SSIP Certification (safety schemes in procurement)
Join the UK’s SSIP Certification Scheme of choice and attain a Health & Safety certificate recognised by thousands of organisations
Smas Worksafe helps contractors demonstrate their health & safety compliance to clients and meet construction and related industries’ pre qualification requirements.
No matter the size of the business, we’ve enabled thousands of contractors to show their commitment to workplace safety, secure work with trusted organisations through our SSIP certification and lead the way in workplace safety regulation and compliance.
Smas Worksafe are one of many SSIP member schemes and are experts in workplace safety management. We pride ourselves on our unrivalled in-house support and speedy turnaround times.
SSIP Certification shows your commitment to Health and Safety standards, offering clients and employees assurance that your business offers a safe working environment for all.
So, find out more about gaining SSIP Certification and fill out our contact form to receive a simple, no-obligation quote!
Speak to a Member of the Team
Get in touch to find out how Smas Worksafe could help your business gain SSIP certification
What Is SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) certification?
SSIP is an approved umbrella scheme recognised by the Health and Safety Executive. Different Health and Safety schemes are combined to create a single certification process which is the SSIP Certification. So, how does Smas Worksafe help your business? Our SSIP Certification has allowed thousands of contractors and safety advisors to quickly and simply demonstrate their commitment to workplace safety.
Partnering with an approved SSIP certification body like Smas means you’ll learn from the experts. We’ll help you attain Health and Safety certification, and as you obtain certification through an SSIP scheme, you’ll be able to satisfy all criteria for any of the SSIP schemes. That means you won’t have to keep paying for multiple assessment fees, the work will be done for you!
Why was SSIP Certification introduced?
The SSIP Certification is recognised across the UK and was introduced to save contractors time when tendering for work with clients. Rather than completing several Health & Safety assessments for different clients, SSIP streamlined the tendering process by enabling all contractors and buyers to follow a closely related framework and reduce costs for contractors by removing the need for multiple application costs.
Why does my business need SSIP Certification?
SSIP Certification is the recognised standard for Health and Safety and many companies operating in the construction industry, education and social care sectors. Companies will usually request an SSIP certificate from any subcontractors that they work with. Gaining SSIP certification with SMAS Worksafe means access to a greater pool of work, so you can grow your business.
Why is SSIP Certification important?
Gaining SSIP Certification is required by a large portion of buyers working in construction, education and social care. By gaining a qualification from one of the members of SSIP like SMAS Worksafe, contractors can be discovered by buyers for jobs with these expected requirements, as well as highlight their professional dedication to Health & Safety management.
Why Choose SMAS Worksafe for your SSIP Certification?
We are one of the leading SSIP schemes in the UK, and with over 25,000 contractors signed up, we provide all members with ongoing support with Health and Safety compliance and policies, courtesy of our Smas Worksafe SSIP Certification package. We’ll benefit your business with the following areas.
- SSIP certification in just 1-7 days
- Direct contact with an expert team of in-house assessors
- 95% of our members return every year
- Apply online and save up to 40% of the work when you renew
- Become visible to thousands of the biggest construction and housebuilders in the UK
- A Smas Worksafe certificate is recognised across the UK
- Quickly and easily demonstrate your H&S competence to clients
In addition to SSIP certification, we also offer Smas Worksafe PQQ. This package is for businesses or individuals looking to demonstrate compliance beyond Health & Safety. Our Worksafe’s PQQ certification allows you to show off areas of further compliance such as environmental and quality management and gain a competitive advantage. Find out more about our PQQ.
What are the costs of SSIP Certification?
The prices will vary depending on the size of your business and how many employees you have. SMAS Worksafe SSIP certificates start from £317. See how much it would cost your business with a free quote.
