Baton, the construction industry’s first supplier of smart software for sub-contractors, has opened applications for its Early Adopter Programme.
The Early Adopter Programme is initially available for scaffolding contractors although the company will be rolling out versions for other construction subcontractors later this year.
Designed to help subcontractors gain tighter control of operations, compliance and commercial performance, Baton brings together the Four Pillars™ of Control, Efficiency, Compliance and Site Accounting in one connected system.
The Early Adopter Programme follows a successful beta programme, during which Baton worked closely with scaffolding businesses, using feedback to refine the platform, strengthen workflows and sharpen the support model now being offered to early adopters.
Connected information for subcontractors
While scaffolding is the first trade on Baton, reflecting the platform’s roots in the sector and its focus on the specific operational and commercial pressures scaffolding businesses face as they grow, Baton has been designed for all construction subcontractors. The Early Adopter Programme is positioned for businesses that want a practical, supported route into better operational control, stronger compliance processes and clearer financial visibility.
Baton is designed to help improve visibility and strengthen decision making in real time. It helps firms create better control across day-to-day operations, improve efficiency by reducing duplicated processes, strengthen compliance through clearer records and workflows, and gain tighter site accounting through live commercial visibility.
In practical terms, that means helping businesses understand what is happening on site, what it is costing, what value is being created and where margin is being won or lost. With better, more connected information flowing through the business, leadership teams can make better decisions earlier.
Built by subcontractors by subcontractors
Baton’s co-founders, Matthew Loddy and Simon Isaacs come from experience in the construction subcontractor industry, and so the system has been designed to help with the specific challenges they know exist in the sector.
“After 35 years running scaffolding businesses, I kept seeing the same problems repeat themselves,” says Loddy, now Baton’s Chief Product Officer. “Labour, logistics, compliance and commercial control were being managed through spreadsheets, paper records, WhatsApp messages and disconnected tools. Margins leaked away, risk and stress increased because there was never one system the business could trust.”
Isaacs adds that when Loddy walked him through how subcontractors actually run their businesses, one thing became obvious. The construction industry had built software for developers, main contractors and designers, but never for the subcontractor running the work.
“The industry didn’t need another app,” he says, “it needed an operating system.”
Now in place across a number of scaffolding contractors, and delivering efficiencies across labour planning, transport organisation, compliance, safety and more. The Early Adopter Programme gives Baton the opportunity to roll out the system across a higher number of scaffolding businesses, using feedback to further strengthen the platform before it is rolled out across other trades including brickwork and roofing subcontractors.
Des Moore, Chief Business Development Officer at Baton, and a scaffolding industry leader with five decades of experience says: “Subcontractors have been underserved for years when it comes to joined-up systems that reflect how the business actually works. Too many firms are still relying on spreadsheets, paperwork and disparate systems that leave gaps between site activity and commercial performance. Baton changes that. For firms that want better visibility, better discipline and better margin control, this is a major step forward. Not only that, it will make subcontractors a more efficient, reliable and productive part of the wider construction industry.”
