Leading electrotechnical and engineering services body ECA has launched an online manual for small and medium sized Member firms (SMEs) to help them meet the requirements of the Common Assessment Standard (CAS).
The CAS has been developed by the construction industry to provide one, widely recognised, prequalification question set for use by a range of buyers such as main contractors and the public sector. The manual contains practical information to help ECA Members to complete a CAS questionnaire from any CAS Assessor Body.
Paul Reeve, ECA Director of CSR, comments: “With the introduction of data sharing in the CAS earlier this year, some of the largest construction contractors are now specifying the Common Assessment Standard, and more commercial and public sector buyers are expected to follow in the months ahead.
“The new CAS manual will help Members to respond to buyers’ requirements to meet the CAS, allowing Members to show their capabilities and gain access to more business opportunities”.
Paul Williams, ECA Health & Safety manager, says: “The CAS offers cost and efficiency benefits to both buyers and suppliers, so it should be increasingly attractive to buyers of all kinds. ECA will continue to work with industry to encourage buyers to accept supplier CAS certification from any Recognised CAS Assessor, rather than needing to obtain multiple prequalification certificates from different assessors.
“The new manual covers six key areas in the CAS question set and will help Members to understand and engage with this increasingly important prequalification Standard.”