Practice
What QR codes are actually good for in a building
July 21, 2026 · 5 minute read
QR codes in buildings have a bad reputation, mostly earned by the ones that link to a PDF nobody reads. Used properly they solve three problems that are otherwise genuinely hard.
1. The wrong record
Typing a room number or picking a machine from a list of four hundred is a reliable way to file work against the wrong thing. Scanning removes the possibility. It is also faster, which is why people do it.
2. Proof of presence
A scan is a fact about where somebody was and when. It is far better than location tracking: it is voluntary, it is specific to a machine rather than a radius, and it does not require anybody to be followed around.
3. Reporting by people who are not technicians
A housekeeper, a store colleague, a teacher or a tenant will report a fault if it takes twenty seconds. A sticker on the wall, a photo and a sentence is that. An account and a login is not.
Practical notes
- Put the code where the work happens, not by the door of the plant room
- Print on a material that survives cleaning chemicals and steam
- Make the code point at the room or the machine, not at a workflow, so changing the process does not mean reprinting
- Put one in the back of house of every store or unit, not just in plant areas