Constructionline – which is the UK’s largest register of pre-qualified contractors and consultants – has begun a major upgrade to its system to ensure it follows the principles of the new BSI Publicly Available Specification (PAS 91) for Construction pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ).
Constructionline is used by more than 8,000 different procurement professionals from across the public and private sectors to create tender lists, manage their supply chain, and to source new suppliers.
It says that the move will mean contractors will be able to complete its assessment more easily while its existing buyers can demonstrate they are meeting this new standard.
Constructionline also provides clients with real time monitoring of a contractor’s financial health and insurance as well as a series of other checks.
PAS 91 was launched by business minister Mark Prisk last year and has been developed by the British Standards Institution in partnership with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Constructionline as well as a number of other industry bodies.
The new pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) has now been mandated for use by all central Government departments with agents, agencies and non-departmental bodies set to follow from 1 March.
Philip Prince, a director from Constructionline, said: “We have been involved in the development of PAS 91 since its inception, working in the various steering groups set-up by BSI, and now we’re ready to begin integrating it into our system.
“This is a great initiate and could follow in the foot steps of the Safety Schemes In Procurement (SSIP) Forum which Constructionline was also involved in to simply the process of health and safety certification and to reduce duplication and effort for suppliers.
“Initiatives like these broaden the pool of qualified suppliers that our clients can access and help to ease the administrative burden that the procurement process can sometimes place on contractors.”
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