Posted By Arran Linton - Smith I am surprised that with all that has been said recently about CHAS on this forum, the introduction of The Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) Competence Forum has not been discussed, especially as there is already a major split with SAFEContractor distancing themselves from this initiative. See http://www.shponline.co....ame=news&article_id=8835

Posted By Bob Youel the idea is OK but you have to get all types of procurers on board

Posted By Derrick Robinson I am sorry to sound like a sceptic but I groaned when I heard about this. Someone somewhere will adopt it so we will have to pay the fee and spend countless hours filling in the forms but most of the big contractors will ignore it, just as they have with CHAS and all the other schemes, and they will continue to send out their own questionnaires. We have 9001, 14001 and 18001, we are audited annually by our insurers, we are on our trade associations register of competent contractors with the highest possible rating and we are CHAS accredited and it counts for nothing. For most new jobs we still have to fill in some ever more convoluted questionnaire and provide reams of documents that I am sure no one reads. This new initiative will change nothing just add a new layer on top. We employ a qualified H and S officer who spends about 50% of his time on this type of work. We have to do it but I would much rather the lad spent his time doing inspections or delivering training and advice. The really ironic thing is that, in many cases, we only get to jump through these hoops after we have quoted the cheapest price and won the job, its not about pre qualification or judging contractor competence its about back covering and box ticking. I really hope that the subject of this thread proves to be a true statement but I will remain a sceptic for now. Sorry about the rant.

Posted By clairel Not much said because people see it for what it really is?

Posted By clairel Dave, That's the point. They won't. It's a farce IMO.