What is SSIP?
Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) is an umbrella forum for health and safety pre-qualification schemes. Its member schemes, which include CHAS, Constructionline, SafeContractor and SMAS Worksafe, assess contractors against a common set of core health and safety criteria.
Because the schemes recognise each other's assessments, a valid certificate from one member scheme can often help you gain recognition from another through "deem to satisfy", reducing duplicated effort.
Some clients ask for more than the SSIP core criteria, typically the Common Assessment Standard, offered through options such as CHAS Elite and Constructionline Gold. We'll help you work out which level your clients actually require.
How we help
- Choosing the right scheme and level for the clients and contracts you're targeting
- Preparing your documents: health and safety policy (statement, organisation and arrangements), risk assessments and method statements, training records, accident records, competent advice arrangements, and fire and emergency procedures
- Completing the application and assembling the evidence
- Responding to assessor queries quickly and clearly
- Renewals, so your accreditation doesn't lapse
Retainer clients: always application-ready
On our 12-month retainer, we prepare and maintain your SSIP documentation in the background throughout the year. When a renewal is due or a client asks for a new scheme, everything is ready for a swift submission.
An honest note
Assessors make the final decision, so nobody can guarantee a pass. What we can do is make sure your application is complete, specific to your business and prepared to the scheme's requirements, which is what most applications that get sent back are missing.
Read our guide: How to pass CHAS first time.