Challenge: Disconnected Safety Between Projects and Contractors

The construction industry has long faced a persistent challenge: effectively managing safety compliance across multiple projects with numerous subcontractors and workers. Traditional safety management approaches—whether paper-based or outdated digital systems—create a disjointed experience that impacts productivity and, ultimately, safety outcomes.

For head contractors, ensuring all workers on site are properly inducted, qualified, and compliant is a daily challenge that consumes valuable time and resources. Meanwhile, subcontractors and workers are repeatedly providing the same information as they move between projects and builders—a redundant process that delays productive work and creates unnecessary friction.

“The problem is that when a worker or a subcontractor business needs to engage with a new head contractor, they have to engage, in some cases with a completely different platform. So there’s a change management issue.” — Simon Elliott, CEO, 1Breadcrumb

This inefficiency compounds across the industry. Workers spend more time on paperwork than tools. Safety managers devote hours to administrative tasks rather than active safety management. And companies struggle to maintain comprehensive records for compliance and audit purposes.

Solution: An Interconnected Ecosystem

In Australia’s Capital Territory (ACT), an innovative solution has emerged with 1Breadcrumb creating what many consider the model for construction safety management. By establishing a regional ecosystem where the majority of head contractors use the same platform, 1Breadcrumb has transformed how safety compliance is managed across the territory.

“We have 15 of the main contractors in Canberra for all of the construction projects in the commercial space, the government space, the Defence projects. And there’s a reason—because all of them need a solution around health and safety that makes it easier for people to engage.” — Jasper Rouget, Sales & Marketing Director, 1Breadcrumb

This ecosystem approach creates a powerful network effect. When a worker or subcontractor enters their information once, that data follows them across projects and builders. The result is faster onboarding, improved safety compliance, more productive sites, and a better experience for everyone involved.

“As a trade arrives on site, before they can enter the project… they need to go through an induction process… that information will save against their profile, so when they work with that builder again they don’t need to keep completing this information. That’s the power of the ecosystem.” says Rouget.

Benefits for Head Contractors: Streamlined Compliance and Enhanced Safety

For head contractors and safety teams, the ecosystem provides unparalleled visibility and control over site safety compliance while dramatically reducing administrative burden.

The integration with Procore—a leading construction management software—creates a seamless flow of critical safety information. Inductions, SWMS (Safe Work Method Statements), site attendance, and other safety documentation automatically sync between systems, eliminating double-handling and ensuring a single source of truth.

“The symbiotic nature of these two software programs and the ability to be able to take induction records and attach it to a plant induction, or take an induction record and attach it to a task observation in Procore… or my ability to undertake a SHEQ inspection in Procore and be able to look at 1Breadcrumb at the same time and confirm that everybody on site is inducted.” — Don Fowler, SHEQ Manager, JWLand

This integration enables safety managers to focus on actual safety instead of paperwork. The mobile-first approach means they can access critical information anywhere on site, enhancing their ability to identify and address safety concerns in real-time.

“The ability to run a site from your mobile phone allows me absolutely to do my job best, which is to get out there, be on site, deal with safety issues, talk to people and communicate, opposed to being stuck in an office and not looking at anything.” — Paul Murphy, SHEQ Coordinator, JWLand

In emergency situations, the platform’s geofencing capabilities become even more valuable. Safety managers can instantly verify who is on site, potentially saving lives.

“If emergency services arrive on my project because we’ve had a potential scaffold collapse and there may be people trapped underneath that scaffold, but I’m not sure… I can look at 1Breadcrumb and see that they either are or are not on that project. I don’t have to risk emergency services workers’ lives by asking them to go in and search for people.” says Fowler.

Benefits for Subcontractors: Simplified Compliance Management

For subcontracting businesses, the ecosystem eliminates one of their biggest pain points: navigating different compliance systems across various projects and head contractors.

Instead of repeatedly submitting the same business information, licenses, insurances, and worker qualifications for each new project, subcontractors can efficiently share this information through 1Breadcrumb’s platform. This streamlines administrative processes and allows them to focus on delivering quality work.

“For the subcontractor, the value is that they’re not submitting the same information over and over again. It’s the same tasks and the same process. Yes, they change from site to site, but the basic information about their business and the way they share that is the same.” exclaims Rouget.

The ecosystem approach means subcontractors can efficiently move between different head contractors while maintaining consistent safety processes, reducing training time and administrative overhead.

“From a head contractor perspective, they have workers turning up on site that are more productive, that are on the tools faster, that are safer.” says Elliott.

Additionally, subcontractors benefit from improved documentation and record-keeping, which simplifies compliance for their own business requirements and supports ongoing relationships with head contractors.

Benefits for Workers: Digital Wallets and Seamless Site Access

On the frontline, workers experience the most immediate benefits of the ecosystem. By creating a digital profile or “wallet” containing their qualifications, licenses, induction history, and personal details, workers eliminate the frustration of repeatedly providing the same information as they move between projects.

“One of the major benefits for workers having 1Breadcrumb is… I know initially it’s a little bit of work, but it’s just easy to enter your details, to create your profile, upload all your licenses, your VOCs, your qualifications. But after that, every site that you go to thereafter that has 1Breadcrumb… It’s just a matter of signing into a new site and following a small procedure, which is really easy.” — Paul Murphy

This efficiency directly translates to more time on tools and less time dealing with paperwork and inductions—a win for both workers and project timelines.

“The worker got to move between these head contractors, between these projects, and not have to enter the same data every single time. So it means effectively that they can come to a job, they can share their data through their digital wallet, and they can get on the tools faster and they can be safer in doing so.” — Simon Elliott

Workers also benefit from improved access to safety information through the platform, including site-specific risks, pre-start briefings, and safety data sheets (SDS). This ensures they have critical safety information at their fingertips when they need it most.

“Before they can enter the site they need to know the risks that are on the project at the time. Once they’ve completed that information, the turnstile opens for them to start work.” — Jasper Rouget

The Future of Construction Safety Management

The ACT ecosystem demonstrates what’s possible when an industry adopts a consistent approach to safety management. What began as a practical solution to streamline site inductions has evolved into a comprehensive platform that connects all levels of the construction industry—from head contractors to individual workers.

The success in Canberra is now being replicated in other regions, including internationally, as the benefits of this approach become increasingly evident.

“We’re taking our experience here in Canberra and we’re replaying it elsewhere in the world – trying to replicate what we’ve discovered here organically. Eight now in the UK, for instance, we have a number of head contractors who use us in the fitout trade in London. And we’re seeing the exact same thing happening.” says Elliott.

At its core, the ecosystem approach recognizes that safety isn’t a competitive advantage—it’s a shared commitment across the industry. By creating a platform that serves the needs of all stakeholders while streamlining compliance processes, 1Breadcrumb has demonstrated how technology can make construction sites safer, more efficient, and more productive.

“I believe that advances in technology and advances in software similar to 1Breadcrumb is only going to help the industry become safer, make us more efficient and make the industry a better place for us all to work.” — Don Fowler, SHEQ Manager, JWLand