Constructionline, CHAS & CAS

There are numerous Pre-Qualification Schemes that assess a company’s health, safety, environmental and quality standards and certify that they meet the level of compliance defined by potential clients, including central government, local authorities and main contractors.

The main schemes used by the UK construction industry are Achilles, CHAS, Constructionline and SafeContractor.  They require an annual submission of documentation and questionnaire responses.

These come under the SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) umbrella body for assessment schemes with the common aim of reducing both duplication and costs for both buyers and suppliers.

If you have a construction health and safety certificate from an SSIP member scheme (showing the SSIP logo) and a buyer asks you to join a second member scheme, you should be offered a ‘Deem to Satisfy’ certificate without having to go through another assessment process, at a much lower fee, although sometimes there are additional questions to answer.

The Common Assessment Standard (CAS) is a set of prequalification questions that buyers can ask construction companies, either directly or through assessment schemes and standardises the prequalification process.

CAS builds on the PAS 91 prequalification questionnaire, helping contractors achieve compliance and mitigate risks across 13 key areas of risk management. To achieve and maintain certification, you need to evidence your compliance in these areas once a year.  The questions cover your companies’ health and safety, financial health, environmental performance and corporate and social responsibility.

CHAS, Constructionline and Achilles all offer the CAS accreditation in addition to their other schemes.

We can help:

We have successfully registered and maintained numerous clients on a variety of pre-qualification schemes, not just the ones listed here. We can support you through the processes of initial application, upgrades and renewals for SSIP and other pre-qualification schemes.

Our Subscription Management Service offers a full service from a one-off review of your initial Questionnaire through to support with annual information gathering, completion and submission on your behalf.

If you would like more information, please get in touch.