As part of measures taken to improve and streamline the FIS membership vetting standards, we have aligned the FIS audit criteria with those of the Common Assessment Standard developed by Build UK.

Build UK developed the common assessment standard to improve efficiency and reduce cost in the construction pre-qualification (PQ) process.

The Common Assessment Standard comprises an industry-agreed question set and corresponding assessment standards for the pre-qualification of suppliers. Companies that have the Common Assessment Standard are certified once a year by a Recognised Assessment Body and this is accepted by a long list of Contractors and Clients who will accept the common assessment standard from any recognised assessment body.

The current pre-qualification schemes from Recognised Assessment Bodies are as follows:

  • Achilles BuildingConfidence Gold
  • CHAS Elite or Assured
  • Constructionline Gold or Platinum
  • CQMS Safety-Scheme Premium or Elite
  • SCCS Build Assured CAS Lite or CAS Elite

 

 

FIS is adding its name to a growing list of trade associations that also accept the standard as part of their audit scheme.

This means that in accordance with the principles of the standard, those contractors who are applying for membership of the FIS or have their ongoing vetting due, can have significant aspects of their audit “deemed to satisfy” when already accredited by one of the above schemes without un-necessary duplication of audit processing.

Commenting on this alignment, FIS CEO Iain McIlwee stated:

“The whole point of a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ process) is to bring consistency, support compliance and reduce admin.  The system has evolved and proliferated over time and, in admin terms, the opposite is now true for many in the supply chain who are uploading basically the same information and answering the same information over and over again.  The duplication is a pointless waste of time and with new procurement guidance from Government underpinning the need to look to the Common Assessment Standard and more and more organisations getting on board, accepting Common Assessment Standard, we should now be turning a corner.  It is a natural step and the right time for us now to align the work that we are doing in vetting members to recognise the core compliance aspects in the Common Assessment Standard so that we don’t waste their or our time in rechecking paperwork and can focus on the values and work on site that exemplifies members uphold the values on which FIS is founded”.

Please contact jamesparlour@thefis.org if you have questions about FIS membership vetting.