Health and Safety in procurement

The commercial risk for many businesses can be critical especially if they are expected to demonstrate an acceptable standard health and safety management. The number of accreditations available can be confusing and deciding on which one to choose can be made by the client not the business owner.

I say this ‘tongue in cheek’ as the business owner ultimately makes the final decision but when the ‘carrot’ of potential work is dangled as a temptation somehow these decisions are forced upon them in the hope that future work will materialize. There are no guarantees sometimes as this is the first stage in either being added to sustaining your position within the procurement supply chain.

My advice has always been the same since I started Safety Horizon (South West) 14 years ago. You are not legally obliged to obtain any accreditation but commercially you could be. If the lure of potential gold is likely, then it will be a good investment to seek these accreditations. If you are not under such commercial pressure to do it, then it would be understandable to hold back and save your money.

There is varying view on whether obtaining an external accreditation through SSIP actually improves a business health and safety performance or does it just create an environment where boxes are ticked? It is fair to say that obtaining any accreditation through SSIP is certainly an opportunity to measure your business against a recognized standard and will highlight potential gaps. It is not a guarantee but merely a measure of your current performance through a desk top exercise. 

We support a number of businesses with their procurement needs and we have the time they sometimes struggle to find. Also, we are the professionals, we understand the process and the evidence required.

Tip 1 – make sure all of your health and safety documentation is up to date especially within the last 12 months.

Tip 2 – Plan your documentation one month before the accreditation expires. Give yourself plenty of time.

Tip 3 – Do not back date any documents. As well as cheating the system and yourself, it will also jeopardise your accreditations and legal responsibilities if found guilty. 

If this is something you need help with, all you need to do is the following:

1. Provide us with your log in details. We will take a look at what you need.

2. Send us all the information you have. Anything else is needed, we can do this for you.

3. Relax and let us complete this right through to completion.

For more details, contact mark.stallard@safetyhorizonsw.com 

Stay safe!