The Common Assessment Standard has become increasingly hard to ignore. Heavily discussed in many major construction publications, its rollout became complete in 2021. The Common Assessment Standard is now being accepted as an industry-wide accreditation program for construction project prequalification.
The Common Assessment Standard provides contractors with 13-point modular coverage of essential regulatory compliance and risk assessment practices. Everything from anti-corruption and bribery to health and safety is included in the accreditation.
But what makes the Common Assessment Standard so important and such a newsworthy topic? We’ve had accreditation schemes covering these areas of regulatory compliance for years, so what is the significance of the Common Assessment Standard within the construction industry?
Saving Construction Outfits Time And Money
The Common Assessment Standard has many valuable solutions for issues within the construction industry, but the one it was principally designed to address was the seriously harmful levels of prequalification repetition that had plagued the industry for years.
Around 180,000 construction contractors fill out prequalification assessments annually to verify their ability to work for roughly 5,000 clients operating within the UK construction industry. These 180,000 contractors produce over 2 million individual prequalification assessments every year.
That’s at least 11 prequalification assessments per year, per business.
Any contractor who has filled out one of these assessments will understand it can be a huge undertaking, with heaps of time and resources piled into securing the correct prequalification for a job. The repetition of having to file these prequalifications is draining money from the industry — a problem the Common Assessment Standard is purpose-built to combat.
Related Reading: Does My Business Need The Common Assessment Standard?
The Common Assessment Standard is a single accreditation that prequalifies contractors for any job accepting the accreditation as a prerequisite for work. And many are. Since the Common Assessment Standard is so comprehensive in its compliance coverage, construction clients have no reason to ignore it as an appropriate prequalification method.
The Common Assessment Standard is becoming the norm for prequalifications across many sectors of construction. The result is that contractors will no longer have to fill in 11 assessments per year — just one.
Moving from nearly a dozen assessments to a single accreditation for all available work will save contractors days of effort, increasing their ability to secure contracts and boost revenue.
The added benefit of the Common Assessment Standard is that, by having a single accreditation that prequalifies a contractor for work, it becomes easier:
- For contractors to locate jobs that they know they can apply for, as they can search for those jobs that accept the Common Assessment Standard as prequalification
- For clients to find contractors to work on their projects, as they can quickly eliminate contractors who do not have the required accreditation from their searches.
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Stabilising Construction Supply Chains
An unstable, risk-prone supply chain is one built to fail. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 40% of supply chains collapsed somewhere along the line. This was clear evidence that many supply chains were not as risk-averse as they had once thought. Eighty-three per cent of businesses reported that the pandemic made them more aware of their risks than they ever had been before.
And this awareness is important.
A single failure within a construction supply chain can lead to all manner of problems, from delays to the dissolution of projects. There is no room for risk in a stable supply chain, one that ensures the success of construction projects.
The Common Assessment Standard is the most powerful prequalification tool available to safeguard against risk. Its comprehensive nature covers all facets of risk assessment and provides clients with much-needed confidence in their contractors. For contractors, this is a chance to show that they can deliver on their tender bids and they are prepared to face potential barriers and challenges along the way.
A supply chain built on the Common Assessment Standard is one that is built on foundations of stability and exemplary risk assessment. The importance of the Common Assessment Standard as it applies to risk mitigation cannot be undervalued. Following the severe economic problems faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications for the years that follow, all construction businesses need assurances that they are combating risk to the best of their abilities. The Common Assessment Standard helps them prove that, both to themselves and others.
Better Data Sharing With The Construction Industry
Data sharing is becoming an ever-more important part of the construction environment, particularly when sourcing contractor information and getting your business profile in front of potential clients.
As highlighted by Construction News, the Common Assessment Standard is a powerful tool in the new age of data sharing across the construction industry. The Common Assessment Standard is not an accreditation owned by a single assessor but instead a standard of certification that can be awarded by multiple assessors (including CHAS).
Because of how the Common Assessment Standard works, a client can source information on an accredited contractor from any assessor offering the certification, even if they did not carry out the assessment themselves. It’s this more open, transparent and accessible database of Common Assessment Standard verified contractors that’s helping make it easier for businesses to connect.
Higher Value Accreditation Service For Contractors
Because the Common Assessment Standard is not a prequalification and accreditation scheme owned by a single assessor, construction clients no longer need to specify where their contractors obtain their accreditation.
The result is contractors can opt for the assessor that offers them the best service and sales benefits. It’s not about being forced and funnelled to specific businesses anymore; the Common Assessment Standard is building a new balance with the assessor industry.
Because contractors now have a choice between assessors, assessors are challenged with making sure their Common Assessment Standard service offers the best value. This competitive environment stands to benefit those within the construction industry, as their ability to choose means assessors are going to be vying for their business — thus improving their services to offer the most enticing opportunity.
At CHAS, we’ve been modelling our service around our customers since we opened our doors in 1997. We’re committed to the best possible service for contractors and have put many measures in place to ensure we’re the best possible provider of the Common Assessment Standard. From My CHAS portal that gives you access to thousands of work opportunities and a range of discounts to our 5-star Feefo customer service and transparent pricing, CHAS is confident that we can offer you the best Common Assessment Standard experience. Get in touch now to learn more.
Related Reading: Powerful Benefits Of The Common Assessment Standard
Achieving Comprehensive Regulatory Compliance
The Common Assessment Standard covers 13 areas of regulatory compliance and risk assessment. These are:
- Identity Verification and Rights to Work
- Financial Risk Management
- Corporate and Professional Standing
- Health and Safety Management
- Environmental and Sustainability
- Quality of Goods and Service
- Equality in the Workplace
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Information Security and GDPR Compliance
- Building Information Modelling
- Anti-Bribery and Corruption
- Modern Slavery Risk Assessment.
To achieve Common Assessment Standard is to comply with all regulatory standards relating to all of the above areas. Such accreditation mitigates risks within a construction business and provides that company with valuable safeguards, as well as helping to protect and safeguard those businesses they connect and work with.
The Common Assessment Standard keeps the construction industry compliant with regulations and guidelines while promoting corporate responsibility and shielding organisations against accusations of negligence in the event of a problem. For example, if a business were to experience a data breach, they could show they took all reasonable precautions required to comply with GDPR, thus mitigating the risk of fines and penalties under GDPR law.
The Common Assessment Standard is a valuable method of business protection to develop in its own right.
Remaining Relevant Within Construction Certification
The Common Assessment Standard has been designed to maintain high levels of regulatory compliance across a number of relevant assessment criteria. The evolution of the Common Assessment Standard means that contractors who achieve accreditation are, by default, up to date with accurate, relevant and current regulatory compliance and risk assessment practice.
The Common Assessment Standard must be renewed and reapplied for once per year and is always being monitored and maintained to uphold the latest changes to governance surrounding included areas of compliance and risk assessment. Because of this, anyone who is Common Assessment Standard approved is going to ensure they are up to date with changing policies, laws and guidelines.
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The Common Assessment Standard streamlines the construction supply chain and makes it easier for companies to achieve compliance and gain accreditation.
