Health and Safety Tenders – Everything you Need to Know

Published11th June 2020 AuthorJohn Hudson

A Guide to Health and Safety Tenders

The UK construction sector 

The construction industry in the UK is enormous. According to the Office for National Statistics, there are over 325,000 registered construction businesses. This covers categories including not only construction but also civil engineering and specialist works. With that, comes a wide range of health and safety requirements which must be met. 

The health and safety industry

Effective health and safety is absolutely crucial for any construction business to operate. Fortunately, there is a wide range of rules, legislation and guidance available from, for example:

  • The UK Government
  • CDM Regulations 2015
  • CHAS and SSIP
  • Constructionline
  • The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
  • The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act
  • Building Regulations
  • Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR)
  • The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

A heavily regulated industry, opportunities are available within both the public and private construction sector. These may include individual contract opportunities, Dynamic Purchasing Systems and Framework Agreements. 

What kind of Health and safety tenders are available?

There are health and safety tenders available in the following categories:

  • Training
  • Consultancy
  • Management

Sub-sectors that you might find health and safety tenders include:

How can professional health and safety services benefit buyers in the construction industry?

Buyers seek professional consultancy, training and management services for many reasons:

  • To optimise the health and safety of their staff and customers
  • Compliance with current legislation
  • To provide evidence of health and safety protocols
  • They are seeking to expand their business and must establish better management systems and structures

Therefore, procurement through health and safety tenders may provide them with the following benefits:

  • Increasing staff morale and leadership within the workplace
  • Developing an organisation’s culture centred around health and safety
  • Improved staff confidence and retention in the organisation
  • Lower insurance costs
  • Overall reduction of health and safety risks and incidents on a daily basis 

What experience should you have? 

Within the construction sector, buyers will seek a supplier who can provide a comprehensive range of services. This includes proven experience and ability in the following areas:

Review and development of health and safety policies

In consultancy and management roles, you may be expected to know which health and safety requirements are essential. Examples include:

  • Training records
  • Accident reporting and investigations
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  • First Aid
  • Audits
  • Monitoring and surveillance
  • Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
  • Fire Safety
  • CDM regulations
  • Working at height

As a supplier, you must demonstrate that you thoroughly understand workplace health and safety in context. This includes how these processes are implemented, improved and communicated in the workplace.

Health and safety training

In health and safety training roles, you must demonstrate a similar knowledge. Additionally, having experience delivering training in a range of contexts is beneficial.

For example, this could include training delivered through seminars, digital learning platforms, and on-site groups. You must be capable of training individuals at all levels, from operatives to directors.

Developing case studies is an excellent way to demonstrate health and safety training in context. A useful and effective tool is the STAR method. STAR means Situation, Task, Action and Result. Writing your health and safety training experience under these headings will ensure you demonstrate your skills with clarity. Developing a good bank of persuasive, clear case studies will give your organisation a competitive edge.

ISO 45001 Health and Safety Management System

Some buyers may seek external support for their own organisation to gain accreditation. This is suitable for larger organisations who already implement many formal processes and procedures. It may also benefit smaller organisations.

For example, those who may struggle to fully understand the requirements of a health and safety management system. This is where high-quality health and safety consultation services can shine.

ISO 45001 has replaced OHSAS 18001 as an international standard. The focus of this management system is to create working conditions which are safe. The ISO 45001 system was designed for integration with other ISO systems. For example, ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. Therefore, organisations who are already accredited with these ISOs may find the accreditation process for ISO 45001 easier.

Typically, organisations seeking support with their health and safety tenders may require consultation and training with:

  • Carrying out an internal audit
  • Understanding and solidifying what the organisation seeks to achieve, through a safety management system
  • Developing their internal policies and procedures for compliance
  • Carrying out a gap analysis to assess any organisational issues and provide solutions

Health and safety tenders and COVID-19 

It goes without saying – responding to COVID-19 concerns is at the forefront of each organisation’s priorities. This may continue for the foreseeable future. Therefore, the scope for health and safety tenders is rapidly expanding.

The ISO organisation is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by the development of a new ISO: 45003. This is scheduled for publication in 2021 next year. ISO 45003 will build upon ISO 45001, with a focus on psychological health and safety.

