Build UK is getting ready to roll out the new industry pre‐qualification (PQ) system with an initial group of Contractor members having reached agreement with the first assessment bodies ‐ Achilles, CHAS and Constructionline ‐ to launch the new data sharing solution which will enable Contractors and Clients to start specifying the Common Assessment Standard for their supply chains.

The Common Assessment Standard has at its core an agreed standardised question set that all assessment bodies, Achilles, CHAS and Constructionline, utilise when assessing contractors in the supply chain.

However many contractor’s procurement systems are tied in with a particular assessment body meaning that whilst the assessments are identical, an approval from one outside of a procurement system would not automatically be recognised by a contractor. The data sharing solution has been the final piece of technical integration work to enable the Common Assessment Standard to reach its potential and introduce some meaningful efficiencies across the construction sector.

Once the new system is fully up and running, companies will only need to be certified once a year, and Contractors and Clients will no longer need to specify a particular Recognised Assessment Body throughout the construction sector.

Further information about the Common Assessment Standard is available here.