Construction industry compliance

The construction industry is one of the most regulated industries in the UK due to the high probability of workers being exposed to hazards and the resulting HSE statistics on the number of sustained injuries and deaths. Ensuring the safety of construction workers is the key to maintaining operational compliance with regulations and legislation, avoiding harsh enforcement actions, and maintaining successful partnerships with customers and buyers based on quality craftsmanship.

There are so many requirements to comply with, and it is easy to overlook some things, which is why we recommend implementing a management system to help your organization simplify its operations, improve process efficiency, and track your compliance efforts.

Understandably, the term "management system" often frightens bystanders, and it seems difficult to implement such a system. Our experts are here to ensure that no matter the size of your organization, we will implement a system that seamlessly matches your business activities and is commensurate with the services you provide.

ISO 45001:2018/OHSAS 18001:2007 and SSIP certification of your management system gives your customers/buyers confidence in the capabilities of your organization and demonstrates that your organization is committed to ensuring that its projects meet health and safety requirements when completed Forefront.

Health and safety

By its very nature, the construction industry is a dangerous industry, so strict health and safety regulations must be observed.

The construction (design and management) (CDM) regulations stipulate the main responsibilities of the responsible person, and form the overall requirements for customers and construction industry organizations to ensure that the entire process from the initial design and planning of the project to the completion of the project is safe. And in an orderly manner, including reducing risks, providing basic benefits, and ensuring protection for each participant at every stage.

Suppliers/buyers are required to prove that they comply with CDM regulations and meet their own supply chain when purchasing, which naturally gives rise to various plans and frameworks for assessing compliance. Although these programs operate on similar structures and standards (broad PAS91 and common evaluation standards), organizations may ultimately require various evaluations from different programs, depending on which one your customers prefer. In addition, your organization may implement a framework that does not exactly match the requirements required for bidding; it is not an ideal situation.

Fortunately, the Procurement Security Program (SSIP) has developed into the umbrella organization for many such evaluation programs. If SSIP approves a scheme, this can achieve automatic mutual cross-recognition, which means that in most cases, you only need to go through a comprehensive evaluation by one of the members, and then your certificate can satisfy other scheme members to get as many as possible Certification you may need-check the SSIP deemed satisfactory chart on the SSIP website. Most importantly, it will give you the right to enjoy substantial discounts among plan members. What else do you want?

Whether you are a chief contractor, contractor, chief designer, designer, or consultant providing services in the construction industry, this certificate is for you.

The UK Assessment Agency provides consulting and certification services to help organizations obtain the internationally renowned ISO 45001:2018 certification. This certification (when carried out by a certification body accredited by UKAS) is recognized by SSIP as meeting the competency requirements of CDM regulations, is one of the best ways to ensure your work compliance, and is accepted as a one-way cross-recognition across all other SSIP member programs .

Quality Control

In the construction industry, the durability of the buildings and services you provide is the key to an organization's success and continued reputation. Nowadays, customers need to marvel at spreading the word, and positive feedback from real people included in your sales and marketing skills can make an important impression on your bottom-line numbers.

Quality management is not only about choosing the most expensive materials or having the most luxurious showrooms. It also requires project management from start to finish. From ensuring the correct quality of construction designs and specifications, choosing the most suitable materials for your project. Keep in touch with your employees and subcontractor/contractor resources, and provide top-notch pre-sales and post-sales customer service, all the way to hindrance and final handover. All of these are essential to provide customers with the experience they need and deserve, and go a long way in making your organization its own alliance to stay ahead of your competitors.

Implementing and passing the ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system provides your organization with a clear and concise mechanism to control its quality supply throughout the life cycle of the project. The management system can also simplify and improve your operational processes and save money. Your time and money are in the long run. 

When visible and on the market, ISO 9001 certification can also convince your customers and supply chain that your capabilities, talents, and commitments can accurately meet the requirements of your organization.

Construction design planning and management

Industry compliance is not limited to legislation; standards and other requirements will also require your organization to comply, especially if you want to submit a bid.

For example, Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the process of managing information throughout the life cycle of a building. It is becoming more and more popular in buildings, but certification is becoming something that organizations need to comply with when bidding contracts. The British government requires construction suppliers to work under BIM level 2 in order to bid for centralized procurement of government projects, and plans to raise this requirement to level 3 in the future.

BIM brings many positive aspects, but its implementation can put pressure on other parts of the organization. For example, because BIM can generate thousands of 2D construction drawings from a single 3D model in just a few minutes, it puts pressure on document control programs that are designed to handle the slower paper design process.

This means that it is more important than ever to have a reliable quality management system (QMS) to deal with the huge changes caused by the adoption of BIM.

Fortunately, the process of implementing QMS can actually make it easier to obtain BIM Level 2 certification. That's because they are all focused on quality management, so one person can take hard work away from the other.

Environmental impact, legislation and corporate social responsibility

Is there an industry that is more environmentally regulated than construction? From the initial land impact assessment to waste management, each project is subject to strict supervision to ensure that its impact on the environment is as small as possible. Nowadays, environmental sustainability has become everyone’s primary consideration, and customers/buyers are controlling them. The awards are to responsible corporate entities that can prove that they can lead construction and development in a sustainable way.

This is another area where the management system can help you track compliance efforts and ensure that nothing is missed. In this case, implementing an environmental management system can easily ensure that your organization complies with all relevant environmental regulations. It can also certify your green certificate when bidding for a contract, which does no harm, especially if you have formalized it through ISO 14001 certification.

Stay ahead of your competitors

In 2018, the government formulated a 25-year strategy for environmental improvement, which included ambitions to significantly increase housing construction, infrastructure investment, and economic growth. This strategy is closely related to the goal of achieving zero avoidable waste by 2050 and the embedding of the principle of "net environmental benefit", which aims to improve the local and international environment. The principle of “net environmental benefits” seeks to expand its use of biodiversity in the future, including broader natural capital benefits, such as flood control, recreation, and improving water and air quality, and will be among the most important in a series of current protection regulations. Threatened or most valuable habitats and species. As part of this plan, the government aims to explore reforms to developers’ contributions and consider how to use tariffs to guide and incentivize the development of areas with the least environmental damage. This is related to the provision of measurable and traceable environmental improvement goals and activity management by construction organizations to improve sustainability.

The implementation of an environmental management system certified to the ISO 14001:2015 standard can prove that your organization is working at the same time and complying with relevant laws and regulations, and will provide the organization with a clear and consistent framework to support these strategies, thereby maintaining and developing our changing world. Business continuity.

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