Welcome to our Health & Safety Questions for January

Please find below the questions we wanted to share with you this month:

What does CHAS stand for?

Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme

How to become CHAS accredited?

Full details on how to apply for CHAS can be found on the CHAS website. We are a 3rd party consultant who can help you to ensure you have the correct documentation to submit and use within your business.

How much does CHAS cost?

There are a number of costs depending on the number of employees you have, please see CHAS website for more details.

How long does it take to get CHAS accreditation?

CHAS take 5 – 10 working days to complete the assessment of documentation that you submit. Preparing the documentation can depend on a number of factors.

Mandatory requirements for CHAS more than 5 employees?

If you have more than 5 employees as well as the other documentation you will need to have a Health & Safety policy as well as competent safety advice on a monthly basis.

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What is Safe Contractor?

Have you been asked for Safe Contractor?

Safe Contractor is a Health & Safety accreditation that is currently run by the government. The Scheme is to ensure companies meet a specific standard for Health & Safety. Safe Contractor is used by thousands of consultants, contractors and businesses every month, typically applying for work with public and private sector companies.

The Safe contractor scheme was developed and is managed by the Government Health and Safety and Procurement Professionals, with the support of the Health and Safety Executive, since 1999. The purpose of the scheme is to ensure that buyers who are signed up have the knowledge that suppliers that use in the scheme are competent and have been assessed.

Suppliers health and safety policy statement, their organisation and how it deals with health and safety and their specific health and safety arrangements will be assessed. As everyone is assessed using the same process buyers know that they are using suppliers who, work to an acceptable standard.

Safe Contractor and suppliers

• Avoids repeated applications
• Consistent Health & Safety assessment
• Access to local authority suppliers
• Saves time and money for all parties.

Safe Contractor and Buyers

• Safe Contractor membership allows access to health trusts, councils, emergency services, the voluntary sector, housing associations, private companies and government departments.
• To locate competent suppliers and contractors,
• Potentially saving time and money for all parties.
• Buyers are afforded peace of mind

What does Safe Contractor assess?

• Assesses health and Safety Management
• Assess compliance issues that apply to work undertaken by you.

If your looking to gain Safe Contractor you can go direct to their site and complete the application yourself, or if your looking for some help in completing the forms we can help you.

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SSIP Accreditation and CHAS

Have you recently been asked for an SSIP accreditation?

SSIP Accreditation and CHAS – SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) is an umbrella group which sits above a number of accreditations you can get which assess your companies Health & Safety. There are a number of assessments you can go for and we have highlighted the most popular ones below:

• Acclaim
• Altius VA
• APS Corporate Membership
• ARB Approved Contractor
• Avetta (Formerly PICS Auditing)
• Builders Profile
• ConstructionLine
• BESA H&S Assessment
• BCSA
• CHAS
• CQMS Safety-Scheme
• DW H&S
• Eurosafe CDM Competent
• Exor H&S Qualified
• FASET
• Greenlight
• HSAS
• Laing O’Rourke
• MSL Safepartner
• NAS
• NASSH
• NHBC
• PQS
• Safemark Principal Safety (PASS)
• Safe-T-Cert
• Safe Contractor
• SMAS
• Worksafe
• OHSAS 18001 (schemes are listed on the site)

CHAS

The majority of our clients go for CHAS accreditation as this seems to be the popular one within the industry. CHAS have recently gone online with their submissions so customers can upload their documentation and then pay for the assessments once they are ready to submit.

This makes it easier for customers to see progress and communicate with their assessor.

If you are looking to get CHAS accreditation but are having trouble with the necessary documentation we can help with the preparation of these, we also provide a safety advisor service for companies with less than 5 employees so we can stay with you and help to implement the new documentation.

Impartial advise

Feel free to call us 0800 031 5404, and we can advise you on the best selection for your needs. We have completed thousands of applications and understand the market inside out. We don’t mind which company you select; the assessment process is the same, thanks to SSIP.

Who is Seguro

Seguro Health and Safety Management employs qualified health and safety consultants who complete the application to obtain accreditation from all the assessment companies. Seguro removes the pain of completing all the documentation and ensuring you comply. Feel free to contact us.

Learn more about CHAS

We have a series of articles where you can learn more about CHAS. The list of articles is below:

• What is CHAS
• CHAS accreditations
• CHAS registration
• Guide to CHAS
• CHAS renewal
• CHAS accreditation cost
• CHAS assessment criteria
• CHAS deem to satisfy
• CHAS Training Guidance
• Competent person and CHAS
• CHAS support

If you have any questions on what is CHAS accreditation please get in touch.

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Looking for CHAS renewal forms?

CHAS adopt the same system for their renewals as they do for new registrations, all registrations are now online and you can register on CHAS website. When you go to the website you will be given the following options at the top of the right hand side of the screen:

• Renew
• Apply
• Login

If you click on renew you will be taken to a log in screen where you are required to add email address and password. There is a forgot password option if you have forgotten the details you used last year. If you don’t have the same email address you will need to call CHAS on 0208 545 3838 and they will help you.

Once you have logged in, you will be able to complete your CHAS renewal application online and once complete you can submit for assessment.

If you need any help with your CHAS renewal once you have started the process, let us know and we will be happy to assist.

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Staying safe this christmas

Here are a few of our hints and tips to keep you safe and in the festive spirit:

Christmas Tree Fairy Lights

• Check the fuses are the right type (see the box for the maximum size of fuse you should use).
• If bulbs blow, replace them.
• Don’t leave fairy lights on when you go out or when you go to sleep.
• Don’t let the bulbs touch anything that can burn easily, like paper.
• Don’t overload sockets.

Christmas Decorations

• Decorations made of light tissue paper or cardboard burn easily.
• Don’t attach them to lights or heaters.
• Don’t put them immediately above or around the fireplace.
• Keep them away from candles.

The awareness video below has been used by fire services and safety consultants to demonstrate how quickly something small can take hold.

More information can be found on the fire saftey website

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My Constructionline has been suspended what do i do?

You will need to log in and see which items need updating. If you are not sure how to complete the outstanding items, then you can ask as consultant like ourselves to look into your account and provide assistance.

Is it cheaper to renew my CHAS?

The fee for CHAS renewal is the same as an existing application, both applications need to be assessed the same so there is no reduction in price.

How often do i need to update my information with CHAS?

CHAS is a yearly renewal for all documentation.

Why do i have to have a competent person?

It is a legal requirement to have a competent person and Health & Safety policy if you have more than 5 employees. CHAS and and other assessment bodies will not accept your application without this.

Im filling out a PQQ and they want to know if i have an SSIP certificate?

You can find all the details here on SSIP.

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Constructionline and Acclaim

Acclaim is the constructionline version of a Health & Safety Assessment.  Gaining your Acclaim Accreditation would enable you to become a member of ‘Safety Schemes In Procurement’ (SSIP), which is an umbrella organisation for health and safety assessment schemes.

Unsure how this works please click here to see the the flow of the process.

SSIP is known in the industry as one of the largest growing schemes with more buyers recognising it within the construction industry. This gives suppliers the opportunity to become a member of the scheme that suits them. This helps companies to eliminate the need to apply for multiple accreditation’s to appease different buyers.
Benefits of the Acclaim scheme

• The simple questionnaire contains twelve questions and wont require you to resubmit any information you have already provided as part of your Constructionline membership.
• The Acclaim Accreditation assessment is undertaken by the experts at Capita Property and Infrastructure. You will be provided with full details of the assessment and the assessor comments.
• Acclaim Accreditation fees are based on your annual turnover, ensuring that the payment is affordable to all companies who require it.

If you would like some more information on the accreditation and think you may need help in completing the process please get in touch.

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Being members of Safe Contractor and Constructionline.

Being members of Safe Contractor and Constructionline can ensure that your company ticks all the boxes no matter who you decide to work for. As they are separate accreditation’s they cover an accreditation under the SSIP umbrella as well as one for Constructionline.

There is also a benefit in getting these both together at the same time if you are looking for help in completing them as there is often a discount available.

In terms of benefits to your business for getting both of the accreditation’s there are a number of benefits from each one:

Safe Contractor benefits

• Being a member allows you to be able to show compliance for your health and safety competence to new and existing clients. Providing this is the accreditation they are looking fro you will no longer need to fill in PQQ on an ad hoc basis.
• You can provide you clients with access to your online portal 24/7
• If a client has specifically asked you to join they will be notified you have in their monthly report.

Constructionline Benefits

• Access to over 8000 buyers
• Being part of Constructionline shows you have met the standards and regulations set out to comply.
• Improves your efficiency and time spent on PQQ

As Health & Safety Consultants we can help you to achieve both accreditations. Learn more about accreditations.

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As of 13th August 2018 the new levels are now available on the CHAS website.

Please find below the joining cost to be paid directly to CHAS.

If you need any help completing the new levels please get in touch.

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There has been a recent announcement from Constructionline CEO John Edmunds to confirm the sale of Construcionline to Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing.

Constructionline have been operating for over 20 years focusing on managing the supply chain in both public and commercial sectors. The main focus of Constructionline will remain the same on a day to day basis with plans to develop the product offering to new and existing customers.

“Since their first European transaction in 1983, Warburg Pincus has invested more than $9B in over 100 companies in 20 European countries, with a focus on partnering with strong management teams to build businesses of scale. They are committed to Constructionline and Acclaim and firmly believe in the long-term growth potential we offer.”John Edmunds CEO

Here at Seguro we are available to help anyone looking to gain accreditation for constructionline including the new level 3 (gold), get in touch if you need any assistance.

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