Our SSIP Certification Packages
We offer a flexible range flexible SSIP Certification packages to help you demonstrate your commitment to Health & Safety standards. Partner with Smas Worksafe and benefit from the following:
- SSIP Certification Worksafe Assessment
- Worksafe PQQ
- Upgrade to Assist
- Deem to Satisfy
Worksafe Assessment (SSIP Certification)
Our SSIP Certification can be used to show potential or existing clients that your business meets the requirements for Health & Safety. Our SSIP assessment follows the core criteria for all other SSIP schemes and involves 10 questions that you will be required to answer. These include information about risk assessments, method statements, training, qualifications and more. After you have submitted your application, one of our in-house assessors will check the information you have submitted against the SSIP core criteria.
Once you have provided sufficient information you will be granted your SSIP certificate and your business will show on the SSIP and Smas Worksafe portal. The SSIP certification is valid for 12 months and then you will be required to renew, updating us on any changes that may have happened over the 12-month period.
Worksafe PQQ
For businesses looking for more than just SSIP certification, we offer Worksafe PQQ (HSE approved) aligned to the PAS 91 framework. Members will get both Environmental and Quality Management system reviews and recommendations meaning your documents are reviewed by a trained specialist from Smas Worksafe. Contractors will also get access to policy templates and additional areas including modern slavery, anti-bribery and corruption, and financial and business.
Assist
When contractors take Worksafe PQQ, they’ll have the option to ‘upgrade to Assist’, as part of this they will get to work with a trained specialist from Smas Worksafe to create Environmental and Quality policies that are bespoke to their business, perfect for those companies facing these new areas for the first time. Assist is not an ISO standard, but rather a management system specifically for Environmental and Quality Management where a contractor doesn’t already have these processes in place. Assist has been designed as a proportionate and usable management system to help support contractors with the increasing demand for Environmental and Quality policies that Smas Worksafe are seeing in the pre-tender market.
Deem to Satisfy
If your business already holds a valid SSIP certificate but a client is asking you to hold a Smas Worksafe SSIP assessment you can use the deem to satisfy (DTS) procedure. DTS allows for mutual recognition across SSIP member schemes. This means if you already hold a valid SSIP certificate, you can save time and money securing an SSIP certification with another member scheme if a particular client requests it. Please note that the DTS will not last for 12 months and will expire when the full assessment you hold with another provider runs out.
Your SSIP Certification membership options
Find out how we work with contractors, principal contractors and designers on health & safety, environmental management and more.
Discover more about all the benefits for contractors and clients below.
What are the benefits of SSIP Certification?
The objective of SSIP is to reduce bureaucracy and costs for both contractors and buyers. However, there are a number of other benefits for both parties listed below.
Benefits for contractors:
- A streamlined tender process
- An advantage over competitors without SSIP certification
- Faster registration with other related pre-qualification portals to improve the range of jobs available
- Making a more attractive business to draw in industry-leading talent
Benefits for clients:
- A more comprehensive way of assessing potential contractors’ compliance
- Access to the database of users to find the most appropriate companies to work with
- Simplifies the process of determining the level of compliance through easy-to-interpret questions
- Full professional supply chain management solution available
Meeting the SSIP Core Criteria
All SSIP members are required to meet the 14 SSIP Core Criteria requirements to achieve certification. To gain your SSIP certificate your business must be able to show that you meet the core criteria. All SSIP member schemes will require this information from you and below you can see a breakdown of what areas you will need to meet.
- Health and Safety Policy that sets out the roles and responsibilities of management.
- Arrangements made for Health and Safety outlined by your business and how this will be executed. This can include copies of your drug and alcohol policy, how to monitor Health and Safety, details of risk assessment implementation.
- Competent advice for corporate and construction-related from inside your organisation.
- Training provisions for employees to execute duties safely and effectively. Construction businesses will include duties as principal contractors, contractors, designers or principal designers.
- Employees should have the requisite qualifications and experience of the assigned tasks.
- Auditing and monitoring processes should be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
- Workforce involvement requires designating appointed safety representatives and records of any relevant Health and Safety committees.
