calls with managers for on-site assistance, supporting new and training workers.

Messaging Tool
Surveyors, builders, and contractors can quickly communicate through the in-app messaging tool, facilitating pre-application discussions and enhancing collaboration.

Training
The app offers demonstrations, learning materials, and safety guides. It contains compliance guidelines and safety tips, allowing users to log their training experiences with LABC. This feature also enables users to request quick confirmations and receive remote explanations of any issues.

Review and Support
LABC can review team members’ inspections via the admin area, providing a second opinion or confirmation. Recorded videos can be utilised by managers, trainers, and mentors to verify junior staff competency throughout their training.

On-Site Tools
Users can capture photos and record videos to send to inspectors for review, providing evidence of inspections or records of building regulation compliance. They can also include their rationale alongside the evidence. Inspectors can easily download the media upon receipt. The app is GPS-enabled, automatically registering the location where each media file was captured.

The Challenge

LABC supports over 3,700 professional surveyors and supports technicians throughout 12 regions in England and Wales.  

Keen to support this network and make sure every single new build complies with regulations, LABC approached Sonin to create a bespoke app that would connect its network wherever they are while building a detailed audit of every project. 

The Approach

We conducted a discovery workshop with a diverse group from LABC’s team, providing us with foundational knowledge about the organisation, its key business objectives, and the various stakeholders it supports.

This workshop also helped us prioritise a roadmap of the biggest opportunities available.

During our discussions, we identified that the app could have the most significant impact in the shortest time by enabling remote inspections, which would allow for rapid feedback and significantly reduce travel time between sites.

We collaborated with LABC to define their key aims, objectives, and the stakeholders involved in the process, ensuring that the final solution aligns with LABC’s goals and meets the needs of its users.

The Result

Through our collaboration with LABC, we developed an app that delivers maximum value to builders, surveyors, and inspectors.

The video call system has significantly reduced travel time for inspectors between locations, leading to more efficient audits and enhanced on-site regulation compliance. Additionally, the recordings of these video calls serve as valuable evidence for trainees, helping them document conforming constructions and build their work portfolios.