What is CHAS?

CHAS is an independent provider of compliance and Health & Safety accreditations. They have various memberships which contractors can apply for. These memberships require contractors to supply evidence of how they manage compliance matters such as Health & Safety.

These memberships are assessed by CHAS assessors to check to see whether the contractor has met the required standard. If they have they will be issued with a certificate which will be valid for 12 months.

If you are looking to subcontract for large contractors or councils they may need you to hold valid CHAS certification.

Only using these certified contractors gives these organisations confidence that their subcontracted packages will be completed in a timely and safe manner.

Getting a CHAS certificate can be difficult, which is why Safety Place are here to provide you with expert advice and help to get your accreditation.

Which level of CHAS do I need?

CHAS has 3 different levels of membership which contractors can apply for.

Standard – This level of membership focuses purely on Health & Safety standards. Assessors will check to make sure that contractors are managing risk in a safe and compliant way.

Advanced — A CHAS advanced membership takes all the requirements from standard and then builds upon them by asking questions around the PAS91 standard. PAS91 will delve into how a company manages areas such as quality, the environment, anti-bribery, financial and other matters.

Elite– This level of membership includes all of standard and advanced benefits and asks for further evidence around the “Common Assessment Standard”. This is a series of questions around other compliance related aspects of your business. For example, how you approach information security, information management, corporate social responsibility and equality & diversity.

The level of accreditation you need will either be based upon what minimum level of accreditation your client has requested of you. Alternatively you may decide which level to pick based upon what level of audit you want to do internally.

What do I need to get through CHAS?

The requirements for obtaining CHAS certification will depend on the level you are aiming to achieve. For example, should you be look at obtaining a Standard certificate, you will be asked to provide evidence of Health & Safety legal compliance i.e. Risk Assessments, Method Statements, trade qualifications, Health & Safety qualifications, COSHH Assessments, equipment inspection records etc.

Should you be going for Advanced or Elite membership, you are likely to have to provide evidence of polices, procedures and training in other compliance areas. For example, to satisfy the questions around Anti bribery, you may need to provide a Anti Bribery policy and show what training has been given to staff.

Ultimately, what you need to obtain a valid certificate is a willingness to get your organisation to a set standard and the patience to work within an assessors requests.

What are the benefits of getting CHAS?

There are 3 main reasons why this accreditation may be beneficial to you:-

1 – Access to commercial contracts – Large organisations and certain councils may use CHAS as way of pre-vetting their suppliers. Having a valid membership and certificate gives confidence to large buyers you can carry out a job with low risk to them.

Also, certain large organisations will use their supplier portal to search for contractors to supply work to.

2 – Reputation and trust – Showing to potential clients that your company is safe, solid and maintains good business practices through independent vetting gives you an edge over your competition.

3 – Improvement in internal procedures – Benchmarking how you work against a set standard allows you to spot places where you can make your business better.

You aren’t just looking for a policy for addressing your environmental practices, you are looking for ways that you can improve environmental efficiencies and the documenting it.

How can Safety Place help me get a CHAS certificate?

We have over 50 combined years of experience helping contractors get this accreditation. Every contractor will have different needs, but we work with you to get your CHAS certification. Our process for helping you is simple:-

1 – Discuss your business and find identify your safety and compliance gaps against the required standards.

2 – Work with you to implement new processes and internal documentation

3 – Collate your evidence of safety, environmental and other compliance

4 – Submit your CHAS application through your login and address assessor feedback

5 – Get your business your certification!