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5 Easy Steps to Contractor Prequalification and Winning More Business

Sep 27, 2018

Contractor Prequalification

Contractor Prequalification schemes are a gateway to winning business from some very prestigious, well paying clients. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to win work in Coventry and Warwickshire or from the vast amounts of work going on in Birmingham. JCH Safety can help you achieve membership of CHAS, Constructionline and Safecontractor which will open doors to you winning more and more work!

  1. Join a scheme such a CHAS, Safecontractor or Constructionline. Visit the relevant website and go through their joining requirements, settling up directly with them. Different schemes charge different amounts depending on the number of staff you have. The sites are quite intuitive to use. Just follow the instructions and submit the evidence that they require in order to demonstrate compliance. If you require assistance with health and safety policies and procedures we can help you with this. JCH Safety specialises in helping small businesses to achieve health and safety compliance. We offer a variety of online training such as Manual Handling Awareness and Working at Height training. We also write policies and documents, train people in using good safety practices and carry out health and safety inspections and safety audits. We can work with your company to achieve compliance and membership of contractor prequalification health and safety schemes.
  2. Be professional. Remember, professional construction companies win work. Make sure your staff are well trained, experienced and competent. The way to do this is to continue to invest in their training. When hiring staff look for people with certificates of competency or qualifications such as NVQs. These qualifications will help you with contractor prequalification schemes too. Look after your branding, ensure your team look the part and get good tradespeople to join your team. Demonstrate how professional your business is by joining a scheme such as CHAS, Constructionline or Safecontractor. Top organisations look for subcontractors from prequalified lists. Once you are a member you can use their logos on your website and stationary, which will help your business to look the part. Membership of such schemes wins the confidence of customers and attracts workers, as every builder wants to work in a safe environment.
  3. Keep on top of your records. Whenever you produce any documentation make sure you store it away safely in a logical way so you can find it again. Keep good quality electronic records of training, risk assessments and method statements. Come up with a good way of doing this and stick to it. There are a variety of online software packages available to help you to do this. JCH Safety can provide this service to clients. Producing and storing good quality safety documentation means that you will have a good variety of evidence to use when applying for membership of schemes such as CHAS, Constructionline and Safecontractor.
  4. Engage a competent health and safety consultant. If you are a small business and do not have access to in-house safety expertise, employ a health and safety consultant on a retained service contract. It costs much less you might think and helps you to achieve legal compliance and avoid accidents. Becoming compliant can require a shift in company attitudes, commiting to working safely, legally and within the required standards. Professional companies who can achieve membership of schemes such as CHAS, Constructionline and Safecontractor know this. If you require assistance JCH Safety are experienced at helping small businesses develop in order to achieve compliance and then go on to win some very nice contacts off the back of it. If you require a business consultant to help you get your company on track we can do this.
  5. Don’t be daunted. Many small businesses have big dreams but are concerned that the work to join a contractor prequalification scheme is too much. It really isn’t. The schemes just want you to demonstrate that you trade safely, professionally and within the law. If you are already doing this you are well on your way to becoming compliant. Don’t worry about the paperwork involved, we can help you all the way with this, no matter how little experience you have of health and safety. JCH Safety can help get your company up to speed, compliant and ready for business by being health and safety aware. Our OHSCR registered consultant is an expert in assisting small businesses to move forward helping to achieve their business ambitions. When engaging a consultant ensure they are a fully qualified Chartered member of IOSH.

If we can be of any further assistance please get in touch. Don’t delay, start the process to winning more work and growing your business.