Knowledge of new legislation – COVID-19 

Essential to health and safety tenders going forward will be the management of COVID-19 risk. This includes:

  • Construction working and outdoor work
  • Working in people’s homes
  • Working in warehouses and factories
  • Working with vehicles

On 11th May the Government published COVID-19 guidance for the workplace. This provides protocols and steps for businesses to operate safely during the pandemic.

Therefore, you must be able to evidence, for example:

  • How you keep up-to-date with legislation and guidance
  • Knowledge of relevant legislation, acts and guidance to the workplace you will be providing services
  • Your strategies and recommendations for the buyer which will maximise not only health and safety, but also value

Crucial to COVID-19 health and safety legislation is different guidance for different regions. Therefore, it is important to differentiate between guidance for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR)

Many health and safety consultants are registered with the Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR). However, this is not a requirement for every health and safety tender. It does provide additional value to your organisation when tendering and a competitive edge.

The OSHCR is recommended by HSE (Health and Safety Executive). It is worth bearing this in mind – when developing specifications, buyers will refer to best practice.

Consultants registered with the OSHCR can provide additional assurances to their clients. Membership demonstrates that you are fully committed to professional standards. It requires chartered status or membership with a professional body. This can include qualifications at degree level. You must also have in place appropriate insurance, relevant to the consultancy services you provide. 

CHAS

Some organisations may seek support with CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme) accreditation through health and safety tenders. CHAS accreditation is essential for many construction companies to tender for work. It demonstrates to their own clients that they are fully compliant in a range of modules.

For example:

  • Health and Safety
  • Environment
  • Equality and Diversity
  • Finances and business standing

A key element of accreditation with CHAS is risk management. Suppliers must confirm, demonstrate and provide evidence of a wide range of policies and protocols to qualify. Providing suppliers support with CHAS accreditation can prove beneficial and lucrative for both consultant and supplier. This is because the foundations for good practice are established, long term.

CDM Regulations 2015 

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 are crucial for construction health and safety. Many construction professionals will already be fully familiar with the guidance and its application.

However, some construction organisations may seek external professional guidance during a construction project.

CDM regulations are more than guidelines. They are expected health and safety duties which construction companies must adhere to during all project stages. The purpose of these regulations is to ensure that each project is:

  • completed in a way which ensures the safety of everyone on site
  • ensures that the building, site or land is safe to use
  • providing value for money and longevity following product sign-off

There is a lot to consider when approaching health and safety tenders. Therefore, it is essential to demonstrate appropriate evidence, experience and relevant knowledge. To improve your prospects when tendering for consultancy, management or training bids, reflect on the following key points:

  • Your own bank of evidence is just as essential as those you develop for your clients.

These roles require many of the qualities of tender writing. This includes organising your evidence to ensure it is fully accounted for and relevant to your aims. Insurance, finances, certifications, memberships, CVs and policies are essential.

  • Have a clear company structure in place.

This applies whether you are providing consultancy services as an individual or an organisation. Clarify roles and responsibilities of each person who will provide services. Establish who is accountable for communications and actions.

  • Consider how you can add value to the buyer’s organisation, additional to specification requirements.

For example, do you have particular links to additional health and safety resources that competitors may lack? What processes do you have which will reduce the time spent on a task, whilst increasing quality?

Get in Touch with Construction Tenders:

Sign up to Construction Tenders today and receive a daily construction leads bulletin straight to your inbox, containing all relevant small construction tenders uploaded that day. Our Opportunity Trackers manually scour and upload construction tenders from thousands of websites daily. You’re able to filter the results by keyword, location, budget and more – saving you even more time.

Below are some health and safety tenders sourced on our portal:

Health and Safety Compliance Framework

Central & Cecil Housing Trust- London- Budget: Undisclosed

07-12-2020

Health and Safety Consultancy

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames- South East- Budget: £12,000

15-01-2021

Health and Safety Management System

Citizen- West Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

22-01-2021

Health and Safety Services

Birmingham City Council- West Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

15-01-2021

Health and Safety Support for the Council’s Revitalisation of Health and Safety Programme and Implementation of a Compliance Assurance System

Cheshire West and Chester- North West- Budget: Undisclosed

23-02-2021

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and has over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next structural engineering tender.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Get in touch to find out more information.

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

Check out some of our other blogs:

 

Similar Insights

How to Tender for Scaffolding Work

Read Article

5 Reasons Why You Aren’t Winning Tenders for Roofing Work

Read Article
See All

Request a Callback