Pre-qualification Reform Project. Briefing Document Common Assessment Standard

Transcription

1 Pre-qualification Reform Project Briefing Document

2 Build UK believe that a key enabler of pre-qualification reform is the creation of a for the industry, providing a common benchmark for auditing pre-qualification information. This paper describes the proposed outlined in the Project Proposal in more detail.

3 The Pre-qualification Reform Project Project Background As a result of consultation with Build UK and CECA members, and with other stakeholders including clients and accreditation providers, Build UK have developed a proposal for reformed pre-qualification. The project aims to deliver a reformed pre-qualification system; where increased commonality amongst accreditation and assessment can lead to: companies providing a single set of pre-qualification information annually; assessment against a common standard by a provider of choice; removing current repetitive and bureaucratic processes, and; providing greater assurance to Clients and Main Contractors that assessments meet their risk management requirements. Audited pre-qualification information and accreditations would be held on an Online Source of Information that can be accessed by suppliers, accreditors, and potential client organisations. The reformed pre-qualification process will: Be overseen and managed by a central cross-industry body to encourage greater collaboration and ownership; Build on the industry s existing best practice, complimenting and streamlining existing processes to be familiar and simplistic. Benefit the construction industry by removing the current repetitive and bureaucratic processes; saving organisations time, cost and resources to improve productivity and output and manage risk effectively. The principles of the proposal were supported by both Contractor and Trade Association members in their respective Forums in September 2016 and by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) in January 2017.

4 The Pre-qualification Reform Project Project Objectives, Benefits & Outcomes Objectives Ensure wide-scale adoption of the reformed pre-qualification process Build UK to create a reformed pre-qualification process for the construction industry Collaborate with the construction industry: to ensure change responds to and builds on existing best practice, and create a pre-qualification process that is industryowned Benefits & Outcomes Improved industry procurement productivity and efficiency, managing risk and reducing costs for Build UK members Create transparency and equitability to raise industry standards

5 The Pre-qualification Reform Project The proposed reformed process Companies would follow a simple 5 step process to gain pre-qualification accreditation: Proportionality Risk? Turnover? Company Size? To be confirmed Agreed Industry Question Set Common Assessment Standard Online Source of Information Identify accreditation level: Core or Enhanced Complete Agreed Industry Question Set Verified/audited against answers Receive Core or Enhanced Accreditation Renew Accreditation Annually Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

6 Overview The key enabler of the reformed pre-qualification system is a proposed, which can be adopted by the industry to: provide a common benchmark for auditing prequalification information; improve the industry by improving standards; and create a consistent level of assurance that a company is sound and competent. As this is the key enabler of the reformed system, Build UK will be prioritising this element of the project. We are currently undertaking a GAP analysis exercise of accreditation schemes currently utilised by the industry. Once completed, Build UK will work with members, assessors and other stakeholders to create the. An assessment standard is a set of agreed prequalification benchmarks which must be satisfied. For the purposes of this project, the Common Assessment Standard will provide a set of industry-agreed benchmarks which companies will be audited against by an Accreditation Provider, to verify the information they provide about their organisation. If a company is found, as a result of the audit by an Accreditation Provider, to have reached the industry-agreed benchmarks they will receive an accreditation (Core or Enhanced). This accreditation will be visible to Clients/Main Contractors on an Online Source of Information, demonstrating that the company holding the accreditation is sound and competent.

7 Development of other Key Enablers The creation of a - undertaking a GAP analysis exercise of accreditation schemes will lead to the development other pre-qualification Reform Project key enablers; an Industry Agreed Question Set and proportionality criteria for two levels of accreditation Core and Enhanced. Proportionality Risk? Turnover? Company Size? To be confirmed Agreed Industry Question Set Common Assessment Standard Online Source of Information Identify accreditation level: Core or Enhanced Complete Agreed Industry Question Set Verified/audited against answers Receive Core or Enhanced Accreditation Renew Accreditation Annually Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

