SSIP Forum – Who are 'Contractors' and 'Consultants'?

Contractors and Consultants are suppliers of services to the construction industry.

SSIP Forum – For Contractors

Increasingly, contractors need to show clients and others that they have basic health and safety capabilities. Successful pre-qualification can be a very effective “licence to do business” in your industry sector. It can provide a competitive advantage in a tough commercial environment, and help to open up new areas of opportunity. It can help to open up new areas of opportunity for contractors. This allows for concentration on the Stage 2 (project or job specific) tasks of ensuring that suppliers have: specific experience in the type of work that they will be contracted to do; that they have trained staff; and that they have the resources to meet the client's needs.

Pre-qualification by a member of the SSIP Forum means that you are being assessed to a recognised Stage 1 standard. This standard is recognised by the HSE and accreditation schemes that have quality assurance processes. In short, you and your clients can have confidence in the credibility of pre-qualification assessment by an SSIP Forum member.

But this is not all. A huge problem for contractors is the need to be assessed by numerous pre-qualification schemes. This is a wasteful and frustrating process for many contractors and it puts significant costs onto businesses that are trying to improve health and safety. So, a key aim of the SSIP Forum is to maximise, wherever possible, the Stage 1 mutual recognition of SSIP Forum member pre-qualification schemes. Essentially, the SSIP Forum will be working to ensure that you fill in far fewer health and safety assessments.

If you have been advised to join a pre-qualification scheme, or are thinking of being assessed to help ensure that you are meeting basic health and safety standards – then contacting an SSIP Forum member is a very sensible first step.

SSIP Forum – For Consultants

Consultants have a requirement under the CDM 2007 regulations to establish their competence at Stage 1 to undertake the commission required by the client. This can be done individually, however, often time is wasted with many similar requests from each client on every commission.

The SSIP Forum enables consultants to prequalify under the CDM appendix 4 requirements streamlining this process. Additionally, many clients these days employ their preferred third party company to undertake confirmation of competence. Within the SSIP Forum membership are the majority of these schemes.

Communicating with your clients

SSIP aims to advise and influence clients, both at a national and local level, in terms of good and best practice and the interpretation of standards based on the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and the core guidance in the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP).

This will help to ensure that all stakeholders understand the value of Stage 1 health and safety 'benchmark' standards.

Remember, under the SSIP Forum deemed to satisfy agreement, membership of one means membership of all. Quality of service is also guaranteed – all members are audited with ISO 9001 considered a deem to satisfy. Accreditation is undertaken by personnel who are relevant and matched in experience to the supplier's discipline.

SSIP is an important move towards consolidating and building confidence in Stage 1 pre-qualification in the UK construction industry. The HSE fully support the SSIP Forum and have been instrumental in its formation.