The CHAS Registration Health and safety Assessment Scheme has been around for many years and sets the industry standard in terms of managing Health and Safety there are various categories available for CHAS accreditation namely for; Contractor, Principal Contractor, Designers and CDM Coordinators.

CHAS is abbreviated for The Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme. The Scheme is a run by the Government administered by the London Borough of Merton so therefore, not profit orientated, as some might think.

With the support of the Health and Safety Executive local Government Health and Safety and Consultants, the CHAS Registration Scheme has been developed and refined.

Despite been developed by Government bodies, the CHAS Registration Assessment scheme is available for use by any Public or Private sector organisation as a useful aid when short listing Contractors, Suppliers and Consultants who apply to work for them.

The CHAS Registration assessment scheme provides clients information and assurances about companies Health and Safety Management systems together with the Competence of the organisations who have been CHAS assessed or are registered as CHAS accredited.

How do I get CHAS Registration?

Organisations obtain a CHAS Assessment form and complete a series of questions based around their Health and Safety policies and procedures, they then submit the application form to an approved CHAS assessor who will evaluate the form and the supporting documents, this normally takes around 10 -15 days.

Once the CHAS application form has been approved for an organisation, their company details are uploaded to the CHAS Registration database where members of the CHAS Assessment Scheme can review company details and the completed CHAS application form to check whether that they are, in fact, CHAS registered.

CHAS Registration – What are The benefits?

One benefit is that a CHAS registered company can demonstrate to their potential clients that they meet minimum acceptable standards of health and safety compliance.

Another, gaining CHAS Registration or CHAS Accreditation may help to secure future profitable contracts, whilst a CHAS Failure could be the loss of many potentially lucrative contracts.

With the introduction of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM), there are stricter requirements on Principal Contractors and Contractors to ensure that they are ‘Competent’.

Public and Private sector Clients use the CHAS Assessment database Scheme to make their own judgement and assessment of contractors in this way.

The Health and Safety Executive endorse the CHAS registration as being one of the assessment schemes that can be used when demonstrating a form of competence as an organisation.

CHAS Registration Assessment – What does it Assess

The CHAS Registration Assessment does not assess health and safety competence for specific types of work activities but concentrates on fundamental health and safety management and compliance issues as they apply to the work you undertake.

The following list shows the main areas that will be assessed by a CHAS Assessor as part of your CHAS application process, though remember, in all cases plenty of documented evidence and worked examples must be provided with your completed CHAS application form:

Health and Safety Policy Statement
Organisation Chart on Responsibilities
Health and Safety Arrangements
Workplace Equipment Procedures
Health and Safety Training
Employee Consultation Arrangements
First Aid Provision
Fire and Emergency Procedures
Fire Risk Assessments
Display Screen Equipment Assessments (DSE)
Manual Handling procedures and Assessments
Electrical Safety and Portable Appliance Testing (PAT)
Risk Assessments and COSHH Assessments
Asbestos Awareness Training
Health Surveillance Arrangements
Accident Statistics and Reporting Procedures
Workplace Equipment Inspections and Maintenance regime.
Personal Protective Equipment PPE
Competent Health and Safety advice and Construction Advice
Contractor Competence and Resource Assessments
Workplace Site Safety Inspection Reports
Office Fire Risk Assessments
Monitoring Auditing and Reviewing Procedures

Veritas Consulting offer assistance with CHAS Application services: We can help complete the application form – we can even tailor policies and procedures to your organisation so don’t delay. Call 0800 1488 677 or if you prefer send an Email

About David Cant

A chartered (fellow) safety and risk management practitioner with 20+ years of experience. David provides a healthy dose of how-to articles, advice and guidance to make compliance easier for construction professionals, Architects and the built environment. Get social with David on Twitter and Linkedin.