The buyer and SSIP: benefits for all

1. The buyer and SSIP: benefits for all Lesley Smith Business Support Manager (Corporate Services-Procurement & Supplies) at Cardiff Council

2. Agenda • Background • The challenges for buyers • Accreditation process to date • The journey towards SSIP • Benefits for buyers • Benefits for suppliers • The way forward • Useful links

3. Biography • Over 20 years public sector experience in Local Government Finance • Diverse range of areas • Education, Internal Audit, Project Management, Procurement • Currently working as a Business Support Manager in Procurement • main areas of responsibility are spend analysis, supplier assessment and project support

4. Cardiff Council • Unitary authority since 1996 • Largest employer in Wales – 18,000 • Wide and diverse range of services including: • Social Care, Highway Maintenance, Waste Management, Housing, Culture, Leisure and Parks, Regulatory Services etc • All services provided rely on externally procured goods, services and works • External spend for 2009/10 in excess of £328 million • Active supplier base of 10,000+ suppliers • Process over 350,000 invoices pa

5. The challenges for buyers • Legislation – relating to both health & safety and procurement (e.g. H&S at work Act, EU Procurement Rules) • Local policies and procedures - Councils’ H&S policy on contractors / Contract Standing Order & Procurement Rules • Different processes for above & below tender threshold • Pre-qualification is part of the tender process • Robust process required for below threshold procurements • Process re-engineering (the way forward) • Defining processes to ensure best use of resource for both the buyer and the contractor • Avoiding duplication • Use of technology to assist the process

6. Accreditation Process to date

7. The Journey towards SSIP

8. The Journey towards SSIP Feedback so far • Positive feedback – contractors can see the benefits • Transition smoother than expected (many contractors have already been assessed by an SSIP member) Issues Raised by contractors • Diverse range of services provided by our contractors • does this just apply to construction? • are all areas covered by the current forum members? • ConstructionLine • Confusion as Health and Safety not assessed

9. Benefits for buyers • Reduces risk for buyers • As buyers can be assured that contractors have met the Core Criteria standard set (and supported by the HSE) for the initial or stage one health and safety assessment • Up to date information, as status can be checked at point of use • Saves time with pre-qualification • A tick in the box • Reduces duplication for both buyers and contractors • As resource becomes more scarce, it’s the common sense approach • Buyers can focus resource on the project/job specific assessments

10. Benefits for suppliers • Mutual recognition • Member of one, member of all • Cost saving • Contractors do not have to join multiple schemes • Reduces duplication • Timesaving • Better use of resource • Wider adoption of the SSIP Forum will lead to increased opportunities for SME’s • Being actively promoted by Cardiff Council through the Welsh Purchasing Consortium (WPC)

11. Benefits for all We want to help you to win business Help us to help you!

12. The way forward • Using technology to help • Alito links to Constructionline and CHAS • Eagerly awaiting use of the SSIP portal • rollout to all staff within the Council to check the health and safety status of a contractor at point of use (please sign up if you haven’t done so already!) • The future • Using Sell2Wales (www.sell2wales.co.uk) as supplier portal and pre-qualification database • use of SQuID to assist with duplication (current link to Constructionline and proposed link to SSIP portal)

13. Useful Links Cardiff Council website: www.cardiff.gov.uk click on Business and Procurement or direct at www.cardiff.gov.uk/procurement Alito (corporate supplier directory): http://appswales.alito.co.uk Sell2Wales: www.sell2wales.co.uk

14. SSIP: Supply chain benefits Professor Rudi Klein Chief Executive at the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ (SEC) Group

15. SSIP:The Key Supply Chain Benefits • Removal of massive cost of duplication • Helps create level playing field • Promotes and widens basic competence • 3rd party assessment by SSIP Scheme offers commercial advantage. BUT • Much work needs to be done to realise the full benefits of SSIP.

16. “Many companies fail to ask for or recognise 3rd party H&S accredited schemes and as a result too much time is spent completing these forms.” (Electrical contractor in Scotland)

17. 2010 Metra Martech Report for SEC Group Annual Cost to firms in SEC Group Associations Almost £40m! (Report based on survey which attracted 606 responses)

18. Cost Breakdown • Cost of subscriptions £10.4m • Cost of paperwork* £28.1m * Firms spend on average 9 person days p.a. on form filling: 63,000 days p.a.!

19. Processing each response to a questionnaire costs clients £300. Source: Constructionline

20. Firms Can Challenge Waste I’ve been invited to pre-qualify under the GET RICH QUICK scheme. I would be grateful if you would kindly confirm: • Is it a SSIP Scheme (SSIP is approved by Government/HSE)? • Is the Scheme CDM ACOP compliant? • Is the Scheme annually audited by HSE?

21. Clients Can Challenge Waste (Inc. lead contractors & sub contractors) • Do a cost-benefit analysis of processing responses to questionnaires (whether done in-house or outsourced)? • NIEP/Audit Commission (until disbanded at end of 2012) to encourage local authorities to use SSIP schemes; auditors should challenge non-use of SSIP.

22. Experience Of Working With CDM 2007 SEC Group Report to HSE (Oct 2010) 40% of firms had not been asked to demonstrate compliance with the ACOPcore criteria either on any project or on less than 10% of projects.

23. Public Sector Should Set An Example • All constructions firms to demonstrate they meet CDM core criteria • Clients to insist that tier 1 contractors (and tier 2s etc) require such demonstration • Clients/tier 1s etc to accept that assessment by SSIP member is acceptable evidence of meeting the core criteria • HSE inspectorate to require evidence of core criteria compliance.

24. “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” (John Wooden, US Basketball Player 1910-2010)

25. A final word Simon Mantle Chair, Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) Forum

26. Panel Questions Chair, Paul Reeve Head of Health and Safety and Environment at the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA)