SMAS, Once For All Health & Safety and Achilles: The Other SSIP Schemes
Corrected on 2026-09-02: this guide previously covered "Acclaim Accreditation" as a current scheme and said it was operated by BRE. The Acclaim brand has been retired. Constructionline's page for the scheme is now headed "Once For All Health & Safety SSIP Certification (Formerly Acclaim)", and the old /products-services/acclaim-accreditation/ address redirects to it. The SSIP members register lists "Once For All Limited" as a Registered Member and carries no Acclaim entry. The BRE attribution could not be verified against any published source and has been removed rather than rewritten. The URL of this page is unchanged so that existing links keep working.
Most guides to construction accreditation cover CHAS, Constructionline, and SafeContractor — then stop. Those three schemes dominate the conversation because they dominate the market. But SSIP has over 20 member schemes, and three of the alternatives are worth knowing about. Depending on your sector, geography, and client base, one of them may be a better fit than the big three — or a cheaper route to the same outcome.
This guide covers SMAS Worksafe, Once For All Health & Safety (the scheme formerly called Acclaim), and Achilles BuildingConfidence: what each assesses, who recognises them, what they cost, and when they make sense for a construction SME. One of the three now sits inside Constructionline, which is itself the single most useful thing to know about it — it is the scheme you may already be paying for. It also briefly covers two other schemes — PQS and CQMS — that fly even further under the radar.
If you are still getting to grips with what SSIP actually is and how mutual recognition works, start with our guide: What Is SSIP and Which Scheme Should You Choose?.
Why Look Beyond the Big Three?
Three reasons.
Cost. CHAS, Constructionline, and SafeContractor (see our SafeContractor accreditation guide) are priced for mass-market uptake, but they are not the cheapest SSIP options. Some alternative schemes offer SSIP core criteria assessment from under £150.
Speed. If you need SSIP accreditation quickly — say, to meet a tender deadline — some smaller schemes have faster turnaround times because they process fewer applications.
Sector fit. Some clients name a specific scheme in their supply chain requirements, so check what yours ask for before you buy. Your own clients' requirements are the only reliable guide.
The underlying point: all SSIP Registered Members assess against the same core criteria. SSIP mutual recognition means that a certificate from SMAS or Once For All Health & Safety satisfies the same baseline as one from CHAS or SafeContractor. That includes Achilles: SSIP's register states that "Achilles Information Ltd joined Safety Schemes in Procurement with their Building Confidence scheme in March 2018 as a Registered Member". The SSIP certificate comes from BuildingConfidence, though — Achilles runs other networks, such as UVDB for utilities, and a listing on one of those is not an SSIP certificate. The differences lie in scope, price, speed, and where each scheme is best recognised.
For a full comparison of the big three, see CHAS vs Constructionline vs SafeContractor.
SMAS Worksafe
SMAS stands for Safety Management Advisory Services. The company (Companies House number 05900081) was incorporated on 8 August 2006 and has its registered office in Wilmslow, Cheshire. SSIP lists it as a Registered Member, having joined in July 2009 with its SMAS Worksafe scheme.
What It Assesses
SMAS Worksafe is the core SSIP-level assessment. It covers the standard health and safety criteria: policy, risk assessments, method statements, training and competence, insurance, accident reporting, and subcontractor management. The assessment is desktop-based — you upload your documentation and an assessor reviews it.
SMAS publishes three tiers, and it is worth getting the mapping right because the names are easy to confuse. SMAS Worksafe Plus — which SMAS labels "formerly PQQ" — extends the assessment into environmental and quality management on top of the SSIP core; it is the closest analogue to CHAS Advanced, not to CHAS Elite. The tier that meets the Common Assessment Standard is SMAS Worksafe Pro, which SMAS describes as "your quick, cost-effective route to achieving the Common Assessment Standard". Worksafe Pro is the SMAS equivalent of CHAS Elite or Constructionline Gold.
Pricing
SMAS publishes starting prices for all three tiers: Worksafe from £345, Worksafe Plus from £565, and Worksafe Pro from £725. These are floors — SMAS says "the prices will vary depending on the size of your business and how many employees you have", so your quote may be higher. Check the current fee schedule directly with SMAS before applying.
Preparation and Turnaround
SMAS does not publish a pass rate. What it does say is that its team provides guidance, "making sure you've got all your forms and documents in order to give you the best possible chance of passing first time".
