How Leading Housebuilder Hill Group Transformed Workforce and Site Management with innDex. 

Building Homes, Building a Legacy. 

Founded in 1999, Hill Group has grown into one of the UK’s leading housebuilders. Today, the company is the second largest privately-owned developer in the country, turning over circa £1.3 billion annually. With more than 60 live projects running at any one time and an average of 4,500–5,000 operatives on site daily, Hill is recognised as a top ten housebuilder with ambitious plans to reach £2.3 billion turnover by 2029/30. 

Guided by values of Ambition, Collaboration, Agility, and Impact, Hill is committed to driving innovation and raising standards across the homebuilding sector, an industry that has historically lagged behind its commercial counterparts in adopting digital tools.

From Paperwork to Progress: The Digital Journey. 

In the early days, site inductions were delivered manually and linked only loosely to access control systems. Hill became one of the first homebuilders to move towards digital workforce management, but their initial platform lacked the flexibility to keep pace with the business’s needs. 

That changed after a chance meeting with innDex founder George Smithies. With first-hand construction experience, George and the innDex team understood the realities of life on site and offered a platform that was agile, user-friendly, and responsive. Hill trialled it on a handful of projects and quickly saw the difference: smoother inductions, more consistent processes, and real-time site data that managers could act on. 

As Paul Dyster, Group HSE Director, explains: 
“The test for me is always feedback from the people on site. The response to innDex was fantastic, they found it easier to use and it actually gave them time back.” 

Rolling Out at Scale. 

Hill started by rolling out innDex on projects such as St Anne’s in London and a major scheme with Eastern Partnerships in Basildon. This proved successful and adoption spread quickly.  

Today, innDex is embedded across around 60 live projects. With over 360,000 inductions logged, the platform is central to how Hill runs its sites, from workforce onboarding to day-to-day management. 

Making Work Easier on the Ground. 

Hill’s relationship with innDex began with inductions, but its value soon extended much further. Inductions are now consistent and auditable across all projects, while also saving valuable time. Paul estimates the change is worth around one site manager’s day each week, time that would previously have been lost to face-to-face sessions and paperwork. 

This ethos of giving time back to site teams underpins how Hill has adopted other innDex tools, from access control and permits to deliveries, messaging, and reporting. 

Controlled Access, Connected Data. 

On every Hill site, access control now works hand-in-hand with inductions. Larger developments use turnstiles to funnel operatives through a single-entry point, while facial recognition supports smaller Greenfield projects. Only those who have completed their induction can step onto site, creating a clear compliance trail and making sites safer. 

The data doesn’t stop at the gate. This not only strengthens compliance and safety but also connects seamlessly with other tools which Hill uses to track resourcing levels, and power its daily reporting dashboards. In Paul’s words: “If your name’s not down, you’re not coming in.” 

Permits Without the Paper Chase. 

The same focus on efficiency is seen in how Hill now manages permits. On complex sites, the old paper-based system often meant delays: managers might be 17 storeys up when an operative needed a hot works permit, and the impracticality of returning to the office could slow everything down. 

innDex has changed that. Permits can be issued instantly via phone or tablet, with supporting photos uploaded once the task is complete. This shift means permits are captured at the point of work, ensuring stronger compliance and saving valuable time.  

Since digital permits were launched on the innDex platform just a year ago, Hill has quickly embraced the feature, raising more than 2,700 permits digitally to date (Oct 25) and continuing to add more every day. The impact has been immediate, with real-time approvals, complete records, and a faster, more consistent way of managing safety on site.  

As Paul explains: “We reckon digital permits changes hours into minutes, with improved compliance.” highlighting the very real efficiency gains that make teams more effective while keeping sites safer.

Keeping Deliveries Moving. 

Managing the flow of vehicles and materials is another critical part of life on site. Hill now uses innDex’s transport management tool across all projects to schedule and track deliveries. This keeps logistics organised, reduces congestion, and helps ensure programmes run to plan. A critical factor on high-volume housing schemes where delays can quickly ripple through the build process.

Messages That Can’t Be Missed 

The business has also embraced site messaging to improve communication and accountability. Safety alerts, toolbox talks, and company-wide updates can be pushed directly to operatives’ phones, supported by video content where needed. Crucially, read receipts allow Paul and his team to see who has engaged with each message and to follow up where engagement is low. For audits, this has become invaluable: “I can go into the system and prove what was communicated and when, there’s no grey area.” 

Visibility That Drives Projects 

Perhaps the most powerful outcome of combining all these tools is the visibility Hill now has over its workforce. Thanks to daily Power BI reporting reporting, leadership receives a snapshot by 10am each morning showing who is on site and by trade. 

This allows programme-driven questions such as whether there are enough bricklayers on a job to hit a delivery target to be answered with confidence. Shortages can be spotted before they impact progress, giving Hill greater control and predictability across its projects.

The Results: Efficiency, Safety, and Trust. 

By embedding innDex across its business, Hill has seen transformative benefits: 

• Time savings: Digital inductions and permits save the equivalent of one manager’s day per week on each project. 
• Safety & compliance: Permits, access control, and competency tools create safer, more accountable worksites. 
• Workforce visibility: Real-time data prevents bottlenecks, disputes, and delays. 
• Scalability: A flexible platform supports Hill’s expansion plans and growing workforce. 
• Cultural change: Technology no longer feels like “Big Brother” but a tool that makes work faster, easier, and safer.