Checking the checkers: Q&A with Ben Coak, Technical Standards Manager

Ensuring contractor compliance is more than just ticking a box, it’s about protecting businesses, workers, and supply chains from potential risks. At Alcumus SafeContractor, we go beyond basic compliance checks to provide continuous risk management and high safety standards. In this Q&A, we speak with Ben Coak, Technical Standards Manager, to discuss how SafeContractor ensures robust compliance, supply chain transparency, and ongoing contractor support.

How is SafeContractor more than a ‘tick box’ exercise?

SafeContractor membership is just the start. The real value comes when a company completes the contractor assessment process and gains full approval. Our assessment framework evaluates a contractor’s organisational capability based on factors such as:

• Geographical coverage
• Number of employees
• Risks associated with the work undertaken

Our dynamic risk-based question set is tailored to each contractor’s business profile, ensuring proportionate evidence requests. This targeted approach increases completion rates and ensures relevant compliance checks. Additionally, our in-house auditors, all with extensive health and safety qualifications, review evidence to confirm legislative compliance and industry best practices.

How does SafeContractor ensure supply chain compliance?

SafeContractor’s standards are continually updated based on industry best practices and stakeholder feedback. Our in-house auditors rigorously assess contractor evidence against these evolving standards, ensuring that compliance remains robust and reflective of current regulations.

How do we ensure real-time visibility into our supply chain compliance?

From the moment a contractor is onboarded and linked to a client’s list, their status is visible in the SafeContractor Client Portal. This portal provides real-time updates on assessment progress, approval status, and completion of the Part 2: Sustainability questionnaire. Additional ‘At Risk’ indicators alert clients if key compliance elements, such as insurance coverage, are expiring.

Are SafeContractor compliance audits conducted by in-house?

Yes. SafeContractor’s in-house auditors possess a wealth of industry experience and must meet stringent competency requirements, including:

• NEBOSH, NCRQ, NVQ, or equivalent health and safety qualifications
• A minimum of two years’ general health and safety experience
• Completion of an SSIP Assessor Training Course within three months of appointment
• Ongoing CPD and internal training

Our audit team has diverse backgrounds in industries such as manufacturing, mining, and construction, ensuring sector-specific knowledge is applied during assessments.

How does SafeContractor enable contractors to maintain and improve compliance over time?

While our auditors do not provide consultancy services, they play a key role in helping contractors meet compliance standards. When documentation does not meet requirements, auditors provide clear explanations, guiding contractors to improve their health and safety management systems. SafeContractor also continually updates its standards based on industry best practices to ensure relevance and effectiveness.

What measures prevent mismatched certification dates when using multiple SSIP providers?

As a registered SSIP Forum member, SafeContractor follows the ‘Deem to Satisfy’ scheme, reducing bureaucracy for contractors who hold valid SSIP approvals from other members. However, contractors must still provide evidence for unique SafeContractor requirements, including insurance and category-related activities.

To prevent mismatched certification dates, SafeContractor follows strict SSIP Rules and Bylaws. Certificates clearly state the approval date and expiry of the original SSIP member’s certification. If an SSIP approval expires without renewal, the contractor is flagged as ‘At Risk – SSIP Expired’ in the Client Portal.

How does SafeContractor ensure contractor ESG standards?

Our Part two Sustainability questionnaire provides clients with valuable ESG insights, covering key areas such as:

• Financial stability
• Business ethics (Modern Slavery, Anti-Bribery, GDPR)
• Environmental and quality management
• Equality, diversity, and inclusion

We verify 27 key data points to ensure the validity and relevance of contractor policies and processes.

Is there a robust audit trail for stakeholders?

Yes. The SafeContractor Client Portal provides full visibility into a contractor’s approval status, scope, and supplied evidence (subject to data protection regulations). Clients can access critical documents, such as health and safety policies or risk assessments, and review contractor capabilities across risk profiles, industry roles, and high-risk activities.

How does SafeContractor manage the resource-intensive task of large-scale compliance?

Our in-house audit team follows a structured capacity management system, ensuring efficient onboarding of large contractor networks. When integrating a client’s contractor list, we phase delivery to align with assessment and operational needs, ensuring smooth and timely compliance verification.

How do we ensure impartiality and standardised compliance checks?

SafeContractor operates under a UKAS-accredited ISO 17020 management system, which includes:

• Strict confidentiality and impartiality measures
• A risk treatment plan addressing potential conflicts of interest
• Mandatory conflict-of-interest reporting and risk assessments
• Monthly quality checks on auditor decision-making
• Regular governance reviews to identify trends and drive continuous improvement

These measures ensure that all assessments remain objective, standardised, and free from bias.

What happens if a contractor has an incident on-site following approval?

Our Technical Governance team conducts continuous monitoring beyond the annual assessment process. This includes:

• Tracking HSE bulletins and industry reports for enforcement actions
• Investigating incidents or concerns raised by clients and the public
• Obtaining corrective action details from contractors to verify improvements

This proactive approach ensures that clients have real-time insights into contractor compliance rather than relying solely on annual reassessments.

At SafeContractor, we take compliance seriously, providing clients with the confidence that their contractors meet rigorous health and safety, sustainability, and industry standards. Our approach goes beyond basic membership, ensuring a robust compliance framework that supports supply chain integrity and continuous improvement.