Are you a subcontractor looking to start tendering work for yourself? Are you a company looking to work with Local Authorities, hospitals, schools, or larger construction companies?
Whether a company or contractor, if you’re looking for this type of work, you should get certain accreditations to give your customers confidence when it comes to your competence.
What health & safety accreditations do you need?
All Health & Safety accreditations come under the governing body of the Safety Schemes In Procurement (SSIP). Here you can find the accreditations that you need to become approved contractors for Health & Safety aspects of construction jobs where once completed, you will be placed on a preferred contractor list.
The three main providers of nationally recognised accreditations are:
CHAS
The Contractors Health & Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS) is a pre-approval scheme, which allows contractors to demonstrate to potential clients that they meet the required health and safety standards.
CHAS assesses your health & safety policy statement, your organisation of your health and safety, and your specific health and safety arrangements to a standard which is acceptable to CHAS’s buyers and to others.
SMAS
The Safety Management Advisory Services (SMAS) Worksafe Scheme is recognised by many other SSIP member schemes and demonstrates your business’s health and safety standards and competence.
Whilst your SMAS certificate remains valid, you won’t have to complete any further full health & safety assessment questionnaires for SSIP member schemes as the certificate is nationally recognised and endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive.
SafeContractor
The SafeContractor scheme provides a health and safety audit service for contractors who want to reassure their clients that health & safety is being handled correctly and sufficiently on their sites
What are the benefits of being accredited (to you and your business)?
- Accreditations are proof of health & safety training and are nationally recognised
- They can reduce the time and effort that it takes to complete PreQualification Questionnaires
- They demonstrate compliance to SSIP Core Criteria and UK H&S Legislation
- They reassure your clients of your competence while working on their site and your commitment to safeguarding their reputation
- They allow you to start tendering for your own work directly (if you are a subcontractor)
- They allow you to work with certain types of clients that require you to be accredited
- They can help you to secure new and larger contracts, giving you opportunities that you may not have been considered for before.
How can you get accredited?
Although we have listed the three main providers of necessary accreditations, sometimes you may need a bit more guidance. At ActiveHSE, we can help with that, giving you all the information you need to make that all-important decision.
From giving you expert advice and providing you with supporting content to answering any questions and supporting you through the entire application process, we can help you get accredited and secure yourself more work for the future.