This week like every other week in recent memory I find myself ploughing through an increasingly large volume of pre-qualification questionnaires.  The documents are getting larger and the questions are becoming ridiculously complex and to be honest completely irrelevant. 

So I take a short break and decide to focus on my new accreditation submission that a client has mandated we pass before we are able to tender.  What catches my attention just beyond my screen on the wall? A bank of flashy wall mounted certificates containing our OHSAS18001, CHAS, Safety Contractor, Achilles FPAL and UVDB, RoSPA award and other specific industry accreditations that we maintain.   Before anyone asks yes I am aware of SSIP however clients more often than not aren't and have no interest when it is explained so we just keep going filling up wall space.  

What is happening?  How do these increasingly large documents make the workplace safer?  I understand that checks have to be completed to demonstrate competence, indeed I myself do this for those we use, however I struggle to understand why the need for so many questions not to mention the depth with which they go.  

In a number of cases our flashy wall mounted certificates account for nothing other than we must have them (and submit a copy of them).  Some questionnaires unashamedly then go on to ask questions which follow the exact layout of OHSAS 18001; “Do you have a H&S Policy Statement and if so please attach” ad infimum.

As a health and safety professional I find myself apologising to my colleagues on behalf of my profession who have to bundle these documents together.  Too many times they tut and walkaway with thoughts swirling around their head about “health and safety gone mad.” 

So what is my point? To steal a phrase you are either part of the problem or the solution.  I implore you, please review your pre-qualification questionnaires and ask honestly what is it I am trying to achieve? Are all of these questions and requests for information going to achieve my aim? Remember if they aren’t not only are you adding to the negative perceptions of health and safety you are potentially tying people up when they could be actually doing things that improve workplace safety!

I empathise and believe a more sensible approach is "Do you have? If so attach copy & ignore the next several pages"

Unfortunately we are in a more letigious and regulated world where the supply chain is under ever increasing scrutiny and companies seek their own evidence trail to demonstrate cradle to gate compliance.

These forms tend to evolve in pursuit of perceived "best practice" with every copy and paste adding to the tome without any review, consideration or deletion.

It is the major clients and contractors who drive this process (each with "their" document that must be completed and submitted) - what they should be doing is deriving a PAS (publicly available standard) and getting back to basics rather than this vicious cycle of administrative burden.

Unfortunately after certain reviews conclude we will likely to see a few more chapters added to PQQ's 

Could it be the various accreditation bodies who are promoting this, or am I just being cynical? No major client will want to be seen to be ignoring these accreditations, so the cycle just goes on. Reams of paperwork do not guarantee a safer workplace, far from it, as the danger is that everyone loses sight of what it's all supposed to be about.

I actually believe that the HSE has to bear a great responsibilityfor this current situation.  They supported a number of the schemes in the early days and the situation went out of control.  A good acop or similar on the matter of competency management and its assessment would have prevented, in my view, the growth of tick box systems that have grown like topsy and these are actually supplemented by every client so doubling or trebling the necessary paperwork.  There were also many cdmcs around who pushed the use extensively to clients and I have no doubt that principle designers are following this lead.  It is going to take a strong will by major players to break this loop.