Getting audited for pre-qualification

Audited Membership with the Scaffolding Association

The highest level of Scaffolding Association membership is the Audited Membership category. This sits at Level 1 in the PAS 91 Three Assurance Level Model, which is the highest and most-comprehensive audit level.

The Scaffolding Association’s Audited Membership is specifically for scaffolding contractors to enable them to demonstrate that they operate to the highest standards. It offers an independent two-stage audit – desktop and on-site – undertaken by IQ Verify, a UKAS-accredited certification body.

The audit process has been developed to reduce the burden on both clients and contractors by increasing understanding and building on the widely applicable range of standards within the industry to provide a Scaffolding Specific Procurement Process. This audit demonstrates a contractor’s ability to safely manage and undertake work and assesses it against criteria which are specific to the scaffolding industry. The process consists of two stages:

Stage One: Desktop – Remote review of documentation, including policies and procedures, training records and a company’s incident reporting system, against a Scaffolding Specific Procurement Standard to establish compliance.

Stage Two: ‘On-site’ – Verification of the documentation implementation on-site against the Scaffolding Specific Procurement Standard.

Once the audit has been successfully completed, contractors are issued with a copy of the audit report, certification from IQ Verify detailing compliance and an Audited Membership certificate from the Scaffolding Association.

Pre-qualification is an essential aspect of tendering for a scaffolding contract. And to be eligible for pre-qualification, scaffolding contractors need to demonstrate that they possess, or have access to, what’s required to undertake work and deliver services for potential buyers.

PAS 91 is a publicly available specification (PAS) that sets out the content, format and use of questions that are widely applicable to pre-qualification for construction tendering. There are three types of assessment – from Level 1 at the high end to Level 3 at the low end – that can be carried out to assess that a potential tenderer meets the requirements of PAS 91.

The PAS 91 Three Assurance Level Model

Level 1: Verification and assessment of supplier

This includes an audit typically involving on-site verification and outcome assessment, before accepting the supplier as meeting the requirements. This is the most certain option for buyers but potentially the most complex for pre-qualifying contractors. It is preferable where high levels of assurance are essential or simply sought by the buyer.

Level 2: Validated assessment

Within this assessment level, activities include, for example, obtaining copies of certificates and gathering details of company procedures. This commonly includes what is referred to as ‘desktop’ assessment. This level provides more certainty for buyers than the minimum assessment offered by the self-assessment approach of Level 3.

Level 3: Self assessment

To be assessed at this level, the supplier completes a questionnaire and makes statements about their work and certifications. Minimal verification activity is carried out. Although this is the cheapest solution, it is the least-certain option for buyers.

Why get audited to the highest level?

The move by the Scaffolding Association to offer an Audited Membership level for scaffolding contractors has been welcomed by house builders, local authorities and major contractors who now recognise the benefit of Association members on their tender lists and construction sites.

Clugston Construction’s health and safety manager, Mark Atkinson, commented: “By using Audited Members of the Scaffolding Association we can be confident that we are procuring contractors that have demonstrated their skills, knowledge and experience through a trusted process.”