Key milestone for safety accreditation scheme

The SAFEcontractor third-party health and safety accreditation scheme has just received its 10,000th contractor as a member.

More than 120 major businesses, including over 30 of Britain’s largest property and facilities management companies, are now formally committed to using the scheme to vet the health & safety competence of all contractors and service providers they engage.

Also using the scheme to pre-qualify contractors are many of Britain’s largest names in food and drink manufacturing, retail, leisure, hospitality, construction and banking.

Launched in 2002 by the National Britannia Group, SAFEcontractor has grown steadily and now includes contractors involved in more than 100 different work activities, spread across all parts of the UK.

The distinction of becoming the landmark 10,000th contractor to join the scheme went to Shropshire-based cleaning services firm Paramount Services (UK), whose clients include blue chip companies across the Midlands.

Paramount’s managing director Craig Astle said: “Health and safety has always been top of our agenda, and securing SAFEcontractor accreditation will allow us to demonstrate this more readily to clients and potential clients. Having third party accreditation also helps us to develop our business because a growing number of clients now use this approach in their procurement process. We at Paramount adhere to best practice in health and safety and we specifically chose SAFEcontractor because we believe it applies the highest standards and therefore commands widest respect in industry.”

To secure and retain SAFEcontractor accreditation, contractors and service providers must be formally assessed each year by one of National Britannia’s team of qualified health and safety consultants.

Clients of the scheme have on-line access to a full and constantly-updated database of approved contractors. This removes the burden of pre-qualification from their own staff without losing the confidence they need or the due diligence that is required. It also allows them to apply a consistent health and safety standard when engaging contractors.

Accredited contractors find they can secure places on more approved supplier lists without the burden of having to verify their safety standards to many different clients. In addition SAFEcontractor accreditation also gives contractors 24-hour access to practical help and advice from National Britannia professionals.

Darran Hughes, operations director of SAFEcontractor at National Britannia, said: “Clearly Paramount, in common with thousands of other contractors, recognise the value of being able to demonstrate their health and safety standards through a credible third-party scheme. Third-party health and safety accreditation is becoming an increasingly important part of contractor procurement among Britain’s leading companies, particularly in the light of toughening legislation, including the new Corporate Manslaughter Act. Large businesses regard accreditation as an effective means of strengthening their management of health and safety risk and demonstrating due diligence in this tough new environment.”

From a contractors’ viewpoint, accreditation would, he said, become increasingly important, as industry moved closer to agreeing mutually recognised standards for such schemes.