Attendance for construction
Attendance is the main contractor’s mark up for specific services it has to provide for individual suppliers or sub-contractors. This might include items such as material handling, scaffolding and rubbish clearance.
Attendance can be ‘general’ or ‘special’.
General attendance is the description of main contractor attendance available site wide to all suppliers or sub-contractors such as:
- Welfare facilities.
- External scaffolding.
- Temporary power and lighting.
- Platform and passenger hoists.
- Tower crane lifts by prior arrangement.
- Site security.
- Waste disposal.
Special attendance is specific to a particular supplier or sub-contractor if it requests that it is provided by the main contractor, such as:
- Special hoists.
- Builders work such as a concrete plinth.
- Special scaffolding.
It is important to establish within the contract documents whether items that suppliers or sub-contractors require will constitute attendances that will be provided by the main contractor, or whether they will provide them themselves (such as their own specialist equipment).
Attendance should not be confused with general site preliminaries or builder’s work in connection with mechanical and electrical services. These items are separately priced.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
Featured articles and news
Futurebuild and UK Construction Week London Unite
Creating the UK’s Built Environment Super Event and over 25 other key partnerships.
Welsh and Scottish 2026 elections
Manifestos for the built environment for upcoming same May day elections.
Advancing BIM education with a competency framework
“We don’t need people who can just draw in 3D. We need people who can think in data.”
Guidance notes to prepare for April ERA changes
From the Electrical Contractors' Association Employee Relations team.
Significant changes to be seen from the new ERA in 2026 and 2027, starting on 6 April 2026.
First aid in the modern workplace with St John Ambulance.
Ireland's National Residential Retrofit Plan
Staged initiatives introduced step by step.
Solar panels, pitched roofs and risk of fire spread
60% increase in solar panel fires prompts tests and installation warnings.
Modernising heat networks with Heat interface unit
Why HIUs hold the key to efficiency upgrades.
Reflecting on the work of the CIOB Academy
Looking back on 2025 and where it's going next.
Procurement in construction: Knowledge hub
Brief, overview, key articles and over 1000 more covering procurement.
Sir John Betjeman’s love of Victorian church architecture.
Exchange for Change for UK deposit return scheme
The UK Deposit Management Organisation established to deliver Deposit Return Scheme unveils trading name.
A guide to integrating heat pumps
As the Future Homes Standard approaches Future Homes Hub publishes hints and tips for Architects and Architectural Technologists.
BSR as a standalone body; statements, key roles, context
Statements from key figures in key and changing roles.
Resident engagement as the key to successful retrofits
Retrofit is about people, not just buildings, from early starts to beyond handover.






















