For any company who has products or services related to construction, they can register on Constructionline. Run on behalf of the Department of Business Innovation and Skills by Capita (holders of ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certification with ourselves), it forms an online register of local and national pre-qualified construction contractors and consultants.
It's designed to save firms time and money from repeatedly supplying information to each prospective client (sometimes for every contract) about their general ability to carry out work. It does this by making this information available from one central on-line location and is used by over 1,500 public-sector organisations when they invite suppliers to tender.
Benefits
According to Constructionline, the benefits include:
Connect with all types of buyers from the public and private sectors
Greater access to a wider number of clients locally and nationally.
A level playing field with large companies if you meet the client's standards
Complete your pre-qualification details just once a year, dramatically reducing time consuming paperwork
Free assistance with a telephone registration service
Demonstrate to buyers that you are fit-to-supply and pre-qualified to government standards
Costs
Constructionline's registration fees are on a sliding scale based on turnover or size, from £70 each year. Over half of all the 12,500 or more registered firms have an annual turnover of less than £1 million. There are special measures in place to help new start-up and small firms register, including help over the phone for filling in the registration form. You can also register online or by post.
Standing Out
Health and Safety
The CHAS assessment scheme is favoured, allowing contractors to be accredited for health and safety. Over 16,000 suppliers are already registered. If your organisations already has SAFEContractor, Achilles UVDB Verify or SAFE-T-CERT, then a CHAS assessment fee may be waived.
Environment
The Constructionline website has a number of review forms, including an Environmental Questionnaire. Within this questionnaire, it asks if the business has an Environmental Policy, has an Environmental Management System (EMS) or at least is planning to have an Environmental System. Clearly then, Constructiononline is hinting that it will be beneficial to have an EMS in place!
ISO 14001 certification allows you to demonstrate that you have a thorough and verified EMS. It's an internationally recognised standard that is a pre-requisite for many public sector tenders, not to mentioned favoured in private sector supply chains too. To learn more about creating your own Environmental Policy and the environmental management standard ISO 14001, please use the links below.
Equal Opportunity
A supplier’s management of equality and human rights is becoming increasingly important to public sector buyers when choosing suppliers to carry out work for them. Legislation gives buyers a clearer, more direct and positive legal duty to eliminate discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity in carrying out all their functions, including procurement.
To help your organisation go that bit further, we've created a guide on creating an Equal Opportunity Policy. Again, this is often required for the majority, if not all public sector tenders within the UK, including for the Olympics.
The British Assessment Bureau's reputation was established in 1969 and we achieved pre-eminent status in 1997.
As well as providing certification to internationally recognised standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, we provide bespoke assessment services for people, services and organisations of all sizes.
For more information visit www.british-assessment.co.uk.