On speed, SMAS's SSIP page says it aims "to get all applicants certified in as little as 1-10 days", and that once you have passed "we'll send your Worksafe Certificate to you within the next 3-5 days". Its homepage goes further, advertising certification "in as little as 1 day". If a tender deadline is driving the purchase, ask SMAS which route and price that fastest timescale applies to.
Where It Is Strongest
Wherever a client asks for SSIP generically. SMAS Worksafe is an SSIP Registered Member, so its certificate carries two-way mutual recognition with the other Registered Member schemes. SMAS does not publish a regional or sector breakdown of the clients that name it, so if a client names a specific scheme, check whether they accept SMAS before you buy.
When It Makes Sense
SMAS Worksafe is a strong option if you need SSIP accreditation at a lower price point than CHAS Standard, your clients accept any SSIP scheme, or you want a focused desktop assessment on health and safety core criteria.
Once For All Health & Safety (formerly Acclaim)
Once For All Health & Safety is the SSIP scheme that used to trade as Acclaim Accreditation. Constructionline's page for it is headed "Once For All Health & Safety SSIP Certification (Formerly Acclaim)", and the old Acclaim address on the Constructionline site now redirects there. It sits inside the Constructionline / Once For All group rather than standing alone. If a client's paperwork still names Acclaim, this is the scheme they mean.
What It Assesses
The scheme "specialises in the award of SSIP certification" and describes itself as "the go-to provider for over 13,500 organisations". Its own account of the assessment: "we carry out an independent online assessment of your company's health and safety documentation and work activities, giving your customers assurance of the systems you have in place." It states that assessments are handled by a health and safety team "qualified to a minimum of NEBOSH standard". Like every SSIP Registered Member, the assessment is against the SSIP core criteria for health and safety.
Pricing
Not published as a flat fee. The scheme says only that "pricing is based on your annual turnover, making health and safety certification affordable whatever your size." Any specific annual figure quoted for this scheme in third-party writing is an estimate rather than a published price — ask for your own quote.
Assessment Process
Online and document-based. The scheme advertises a "brand new question set and downloadable evidence checklist" to prepare against, and states that applications are "processed in two business days".
Where It Fits
The most useful thing to know about it is that you may already be buying it. Constructionline states that "Constructionline memberships include an SSIP from Once For All Health & Safety as standard" — its free Associate tier is the exception — so if you hold, or are about to buy, a paid Constructionline membership, check before you pay for this SSIP separately. The scheme is also "open to all industries" and "available to any business that provides services to the public and private business sectors", so it is not construction-only.
When It Makes Sense
It makes sense when a client's documents still name Acclaim and you need to answer that requirement, or when you want an SSIP certificate and are already committed to a Constructionline membership that includes one. It rarely makes sense to buy alongside a paid Constructionline membership — that is the duplicate purchase to avoid.
Achilles BuildingConfidence
Achilles operates supply chain management platforms across multiple sectors globally. BuildingConfidence is the network whose page Achilles titles "Construction Network", for suppliers bidding for projects across "construction, rail, energy and more", and it describes it as "the UK's highest level of construction accreditation". It is separate from Achilles' utilities network, UVDB — if your clients are water, gas or electricity utilities, UVDB is the Achilles network to ask about instead.
What It Assesses
What BuildingConfidence covers depends on the tier. Achilles publishes three supplier tiers. Silver+ offers "a single pre-qualification questionnaire and SSIP Deemed to Satisfy", and Achilles describes it as "Suitable where Common Assessment Standard is not required". The two Gold CAS tiers add Common Assessment Standard accreditation: Gold CAS Desktop with a desktop audit, and Gold CAS Site with a full on-site audit. Achilles is one of Build UK's Recognised Assessment Bodies, so it is the Gold tiers — not Silver+ — that answer a requirement for CAS, which goes beyond the SSIP core into areas such as environmental management, quality management, financial standing, equality and diversity, modern slavery, and anti-bribery.
Pricing
Achilles publishes "from" prices for each tier (verified October 2026): Silver+ from £350, Gold CAS Desktop from £625, and Gold CAS Site from £2,810. Silver+ is a pre-qualification questionnaire plus what Achilles calls "SSIP Deemed to Satisfy" — which SSIP describes as using "an existing SSIP health and safety certification to meet the requirements of another SSIP member scheme" — so its £350 is not a like-for-like comparison with a full SSIP assessment such as CHAS Standard (£429) or SMAS Worksafe (£345). Gold CAS Site is the highest published price in this guide. These are floors; confirm your own price with Achilles before you budget.