- Accident reporting should be evidenced and recorded in conjunction with RIDDOR regulations.
- Sub-contracting procedures enable businesses for appointing competent sub-contractors/consultants.
- Risk assessment procedures and evidence how Health and Safety hazards are identified and the control measures to manage these risks.
- Co-operating and coordination with your own business and contractors to achieve a rounded approach.
- Welfare provisions such as cleaning, washing, and changing facilities.
- Designers and Principal Designers should be able to showcase how they will eliminate hazards and risk control to meet duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
Organisations that are unable or unsure of how to evidence how they meet each of the criteria will benefit from direct contact with our assessors who will be available to offer guidance and direction when completing the application to improve your chances of success the first time.
Don’t just take our word for it
Hear what our member Clarkson Evans has to say about their experience using Smas Worksafe and how having a SSIP certification with Smas Worksafe has helped their business meet health and safety standards and win contracts with leading house building companies.
SSIP Certification FAQs
Applying for certification is a straightforward process, thanks to assessment bodies like Smas Worksafe. We’re a member of the SSIP, so your business can obtain an certification programme to meet the SSIP core criteria set out under the SSIP scheme. Working with an certified SSIP member means we’ll help you complete your assessment to gain certification, with expert guidance and advice so you can tick all the right boxes.
Showing your commitment to Health and Safety means a reduced risk of accidents and injuries in the workplace. With our guidance, you’ll be able to invest in the best safety measures possible, meaning you’ll avoid costly fines and save costs, and you’ll boost your reputation as a safe business to work for and with. All this means increased profits and better opportunities for business growth.
Signing up to SMAS Worksafe is easy. Start your application fillin in our enquiry form at the top of the page. We’ll be in touch to talk you through the application process. We’ll only ask you the questions you need to answer, helping you get certified in the most suitable way for your business. If you’re stuck with any of the questions you can give our team of in-house assessors a call and they will help guide you through the process.
Some clients will request SSIP from a certain member scheme. This means If your business works for more than one client, you may be asked for an SSIP certificate from 2 providers. The deem to satisfy (DTS) system allows you to do this more easily. If you already hold a valid SSIP certificate, you are able to show this to another member scheme who will then check the details and issue you a certificate for a reduced price without filling out an application form. Find out more about how DTS works here.
PAS 91 is the Publicly Available Specification for pre-qualification questionnaires in construction-related procurement.
PAS 91 is a set of questions that contractors, suppliers and clients can ask as part of the pre-qualification process for construction work.
The SMAS Worksafe Preferred Supplier additional question set is aligned with PAS 91 and aims to provide further benefits to contractors who complete the assessment by extending the issues covered by their qualification and evidencing a dedication to Health & Safety compliance at work.
Signing up to SMAS Worksafe is easy. Start your application fillin in our enquiry form at the top of the page. We’ll be in touch to talk you through the application process. We’ll only ask you the questions you need to answer, helping you get certified in the most suitable way for your business. If you’re stuck with any of the questions you can give our team of in-house assessors a call and they will help guide you through the process.
Our SSIP assessors will provide you with a Smas Worksafe question set that contains ten questions about your risk assessments, method statements and your business’ Health and Safety policy. We’ll assess the answers provided, along with the supporting documentation and compare your responses with the SSIP Core Criteria. If it doesn’t, we’ll sit down with you and offer you guidance and advice that you can take away and apply to your business, so it eventually meets the SSIP requirements.
Once your business passes our ten questions, you’ll receive a SMAS Worksafe certificate within 3-5 days which will be valid for 12 months and has the SSIP stamp of approval to show your business is eligible and operating to SSIP standards.
SMAS is just one SSIP certification body and works in conjunction with many of the other members to support and improve levels of health and safety conformity across the UK. For those who already hold certification from other member schemes such as CHAS and Constructionline, we offer a Deem to Satisfy service which can take as little as two minutes to complete.