We recently achieved accreditation from Altius to add to our existing certifications from Safecontractor, Constructionline, CHAS and NICEIC. A lot of work goes towards preparing for assessment but companies that do achieve them are instantly recognised as having met high standards in health & safety as well as quality.
Different companies require different accreditations, which is why there are so many on the market, although the majority cover the same aspects. Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) was set up in 2009 with the aim of cross-referencing the various schemes in an attempt to reduce the cost of the pre-qualification process for businesses. The hope is that if more schemes recognise each other as SSIP accredited, businesses will no longer have to complete a different pre-qual every time they tender for new contracts.
We’ve certainly seen an improvement over the last few years but there is still a long way to go – at BMC we still spend a lot of time on PQQs and would welcome a reduction in this often repetitive work.
NICEIC is different in that it is a trade accreditation showing that the company in question has reached the required standards of safe electrical installation and management of electrical works.