Where It Is Strongest
Achilles pitches BuildingConfidence at "construction, rail, energy and more", and links a BuildingConfidence Buyers List from that page — check whether your own clients are on it, and confirm with them that they require Achilles. If your clients are utilities, the Achilles system to ask about is UVDB, a separate Achilles network that Achilles describes as designed "for regulated utilities in the UK".
When It Makes Sense
Achilles BuildingConfidence is relevant if your clients specifically require it, or if you need the Common Assessment Standard and want it from Achilles — in which case it is the Gold CAS Desktop or Gold CAS Site tier you need, not Silver+.
If your clients do not name Achilles, note that Silver+ is a non-CAS tier whose SSIP element Achilles describes as "SSIP Deemed to Satisfy" — it is not a cheaper substitute for a standalone SSIP assessment. Decide on whether your clients use the Achilles network, not on an assumption that Achilles is always the premium option.
Two More to Know About
PQS (Pre-Qualification Scheme)
PQS is one of the most affordable SSIP member schemes. It publishes its prices by headcount band, starting at £99 + VAT for a one-person business. The assessment covers SSIP core criteria — health and safety only, with no extended modules. PQS is desktop-based with a relatively fast turnaround.
PQS is a pragmatic choice if you need SSIP accreditation at the lowest possible cost and your clients do not specify a particular scheme. The trade-off is limited brand recognition — most clients will not have heard of PQS by name, though the SSIP certificate it produces is valid for mutual recognition purposes.
CQMS
CQMS offers SSIP assessment with a focus on the construction sector, and unusually it publishes a fixed fee schedule in full rather than quoting per company — its own page says that "unlike other SSIP Member Schemes i.e. CHAS, Constructionline, SafeContractor, Achilles, Avetta & SMAS – CQMS apply a fixed rate fee for assessments". The SSIP health and safety module is £175 + VAT for 0–4 personnel, £225 + VAT for 5 or more, or £75 + VAT via the Deemed to Satisfy route.
CQMS is also a Build UK Recognised Assessment Body in its own right, so the Common Assessment Standard is one of its products rather than an add-on module: £695 + VAT for Safety-Scheme Premium (desktop) or £1,445 + VAT plus travel expenses for Safety-Scheme Elite (including the site-based audit), each with a "£150.00 reduction if applying with an SSIP exemption via the DTS route". Achilles' Gold CAS Desktop tier is published "From £625" with VAT not stated (above), so which of the two is cheaper depends on whether you already hold SSIP and on VAT. CQMS's fee page also lists client-specific modules (for example for Vistry Group), so check whether your own clients accept it.
Choosing Between Schemes: A Decision Framework
With all these options, how do you decide?
Step 1: Check what your clients actually require. Review tender documents and supply chain portals for your current and target clients. If a specific scheme is named, that settles the question. If the requirement says "SSIP accreditation" without naming a scheme, you have flexibility.
Step 2: Consider network. If your clients use the Achilles BuildingConfidence network (or, for utilities, UVDB), that points towards Achilles. If they register suppliers on Constructionline, remember that a paid Constructionline membership brings a Once For All Health & Safety SSIP with it.
Step 3: Consider scope. If you only need core health and safety assessment, the smaller schemes (PQS, SMAS Worksafe, CQMS) offer that at a lower price. If you need environmental and quality assessments bundled on top of the SSIP core, SMAS Worksafe Plus or an Achilles BuildingConfidence Gold CAS tier may be appropriate. If the requirement is specifically the Common Assessment Standard, the assessment has to come from one of Build UK's seven Recognised Assessment Bodies:
| Recognised Assessment Body | Desktop | Site-based |
|---|---|---|
| Achilles | BuildingConfidence Gold CAS Desktop Assessment | BuildingConfidence Gold CAS Day Audit |
| Compliance Chain | Compliance Chain Gold Supplier Membership | Not applicable |
| Constructionline | Constructionline Gold | Constructionline Platinum |
| CQMS | Safety-Scheme Premium | Safety-Scheme Elite |
| SCCS | SCCS Build Assured CAS Lite | SCCS Build Assured CAS Elite |
| SMAS Worksafe | Worksafe Pro | Not applicable |
| Veriforce CHAS | CHAS Elite (CAS) | CHAS Elite (CAS) Assured |
SMAS Worksafe Plus is not on that list — it is the environmental-and-quality tier, not a CAS route. And note that CQMS, named a moment ago as one of the cheaper core-health-and-safety schemes, appears here too, at £695 + VAT: the budget scheme and the CAS route are not necessarily different schemes.
