FlowmatixSolution · SWMS sign-off
A SWMS sign-off system that produces the evidence.
A signed SWMS is only worth what you can prove about it: that this worker accepted this version, on this day, and couldn't have skipped it. Flowmatix captures the sign-off at check-in — enforced, versioned, signed and timestamped.
The question that undoes a folder
"Which version did he sign?"
You have a signed SWMS in a folder. But your site rules changed in March, and the form doesn't say which wording the worker was given. A signature against text you've since edited proves very little — and that's precisely the gap an investigator finds.
What "sign-off" should actually mean
Tied to the exact version
Each acceptance is bound to a specific version of your SWMS. Change the wording and the version increments — old sign-offs keep the version they were made against.
Enforced, not ticked
Acceptance happens on the server, where it can't be clicked past or scripted around. On site means signed off.
Signed and timestamped
A typed signature bound to the record, stamped with the moment — "at 7:42am on the 3rd," not "sometime that week."
How it works
Electronic SWMS signing at the gate, step by step
The SWMS sign-off app is the kiosk your workers already sign in on — an iPad or Android tablet at the entrance. No separate app to install, no sign-on sheet stapled to the back of the SWMS.
- The worker taps their type on the kiosk — "Roofing", say.
- Name, company and who they're working for on site.
- The induction briefing for that type.
- The SWMS acknowledgement — your wording, which they must accept to continue.
- A typed signature, if you require one for that type.
- Any custom questions, the site declaration and an optional photo.
- Confirm. The sign-in record is created with the acceptance attached.
Acceptance is checked on the server when the record is saved. A worker who doesn't accept doesn't get a sign-in record — and the back button, a script or a browser with JavaScript turned off won't change that.
Setup
Putting your SWMS on the kiosk
Each visitor type carries one induction briefing and one agreement. For SWMS sign-off, the practical pattern is a type per high-risk trade or task — Roofing, Excavation, Electrical — each with the acknowledgement for that work.
The agreement is wording you enter, not a file upload. Most sites use it for the acknowledgement itself: the SWMS title and revision, the key controls, and a statement that the worker has been through it and will work to it. The full document stays wherever you keep it now.
Then choose whether a typed signature is required, and save. Who prepares a SWMS, who should acknowledge it and when is covered in our guide to who has to sign a SWMS.
The record you can hand over
Who accepted the SWMS, which version, their signature, the timestamp — and every change to the wording since. Produced in under a minute, for a named worker who was on site eleven months ago. That's what turns a signature into evidence.
When someone asks
What the evidence looks like
Open the worker's record from the Visitors list. Next to the sign-in itself — type, company, site, host, time in and time out — sits the agreement evidence:
Agreement title · version accepted · typed signature · date and time of acceptance · site declaration version
The audit log shows who edited the visitor type and when, so you can show the wording's history as well as the acceptance. The CSV export covers sign-in records — name, type, organisation, host, location, reason, sign-in and sign-out times; the signed-agreement detail is viewed on each worker's record.
Versioning
When the SWMS is revised: a worked example
Your Roofing acknowledgement is live. On Tuesday the controls change and the crew is consulted on the revised SWMS.
You update the agreement wording on the Roofing type and the version increments. Monday's acceptances stay on the record against the version they were made against — they aren't overwritten.
The agreement is shown at every sign-in for that type, so from Wednesday morning every roofer accepts the new version before the sign-in record exists — including the labour-hire fill-in who turns up in week three.
Pull up any of them afterwards and the record answers the question that undoes a folder: which version did they sign?
Sign-on sheet, emailed PDF, or the kiosk
Paper sign-on sheet
Signatures on a page at the back of the SWMS. The revision often isn't recorded against each name, late joiners get missed, and the sheet lives in the site box.
Emailed PDF
Signed against a document, but at a desk days earlier — not tied to the day they turned up, and you're chasing the ones that never came back.
At sign-in on the kiosk
Acknowledged on arrival, enforced before the sign-in exists, versioned and signed, on the same record as their time on site.
Honest limits
What it doesn't do
It doesn't write or check your SWMS. Preparing it, and consulting the workers who'll use it, stays with the people responsible for the work. A signature records consultation; it isn't consultation.
Signatures are typed, not drawn.
One agreement per visitor type. Several SWMS means several types.
Records are kept for the retention period you set, then deleted automatically along with photos. Set it to suit your record-keeping obligations.
Agreements are a recent feature with limited field use so far — trial on one site before a wide rollout.
Pricing
What electronic SWMS sign-off costs
SWMS agreements are part of Pro: $99 a month flat for up to 5 sites billed annually ($119 month to month), alongside inductions, per-type custom fields, host notifications and per-site kiosks. Starter ($49 per site per month) doesn't include the agreement step; Multi-site starts from $79 per site. 14-day free trial, no lock-in, your own iPad or Android tablet. Details on pricing.
Related
SWMS sign-off rides on the sign-in.
The SWMS is accepted as part of the contractor sign-in and your wider site induction — one flow, one record. It's all the Visitor Management product, and it's the reason construction teams reach for it — see Flowmatix for construction. We hold the evidence; the four things that make an induction defensible explains why it holds up.
Questions
Can we use our own SWMS wording?
Yes — your SWMS and site-rule wording, per visitor type.
What happens to old sign-offs when we update the SWMS?
They keep the version they were made against; everyone re-accepts the new version at their next sign-in.
Is it enforced or optional?
Enforced on the server — it can't be skipped with a back button.
Do workers have to sign a SWMS by law?
Not in so many words. The law requires a SWMS to be prepared, consulted on, followed and kept; sign-off is how sites evidence those duties. Our guide on who has to sign a SWMS explains it — general information, not legal advice.
Is a typed signature enough?
Flowmatix captures a typed signature bound to the record, the agreement version and the timestamp. Whether that meets a particular principal contractor's or client's requirements is worth confirming with them.
Can different trades sign different SWMS?
Yes. Set up a visitor type per trade or task, each with its own agreement. Each type carries one agreement, so several SWMS means several types.
Can we export SWMS sign-offs?
The CSV export covers sign-in records — name, type, organisation, host, location, reason, sign-in and sign-out times. The agreement evidence (title, version, signature, timestamp) is shown on each worker's record.
How long are sign-offs kept?
For the retention period you set. Records and photos are deleted automatically after it, so set it to suit your record-keeping obligations.
Put your SWMS where it can't be skipped — or lost.
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