What is SafeContractor?

Safecontractor is an independent provider of compliance and Health & Safety accreditations. They have one main service that they offer but provide other “add-ons” to select from. These standard accreditation requires contractors to supply evidence of how they manage compliance matters such as Health & Safety.

This evidence is then are assessed by SafeContracors 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 SafeContractor 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 SafeContractor certificate can be difficult, which is why Safety Place are here to provide you with expert advice and help to get your accreditation.

What do I need to get through SafeContractor?

The requirements for obtaining SafeContractor certification will depend on the type of work you do and how you work. So while the application has a set standard of Health & Safety questions, it expands based on elements like whether you work with Cherry Pickers or Tower Scaffolds.

On the standard application 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.

However, as an example should you carry out work with Tower Scaffolds, you will also need to provide evidence of PASMA certification within your business. When applying the answers about your business operations will influence the compliance documents you need to return.

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.

Do I need the Safecontractor add ons?

In short answer, no, however SafeContractor off er some additional service options alongside their membership which may be beneficial to your company.

Assisted – This level of membership provides you with the standard accreditation, however, a member of SafeContractor will provide assistance through the process. Also, having the assisted level of membership reduces the assessment review period to 5 days from 20.

Express – The Express membership level still has the dedicated support, however, they reduce the assessment review level to 2 days. If you are in a rush, you may want to take up this addition.

Premier– Again, the only addition to the premier membership as apposed to the above is that the initial contact from SafeContractor is reduced to a day. So it makes it a speedier service, however, will be most costly.

What are the benefits of getting SafeContractor?

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 SafeContractor 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 Safety practices, you are looking for ways that you can improve Safety performance and the documenting it.

How can Safety Place help me get a SafeContractor 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 SafeContractor 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 SafeContractor application through your login and address assessor feedback

5 – Get your business your certification!