History
The formation of what would become Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) began with an initial meeting in 2007 at the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Headquarters.
This meeting included representatives from major industry players such as the Contractors’ Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS), Constructionline, Exor, and the National House-Building Council (NHBC).
In April 2007, the revised Construction (Design & Management) Regulations were implemented, introducing the Stage 1 Core Criteria to assess the health and safety competence of contractors and consultants in the construction industry. This development presented an opportunity for existing health and safety pre-qualification schemes to enhance and formalise mutual recognition that was already informally in place among some schemes.
Over the following two years, through regular meetings, the founding members of the SSIP Forum developed and endorsed a shared ethos. They agreed that the SSIP should serve as an umbrella organisation, facilitating mutual recognition between health and safety assessment schemes wherever practical.
In May 2009, with backing from the HSE, the SSIP was officially established. Its primary goal was to streamline the pre-qualification process and promote straightforward mutual recognition among its Member Schemes, thus reducing redundancy and simplifying compliance processes for members across the construction industry.