Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) is an umbrella organisation that facilitates mutual recognition between health and safety assessment schemes in the UK.
Through mutual recognition, SSIP aims to streamline health and safety assessment processes for suppliers by ensuring consistency across different schemes.
When a contractor is SSIP certified, it means their health and safety management processes have been evaluated and meet the HSE backed, SSIP Core Criteria. This certification helps businesses avoid undergoing multiple assessments when they are bidding for work, reducing cost, saving time and simplifying procurement processes.
For clients (buyers), this means reduced risk by engaging contractors who are SSIP certified, simplified procurement processes as suppliers have already been assessed against the SSIP Core Criteria, allowing them to skip the initial health and safety vetting stage of the vetting process. Not having to evaluate each individual suppliers results in significant cost efficiency savings, all with the knowledge the supplier has demonstrated a commitment to maintaining high health and safety standards.