Don’t Duplicate Your PQs – Save Time and Money With the Common Assessment Standard

By Richard Catt, CFA President

At our recent AGM, Jo Fautley from Build UK delivered an insightful update on the Common Assessment Standard. Her presentation sparked several questions about how the Standard works in practice, especially now that the Building Safety section is mandatory, ensuring it can be used to demonstrate companies have the organisational capability to fulfil their roles under the Building Safety Act.

If you’re a specialist contractor still juggling (and paying for!) multiple pre-qualification (PQ) assessments, there are two powerful reasons to consider adopting the Common Assessment Standard:

• If you already hold a major PQ accreditation, such as Achilles BuildingConfidence, CHAS Elite or Constructionline Gold, then you already have the Common Assessment Standard. You only need to obtain certification once from any of the Recognised Assessment Bodies, and you should review the different certifications you hold to see if you have the Common Assessment Standard more than once.

• If you have the Common Assessment Standard, you can share your key data with other Recognised Assessment Bodies free of charge. This eliminates the need to complete multiple assessments for different clients, helping to significantly reduce duplication, save time, and cut costs.

What is the Common Assessment Standard? Developed by Build UK in response to industry demand for a more unified PQ system, it offers a single, consistent benchmark for supplier assessments. Instead of jumping through different hoops for each client or main contractor, suppliers complete one assessment, and it’s recognised by multiple organisations.

CFA members have been given:

• A list of Recognised Assessment Bodies that can certify companies against the Common Assessment Standard
• A list of clients and main contractors who formally accept the Common Assessment Standard
• Guidance on how to share data across multiple Recognised Assessment Bodies
• Ongoing updates via our newsfeed and newsletters

The core message is simple: don’t duplicate. If your organisation has completed the Common Assessment Standard with a Recognised Assessment Body, you don’t need to repeat the process with another. You can verify your status and share your data for free, a small step that brings big savings in admin time and fees. 

We’re here to support our members at every stage of the Common Assessment Standard journey. If you’re a member and would like to know more, encounter challenges or need help navigating the process, please don’t hesitate to contact the CFA team using the contact details below.

The CFA is a leading trade association representing the Flooring Industry. If you would like further information on the benefits of membership, or an application pack, please contact the CFA offices on 0115 941 1126, email info@cfa.org.uk or apply online at www.cfa.org.uk.