An updated version of the Common Assessment Standard – the industry-agreed pre-qualification standard developed by Build UK – has been released.
Version 4 has been streamlined following the withdrawal of PAS 91 and updated to include a new Building Safety section, ensuring the Common Assessment Standard can be used to demonstrate that companies have the ‘organisational capability’ to fulfil their roles under the Building Safety Act.
Under the Act, anyone appointing individuals or organisations to undertake design and construction work has a duty to ensure they are competent. Clients and contractors can demonstrate compliance with this duty by specifying that organisations in their supply chain are certified to the Common Assessment Standard, which requires the appropriate management policies, procedures and systems to be in place.
In recent months, the Common Assessment Standard, which is endorsed by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), has reached a critical mass of companies using it across the sector. A growing list of major contractors and clients are now specifying the Common Assessment Standard for their supply chains, and more than 22,500 suppliers have been certified against it by the five Recognised Assessment Bodies.
Its use for public sector work has been confirmed by Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 03/24 issued by the Cabinet Office, which specifies that the Common Assessment Standard should be used by contracting authorities when pre-qualifying suppliers for construction works contracts.
Jo Fautley, Build UK Deputy Chief Executive, says: ‘The Common Assessment Standard provides a consistent and robust pre-qualification standard, which can now be used to meet the requirement for organisational capability under the Building Safety Act. By establishing the Common Assessment Standard, we have brought the whole sector together to transform the construction pre-qualification process, and everyone can play their part in improving efficiency, reducing cost and raising standards by using it.’
John Simons, SCAPE Group Procurement Director, says: ‘Now that the Cabinet Office has specified the Common Assessment Standard for use across the public sector, it is more important than ever for companies to be certified. It has standardised the selection process for the supply chain as only one annual assessment is required to gain access to valuable opportunities, and the new streamlined Version 4 makes that process even simpler for companies of all sizes.’
