CHAS Accreditation: what it is and what it’s for?

Back in 1997, the ALG (Association of London Government) and a group of health professionals put their heads together and devised CHAS – the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme.

Why?

  1. To eliminate duplication of safety applications for both buyers and suppliers.
  2. To improve standards of health and safety across the UK.

CHAS assesses a supplier’s health and safety competence by looking at:

  • Their health and safety policies and arrangements.
  • The organisation of the health and safety arrangements.
  • What their health and safety policy is

All of which allows buyers to make informed decisions when selecting suppliers. It also allows the supplier to stand out from the crowd of consultants and contractors they are competing against.

How CHAS benefits suppliers:

If you’re a supplier, the benefits to you of having CHAS accreditation are numerous. They include:

  • A saving of time and resources. How? Because you’ll have no need to use valuable time filling in different health and safety forms for different customers.
  • The process finds weaknesses in your safety management allowing you to improve on them.
  • Reduction in inconsistencies. If you don’t have CHAS there might be a situation where one buyers views you as compliant but another doesn’t. Is it worth leaving it to chance?
  • Approval for you to work for all CHAS buyers.
  • Proof of your compliancy with essential parts of health and safety law.
  • Increases your chance of winning new business, especially from large corporate clients.

 

The business benefits of CHAS:

From its 1997 inception, CHAS has gained a reputation as one of a small number of schemes of equal benefit both to suppliers and buyers.

    • CHAS is a key that unlocks many business opportunities for both buyer and supplier. It facilitates:
      • Allowing suppliers to work with any buyer as long as they are CHAS accredited.
      • It allows suppliers to take advantage of the numerous other, advertising related benefits associated with being part of a large, accredited group. They include:
        • Use of the CHAS logo on websites and documentation.
        • Being added to the publicly searchable database of CHAS accredited members.
        • Other benefits, such as, reduced liability insurance.
    • CHAS Accreditation saves time:
      • Businesses will often look for consultants or contractors with CHAS certification. Buyers find the certificate of accreditation a useful benchmark for assessing a contractor’s health and safety standards.
      • For corporate clients seeking a contractor – CHAS certification saves time. It stands to reason that a CHAS accredited company will, by their nature, adhere to most, if not all, the necessary health and safety needs of the client.

 

CHAS improves business productivity

Along with boosting your business opportunities, being a CHAS contractor can improve your business productivity too with its standardised processes. Suppliers and buyers will benefit too. A standardised process improves communication every step of the way.

It can only be beneficial to be compliant in all the relevant health and safety aspects because it improves health and safety practices.

 

Applying for CHAS certification

You have to undergo a several step application process for the CHAS certification. It begins with reading the requirements to ensure you can prove you meet those requirements in the work you do.

Once your form is assessed as being CHAS compliant, you can go ahead and apply for CHAS certification. When applying for a CHAS certificate of accreditation you need to pay an additional fee on top of the compliance assessment fee.

With CHAS certification you have to commit to yearly assessments. These are designed to make sure you meet the exacting health and safety management standards required.

If you feel you could use some support with all this, ABR Safety can either help you with or manage for you. Get in touch for a no-obligation conversation. Call me on 07977 178193 or send a message via our on-line form.