SSIP stands for Safety Schemes in Procurement. One accreditation, recognised across many.
It's an umbrella body that connects a group of recognised health and safety accreditation schemes, including CHAS, SafeContractor, Constructionline, SMAS Worksafe, Acclaim and Achilles. Getting accredited under any SSIP-member scheme proves to clients that your health and safety arrangements meet a recognised standard, so you can prequalify for the work that asks for it.
Independent advice across every major scheme.
The idea behind SSIP is mutual recognition.
Instead of proving your health and safety credentials from scratch to every buyer, one accreditation can satisfy many. That's the part that saves contractors time and money, and it's why SSIP has become the common language buyers use to check you.
Accreditation under any SSIP-member scheme proves your health and safety arrangements meet a recognised standard, so clients can trust them without starting from zero.
Once you're accredited, you can prequalify for the contracts that ask for it, rather than being turned away before you've even bid.
One accreditation can satisfy many buyers, so you're not rebuilding the same evidence pack and paying for the same checks again and again.
The "Deem to Satisfy" principle, explained.
This is the mechanism that makes SSIP useful, and it's worth understanding. SSIP-member schemes assess a common core of health and safety requirements, so they recognise each other's assessments.
The SSIP-member schemes you're most likely to be asked for.
They overlap heavily thanks to Deem to Satisfy, but each is favoured by different clients and frameworks. Which one is right for you depends on the work you want to win.
The Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme. Widely recognised across construction.
Another broadly accepted scheme, common in construction and facilities.
Frequently required on public-sector and Tier 1 supply chains.
Common with main contractors.
Recognised across a range of buyers.
Often required in utilities and large supply-chain procurement.
SSIP accreditation has become a procurement gate.
A growing number of clients, public-sector frameworks and Tier 1 contractors require SSIP-recognised accreditation before you can even submit a bid. No accreditation, no invitation to tender. For a lot of contractors, that's the whole reason to get it: not the badge, but the door it opens. It also cuts the cost and duplication of bidding, because you're not rebuilding the same health and safety evidence pack for every client, and the buyer isn't reassessing what's already been assessed.
There's no single right answer, and that's where independent advice earns its keep.
A lot of SSIP "help" comes from providers tied to one scheme, who recommend the one they sell. Spectra is independent of all of them.
We're not tied to CHAS, SafeContractor or any other provider, so we've no reason to push the one we sell. We advise across every major SSIP scheme.
We confirm the scheme your client or main contractor actually requires, based on your sector, your clients and the frameworks you want onto.
See our SSIP accreditation service for how we get you through it, sometimes in as little as seven days.
The SSIP specialist you'll actually work with.
You get one named consultant who knows every major scheme, not a salesperson for one of them. Tell them the work you're chasing and you'll get a straight answer on which accreditation actually opens those doors.
“Tell me the work you're chasing and I'll confirm the scheme your client requires. Not the one I'm tied to selling, the one your buyers actually ask for.”
Book a free SSIP reviewCommon SSIP questions
What does SSIP stand for?
Is SSIP a single accreditation?
What is "Deem to Satisfy"?
Do I legally need SSIP?
How do I get SSIP accredited?
Still not sure which scheme your contracts actually need?
Tell us the work you're chasing and a named consultant will give you a straight answer, with no obligation. Book a free SSIP review. Call 0161 926 8519. Nationwide, from our Altrincham base.