Step 4: Consider budget. Annual costs across SSIP schemes range from roughly £99 to well over £1,000 depending on the scheme, tier, and your company size. Our guide to construction accreditation costs breaks down the full picture. For a direct comparison of the cheapest SSIP routes, see our budget SSIP schemes guide.
Use the Construction Accreditation Readiness Scorer to benchmark your documentation before applying to any scheme.
SSIP Mutual Recognition: The Practical Limits
All of these schemes are SSIP members. All assess against the same core health and safety criteria. Mutual recognition means that, in theory, a certificate from any one is equivalent to a certificate from any other — at the core level.
In practice, there are limits. Mutual recognition covers the SSIP core criteria only. Extended modules (environmental, quality, financial) are scheme-specific. Some clients specify a named scheme and will not accept alternatives, regardless of SSIP status. And some register-based schemes like Constructionline require registration to appear in buyer searches — holding a standalone SSIP such as SMAS does not add you to the Constructionline database.
For a detailed explanation of how mutual recognition works and where it breaks down, see our SSIP guide.
Summary
CHAS, Constructionline, and SafeContractor are the defaults — but they are not the only options. SMAS Worksafe offers a cost-effective, focused route to SSIP accreditation. Once For All Health & Safety (formerly Acclaim) is the SSIP that comes bundled with a paid Constructionline membership, so check whether you already hold it before buying it separately. Achilles BuildingConfidence is Achilles' construction network, with a Silver+ tier from £350 (a pre-qualification questionnaire plus "SSIP Deemed to Satisfy") and Common Assessment Standard available only in its Gold CAS tiers. And for pure budget plays, PQS publishes an SSIP certificate from £99 + VAT.
The right choice depends on your clients, your sector, and your budget. Start with what your clients require. If they require "SSIP" generically, you have more options than you think.
For the broader context on how prequalification works across UK construction, see our Complete Guide to Construction Supplier Prequalification.
Sources and References
- Once For All Health & Safety SSIP (page title "Formerly Acclaim", assessment description, NEBOSH-qualified team, turnover-based pricing, two-business-day processing) — constructionline.co.uk
- SSIP register entry — Achilles Information Ltd ("joined Safety Schemes in Procurement with their Building Confidence scheme in March 2018 as a Registered Member") — ssip.org.uk
- SSIP Forum registered members (lists "Once For All Limited"; no Acclaim entry) — ssip.org.uk
- Constructionline subcontractor memberships ("Constructionline memberships include an SSIP from Once For All Health & Safety as standard") — constructionline.co.uk
- CQMS Safety Scheme fees (published fixed fee schedule: H&S module £175 / £225 / £75 DTS; Common Assessment Standard £695 + VAT Safety-Scheme Premium, £1,445 + VAT Safety-Scheme Elite; "a Recognised Assessment Body of BuildUK") — cqms-ltd.co.uk
- Build UK Common Assessment Standard — the Recognised Assessment Bodies table (seven bodies, desktop and site-based products named against each) — builduk.org
- PQS published pricing ("SSIP Certificate from £99 + VAT"; "£99 Plus VAT - 1 Personnel") — pqscheme.com
- Achilles BuildingConfidence ("Construction Network"; "construction, rail, energy and more"; Silver+ from £350, "Suitable where Common Assessment Standard is not required"; Gold CAS Desktop from £625; Gold CAS Site from £2810) — achilles.com
- SMAS SSIP accreditation ("certified in as little as 1-10 days"; certificate "within the next 3-5 days"; prices "vary depending on the size of your business and how many employees you have") — smasltd.com
- SMAS products and services — tier names ("Worksafe", "Worksafe Plus (formerly PQQ)", "Worksafe Pro") and published starting prices (from £345 / £565 / £725) — smasltd.com
- SSIP — Deem to Satisfy ("allows a supplier of services to use an existing SSIP health and safety certification to meet the requirements of another SSIP member scheme") — ssip.org.uk
- Achilles — UVDB ("a community-driven compliant prequalification system designed for regulated utilities in the UK") — achilles.com
Disclaimer: This guide is based on publicly available information and common industry practice. TenderReady is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of SMAS, Constructionline, Once For All, Achilles, PQS, CQMS, SSIP, or any other named accreditation body or scheme. Pricing, assessment criteria, and processes are subject to change — always verify current details with the relevant scheme directly.