Why prequalification?

One of businesses’ biggest risks is the use of contractors, who are often engaged to undertake non-core work, but which impinges directly on the core operation of the organisation. Managing contractors effectively and identifying safe contractors is crucial.

The Health and Safety at Work Act (2015) requires PCBU’s to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers. Workers includes contractors to a client organisation, their employees and their subcontractors. Client organisations want to ensure that their contractors have the required systems and capability to keep people safe.

Providing a robust contractor prequalification process will not in itself ensure good contractor health and safety outcomes. It is, however, recognised as a vital first component of a comprehensive contractor health and safety management system.

Why PREQUAL?

PREQUAL was developed in 2011 as a joint initiative between a group of New Zealand businesses and IMPAC to:

• Address industry concerns with approaches to contractor pre-qualification, and
• Deliver a comprehensive service that adds value to the overall contractor management process.

PREQUAL is an independently managed service that:

• Enables a contractor to demonstrate they have been independently assessed and can be trusted to work safely and to get the job done,
• Removes the hassle of a client organisation having to assess the health and safety systems and other critical measures used by a contractor,
• Provides a manager (or employer) of contractors with an indication of a contractors’ ability to perform work safely.
• Offers both PREQUAL and PREQUAL Tōtika prequalification assessment options
• Has a team of committed H&S assessors with significant prequalification experience, who can help contractors achieve their most successful assessment outcome.

PREQUAL Client Steering Group

PREQUAL combines the experience and expertise of some of New Zealand’s leading Health and Safety Practitioners to provide an effective and affordable cross industry contractor pre-qualification service. It has been bench-marked against both international best practice and local experience.

It was developed with reference to pre-qualification processes at BHP, Rio Tinto, Construction Line, the Contractor Health and Safety Scheme in the UK (CHAS), the Federal Safety Commissioner, Carter Holt Harvey, Fonterra and Air NZ.

To ensure PREQUAL continues to meet the needs of industry, a Steering Group made up of industry representatives (many of whom were involved in the original development) meet regularly to guide the ongoing direction of PREQUAL.

The Steering Group currently consists of senior health and safety and procurement leaders from Housing New Zealand (Kāinga Ora), Auckland Council, Refining New Zealand, Air New Zealand, Fonterra, and Meridian Energy.