What is the CHAS Accreditation?
Each month thousands of contractors and consultants apply for work with public and private sector organisations (clients). To win work, they must meet the client’s health and safety standards.
There are three stages in the assessment process from the time a contractor applies for a CHAS assessment, through to working for a client:
The CHAS assessment: if a contractor passes this assessment they have shown they can adequately manage health and safety.
- The client checks a contractor has the ability, experience and resources to carry out the specific work they have applied to do.
- The client will look at things like the job method statements, risk assessments, references, examples of similar previous work, training and available resources.
- Monitoring the contractor when they are doing the work. Clients will check contractors are managing the work safely, following the method statements properly, have enough resources, liaising properly, managing the site effectively and providing enough supervision.
The level of assessment at stages 2 and 3 are normally proportionate to the level of risk they carry. Clients have a responsibility to monitor contractors, making sure they are working safely, in order to protect staff and everyone who may be affected by the work.
Applying to join a client’s approved supplier lists can be a lengthy and time consuming process. The application or tender documents often ask the same or very similar questions, but frequently in a very different order. Gaining CHAS Accreditation can help reduce duplication as CHAS accreditation is accepted by all CHAS clients (and many other organisations) as meeting the requirements of a stage one assessment.
CHAS assesses applicants:
- Health and safety policy statement
- Organisation for health and safety
- That the standard of health and safety arrangements are acceptable to our clients and to others
To find out more about CHAS, visit their website here.
