How Having the Correct H&S Accreditation Can Benefit Your Business

Whatever business you run, it is essential that health and safety is at the forefront of it. There are set standards to which you must work in order to keep your employees, customers, and visitors as safe as possible at all times, and adhering to these can now be professionally recognised.

This has meant that many businesses now work towards gaining specific health and safety accreditations and certifications, but what are these, and how can they benefit your business?

By applying for health and safety certifications within the construction and trades industries, your business can benefit massively, opening you up to larger and larger contracts that might not have been previously available to you as well as protecting all concerned.

There are a range of health and safety accreditation providers to choose from, and it is important to consider them all in order to decide who best represents your business and what you want to say about yourself before deciding which route you want to go down; although your potential Client may also stipulate which accreditation provider they require, so if tendering please liaise with them.

Each one will check that you comply with basic health and safety legislation set out by the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 as well as looking at the documents, policies, and procedures that you have in place to make sure that you are working safely within your industry.

Standards

One thing that these health and safety accreditations/certifications can provide is a demonstration of the high standards that you work to. Your clients, employees, and suppliers will all be able to see your dedication to compliance, and these schemes are able to provide documentary evidence to prove your status with them and show what you have achieved, such as certificates, badges, and logos which you can display.

Most accrediting bodies which we assist with are widely recognised across the UK, meaning that once certified your accreditation will have a positive influence on your business by helping to satisfy applicable health and safety legislation, implementing safe working practices, and thus reducing your liabilities. This will help to give your clients and suppliers an extra degree of confidence in working with you and can help to satisfy their own internal requirements.

Competitive edge

If you decide to go down the route of becoming accredited/certificated, this will give your business a competitive edge over your competitors who may not be accredited. Once accredited, you will often have the option to be listed on the Accreditation Bodies database, which often opens doors to new potential clients and gives reassurance that you are a trusted and reputable contractor/ service provider.

It should be noted that there are many businesses who have decided that they will only work with a business that is accredited/certificated with one of the schemes, and so, by being accredited it ensures that you will not be discounted from the onset of your tender.

Tendering

We all know the hoops that need to be jumped through when tendering for new business, and one of them is the arduous Pre-qualification Questionnaire (PQQ). These forms can be lengthy and extremely time-consuming, especially for those who would rather be putting together the tender for the client. Certification/Accreditation can help to cut down this process dramatically, saving your business time and money each time you compete for new work.

Final Note

It is important that health and safety is always taken seriously, it is not just a process put in place to create more paperwork, it is something that helps to ensure the safety and well-being of your employees and other persons alike who may be affected by your work activities.

Having an accreditation/certification shows that health and safety is high on your agenda and that you have the relevant systems in place, this, in turn, opens other business opportunities which may not have been open to you before becoming accredited/certificated.