Compliance management software: what it must do
Requirements for compliance management software, worked back from the UK duties it has to support: LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order. What the records must hold, what the audit trail must show, how reminders should escalate, what reporting you need, and what no software can do for you.
By Hovermarks team
Quick answer. Compliance management software must do four things the law makes necessary: know which assets carry which duties and when each is next due, hold a complete record of every inspection or examination against the right asset, follow every defect through to a fix, and show who did what and when without allowing silent edits. In the UK, LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and the Fire Safety Order set the record each duty needs.
Most software lists start with features. Start with duties instead. Every requirement below traces back to a regulation, so you can tell a feature that matters from one that only looks good in a demo.
Work back from the duties
| Duty | Source | What the record needs | What the software must do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thorough examination of lifting equipment | LOLER reg 9(3) | At least every 6 months (people, accessories), 12 months (other), or per examination scheme | Hold the interval and its basis per item; calculate next due |
| Report of thorough examination | LOLER reg 10, Sch 1 | The Schedule 1 particulars, authenticated by the examiner | Produce or hold the report against the asset |
| Defective equipment not used | LOLER reg 10(3) | Defect recorded; equipment not used until rectified | Record defects and take the asset out of service |
| Keeping reports | LOLER reg 11 | Periodic reports kept until the next, or two years, whichever is later | Never delete; keep superseded reports |
| Inspection of work equipment | PUWER reg 6 | Result recorded, kept until the next inspection | Record each inspection with a next-due date |
| Maintenance | PUWER reg 5 | Equipment kept in good repair; any maintenance log kept up to date | Track maintenance work separately from inspections |
| Written scheme and examination | PSSR regs 8 and 9 | Examination within the scheme's intervals; signed, dated report | Hold the scheme interval; store reports |
| Keeping PSSR records | PSSR reg 14 | Last report, and earlier ones that help assess safety | Keep report history per system |
| Fire safety maintenance | Fire Safety Order art 17 | Premises and fire safety equipment under a suitable system of maintenance | Schedule and record checks on fire equipment |
Three requirements fall out of that table that a spreadsheet struggles with: a per-item next-due date, a defect state that controls whether the item can be used, and a history that is never overwritten.
Evidence: what each record must hold
A record is evidence when someone who was not there can tell what happened. For each inspection or examination, that means:
- The asset, identified individually, not "slings, various".
- The date, and the person who did the work.
- What was checked and the result, item by item where it matters.
- What was found, with photos where a description is not enough.
- What happened next: the defect, who it went to, and when it was fixed.
- When the next one is due, and why that interval.
HSE's PUWER guidance lists the same elements for inspection records, including any faults, the action taken, who the faults were reported to, and when repairs were done (L22, paragraph 103).
Audit trail: who changed what
A completed record should not change silently. Look for:
- An entry for every create, edit and delete, with who and when.
- A log that cannot itself be edited, ideally with a way to detect tampering.
- An export of the log for a given period, so you can hand it to an auditor or insurer.
No regulation asks for a software audit log by name. The point is practical: a record that could have been changed without trace is weaker evidence than one that could not.
Reminders that escalate
Reminders are where compliance software earns its keep, and where most setups fail quietly.
- Due today goes to the person assigned.
- Overdue goes to the assignee again and to someone with authority.
- Unassigned work goes to a manager, not nowhere.
- Open defects are chased too, not just inspections.
Test it in the trial. Set an inspection due yesterday, assign it to someone, and see who hears about it and when.
Some duties carry a delivery deadline of their own, such as the PSSR duty on the competent person to send a report as soon as practicable. Those stay with the person who holds the duty; check how the software records them rather than assuming it manages them.
Reporting
Three reports cover most needs:
- Compliance position now: everything due, overdue and done, by site and category.
- Asset history: every inspection, defect and report for one item, for an insurer or a sale.
- Period pack: everything completed in a date range, with the audit trail, for an auditor.
What software cannot do
No software makes an organisation compliant. It cannot decide what a suitable PUWER interval is, whether an examiner is competent, or whether a defect is dangerous. It can make sure the decision is recorded, attributed and acted on.
How Hovermarks maps to these requirements
- Duties per asset. Each QR-tagged asset carries its schedule and next-due date. LOLER, PUWER and PSSR reports are produced from the record for UK organisations, on every plan.
- Defects. A failed or flagged inspection creates defects and corrective actions automatically. LOLER defects carry a danger classification and a remedy-by date, and an asset can be set out of service.
- Audit trail. A hash-chained, tamper-evident audit log, checked daily, with CSV and PDF export, on Professional. An auditor pack bundles a period's inspections and audit-log entries into one PDF.
- Reminders. Daily due-today emails to assignees, overdue digests to assignees with an optional summary to admins and site managers, overdue defects and work orders chased, and a weekly compliance email.
- History. Retired assets keep their records, and short codes are never reissued.