8 Purpose of the The intends to: Provide Clients/Main Contractors with the risk assurance they need Reduce the time and cost burden of applying for, and being audited by, multiple accreditation bodies Make pre-qualification more accessible for SMEs bidding for work Enable existing and new accreditation schemes to continue to operate and compete based on market forces, such as price and customer service Improve industry standards and risk management Provide transparency and clarity to how a company has been assessed Ensure greater comparability between accredited companies Improve visibility of alternative supply chains for Clients/Main Contractors and opportunities for Sub-contractors Through the creation and adoption of a Common Assessment Standard, the current duplication of pre-qualification information to meet multiple accreditation requirements will be eliminated. Companies would only require a single accreditation that would be assessed against one standard that the industry has agreed. An example of how the industry has successfully delivered and implemented a common assessment standard for one area of pre-qualification data is through the creation of the Safety Schemes in Procurement Forum (SSiP) for health and safety assessments. Since the inception of SSiP, mutual recognition has produced savings in excess of 41m to suppliers; this is without factoring in other savings such as time or resource costs.

9 What might the look like? Criteria Question Standard Evidence PAS 91 Categories: Supplier Identity Financial Information Business & Professional Standing Health & Safety Equality & Diversity Environmental Quality Management BIM Will be agreed as a result of common assessment standard. Proportional and based either upon Desktop or Site based audit. Evidence to demonstrate the company meets the required standard Sector Specific Requirements Example (taken from PAS 91 & SSiP Core Criteria) Criteria Question Standard Evidence Health and Safety C4-Q3: Are you able to demonstrate that you have a policy and organisation for health and safety (H&S) management? You are expected to have and implement an appropriate policy, regularly reviewed, and signed off by the Managing Director or equivalent. The policy must be relevant to the nature and scale of your work and set out the responsibilities for health and safety management at all levels within the organisation. A signed, current copy of the company policy (indicating when it was last reviewed and by whose authority it is published). Sets the benchmark against which companies are assessed

10 Audit & Accreditation Levels It is proposed that there will be two levels of audit against a, resulting in two levels of accreditation: Core or Enhanced Which level of audit a company will undergo will be based on proportionality*. Within both the Core and Enhanced audit criteria, the will set an agreed benchmark answer** for each answer. This will provide assurance to the Client/Main Contractor that a Sub-Contractor is competent for the type and risk of work that they are bidding for, while also ensuring that Sub-Contractors are subject to a proportional and transparent audit. Upon completion of a successful audit by an accreditation scheme, the company would be awarded either a Core or an Enhanced accreditation and this would be made visible on the Online Source of Information. *in consultation with members **Build UK is in the process of determining the benchmark answers with stakeholders

11 Benefits Industry Benefits: Standardisation of assessment and accreditation across the industry Assurance that accreditation schemes are providing quality service based on industry needs Demonstrates that the construction industry can agree and deliver commonly agreed standards Industry owned and agreed standard Oversight from a Cross Industry Body maintains quality of assessment across Providers and ensures the standard responds to future industry change Client/Main Contractor Benefits: Knowledge that Subcontractors meet requirements for business assurance and risk management, as all Subcontractors that gain accreditation will have met the same standard No need to specify a particular accreditation scheme, giving them greater visibility of alternative Subcontractors and supply chains. Sub-contractor Benefits: Cost savings as only one accreditation is required Knowledge that resulting accreditation will be accepted by Clients/Main Contractors across the industry Companies will be assessed to a proportional level Companies will be able to choose an accreditation provider based on market drivers rather than being required to gain multiple accreditations based on Client/Main Contractor specifications. New or existing Accreditation Provider benefits: Ability to compete based on market drivers such as cost and customer service Choice in the hands of Sub-contractors opens up a broader market of customers Pre-set industry agreed standard - that can be adopted by new Providers, and monitored by a Cross Industry Body

12 Next Steps Once the has been agreed, to enable existing and new accreditation schemes to meet these new standards, it is proposed to implement a transition period, following market testing. Timescales will be determined in due course. Build UK will be engaging with members and accreditation bodies to seek feedback on the proposed, and begin to develop suggested benchmarks for further stakeholder discussion and approval. The creation of a will lead to the development of other key project enablers - an Industry Agreed Question Set and proportionality criteria for Core and Enhanced accreditation. It should be noted that Build UK have no intention of creating an accreditation scheme to undertake audits against the proposed. Build UK is facilitating a change in the industry to mutually agree a common standard against which existing and new accreditation providers will assess the supply chain.

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