How we work

Accountable for the whole job. Specialists for every trade.

APX is a main contractor built around management: we don't keep a payroll of trades waiting for work. We appoint the right specialist for each package and control the project around them — in writing, at every stage.

The main contractor model

What a single point of accountability means for you.

You hold one contract, with APX. Everything needed to deliver that contract — every trade, supplier and specialist — sits behind us and answers to us.

One contract for the full scope, with a clear price and a written list of clarifications and exclusions.
One point of contact: a named APX project lead for every instruction, question and decision.
One programme that sequences every trade, inspection and delivery, updated weekly.
One set of records: quality checks, certificates, variations and reports, held in a single project file.
Responsibility that stays with us. Subcontracting the physical work does not move our contractual or statutory responsibilities as main contractor.

Statutory roles

Legal roles, confirmed in writing on every project.

Calling ourselves "main contractors" doesn't, by itself, give us any statutory role. So on every project we confirm in writing who holds each legal duty — before work starts.

CDM 2015

Principal contractor for health and safety

Where a project involves more than one contractor, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 require the client to appoint a principal designer and a principal contractor in writing. When APX is appointed principal contractor, we plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety during the construction phase, and prepare the construction phase plan before work begins.

Building Regulations

Dutyholders for building regulations compliance

The Building Regulations in England set separate principal designer and principal contractor roles for compliance with the regulations themselves. We confirm these appointments separately from the CDM roles, check competence before accepting them, and keep the compliance evidence — products, inspections, certificates and approvals — in the project file.

Delivery gateways

Nothing moves forward until the gate is passed.

Each project passes six gateways. Each one has a written checklist, and a named person signs it off before the next stage begins.

Gateway	What is checked and recorded
G1 Bid approval	Scope, surveys and existing information, risk allowances, our capability for this project, contract terms and margin.
G2 Pre-start	CDM and Building Regulations appointments, construction phase plan, access, welfare, emergency arrangements and trade RAMS.
G3 Subcontract order	Prequalification, insurance and accreditations verified, CIS status checked, signed work order and agreed programme.
G4 During works	Site reports, QA hold points, client instructions, change control and cost forecast — reviewed weekly.
G5 Handover	Snags closed, certificates and approvals collected, manuals and warranties issued, handover signed.
G6 Post-completion	Defects period managed, final account agreed, supplier evidence and project records archived.

Quality assurance

Checked before it's covered up.

Inspection and test plans for high-risk and concealed work
Hold points: no covering-up until inspected and photographed
Date-stamped photographic records, referenced to drawings
Tests witnessed, with certificates from registered installers
A live defects register with an owner, action and close-out date for every item

Health & safety oversight

Planned, briefed, inspected.

Site-specific construction phase plan before work starts
Every trade's RAMS reviewed and accepted before mobilisation
Site induction and attendance records for every operative
Permits for hot works, isolations and other high-risk activities
Regular inspections, with stop-work authority for everyone on site

Change control

No change without a number.

A conversation on site is not an instruction. Every potential change is recorded, priced and assessed for its time impact, and approved by you in writing before the work proceeds.

Emergency safety measures are the only exception: we make the situation safe immediately, then confirm in writing straight away.

Variation recordAwaiting approval

VO no.: Unique number · project ID · date · originator
Change: Exact scope change, drawings and assumptions
Cost: Labour, materials, preliminaries, margin, VAT treatment
Time: Effect on the critical path, and how we'll mitigate it
Authority: Your written instruction and approval
Closure: Updated contract sum, forecast and as-built record

The fields recorded for every variation on an APX project.

Client reporting

A written report, every week.

You shouldn't have to visit site to know where your project stands. Every week you receive a short written report that you can forward to your own stakeholders.

Progress against programme, by package
Forecast final cost and the status of every variation
Health and safety observations and incidents
Risks, issues and decisions needed from you
Two-week look-ahead and photographs

Weekly client report · Week 12
Project ref. APX-0000 (example)

68%

Complete

Programme

Decisions needed

Progress by package

Strip-out100%

First fix M&E92%

Plastering64%

Joinery30%

Finishes8%

Open items

VO-007 · Additional fire-stoppingAwaiting approval
Kitchen finish selectionClient decision
Hold point · first-fix electricalInspected

Illustrative layout only: the figures are examples, not a real project.

See how this would work on your project.

We'll walk you through our programme, reporting and change control using your own scope.

Discuss a project