CHAS - The Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme
Principles and Purpose of CHAS, each month thousands of contractors and consultants (suppliers) apply for work with public and private sector organisations (buyers). To win work, they must meet the buyer's health and safety standards.
Assessing supplier's health and safety competence is usually a lengthy and time consuming process. Suppliers can sometimes meet one buyer's Health and Safety standards but not another. Being CHAS approved reduces duplication as supplier's compliance is accepted by all CHAS buyers.
CHAS assesses applicants on:
Health and safety policy statement;
Their organisation for health and safety;
Their specific health and safety arrangements to a standard acceptable to our buyers and to others
Wilbar Associates experienced Health and Safety team can offer Health and Safety Training to recognised Institution of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH) standards. This includes the 'Working Safely' and 'Managing Safely' modules. Successful completion of the course(s) will result in certification.
Although most organisations have a nominated H&S manager, in smaller companies this post is normally combined with other duties and H&S can be relegated to 'should have' rather than a 'must have' where unsafe practices are often overlooked especially if a job needs urgent completion. Internal audits can be hampered by the inability to see the wood from the trees and a laissez faire attitude where the excuse that 'something has always been done this way' puts the directors of the organisation in legal jeopardy.
A Health & Safety Audit by an outside professional can highlight areas of (often understandable) neglect.
All organisations have a statutory duty to display a H&S policy but few have a detailed plan to support this policy. Wilbar Associates have an extensive library of Health & Safety plans that can be tailored to suit client's actual requirements. These cover such diverse subjects as COSHH Risk Assessments to Manual Handling to PPE to Noise to Employee Training Records.
65% of small businesses that suffer a major fire never open their doors again. Sensible fire risk assessments whose recommendations are implemented will reduce the risk of fire and mitigate the loss of life or property. Wilbar Associates can carry out Fire Risk Safety Assessments on properties and also carry out fire training for members of staff either on the client's premises or at our training facility near Horsham.