Understanding how the Building Safety Act fits into PQQ stages 1 & 2

What is PQQ in construction?

The construction industry has used pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) for at least 15 years in order to streamline the selection of subcontractors*. With thousands of new build projects taking place all over the UK, involving tens of thousands of subcontractors, main contractors need ways to automate their construction procurement processes, secure the right data and thereby focus on and contract those subcontractors who meet their specific needs.

Requirements could vary heavily from project to project depending on the type of build, how big the project is, whether a public sector body is involved or not and the type of users who will eventually enter the building.

Questions like does the subcontractor have the basic health and safety training requirements, such as SSIP certification, do they have the right level of insurance, what is their financial situation and do they build using sustainable methods will be included in the PQQ. The result is an effective process by which a main contractor can use the question set early on to filter out subcontractors who do not fit their requirements, then end up at a short list that they can invite to tender (ITT).

PQQ Construction Stage 1

The first PQQ stage is usually done at the early stage of procurement once expressions of interest (EOIs) have been requested from interested subcontractors. Build UK refer to this stage as ‘Business Assurance’. Effectively subcontractors put their hand in the air to say that they are interested to find out more about the construction project and potentially tendering further down the line. The main contractor, who would likely have been awarded a build contract by that stage, would then ask basic questions via the PQQ such as is insurance in place, does the subcontractor have a SSIP certification (Safety Schemes in Procurement) to demonstrate their basic health and safety training, what is their environmental management policy.

The Common Assessment Standard suits PQQ Stage 1. It covers most if not all of the required areas to filter out unsuitable subcontractors for either private or public builds, and since the introduction of questions around the Building Safety Act in summer 2024 it also helps to identify those subcontractors who are focused on driving a greater level of safety into their build processes and behaviours.

PQQ Construction Stage 2 

Once a main contractor has used the PQQ in stage 1 to shorten their list of potential subcontractors down to a manageable number, they may then choose to implement a second PQQ. This phase focuses on the project to be undertaken and considers whether the subcontractors to be used are fit to work on this particular type of construction project.

It is at this stage that a deeper dive into the behaviours, competence, knowledge and skills of prospective subcontractors becomes critical. The Building Safety Act applies to all projects where a ‘building’ is involved (excluding construction of roads, sewers, railways etc), both higher risk (HRB) and standard construction. It is vitally important to note that The Building Safety Act puts the onus on principal responsible persons (duty holders) to undertake due diligence to ensure that they are employing the right subcontractors. That information then has to be stored into their ‘Golden Thread’ as history of the project.

Constructionline’s additional Building Safety Act questions were put together with industry experts to drill into subcontractor’s project-focused credentials, so suit PQQ stage 2. Questions include whether a subcontractor has experience in working in general fire precaution or assessment on this particular type of building.

Summary:

• The law requires you to undertake due diligence to ensure that you and your supply chain are competent to work on projects where the Building Safety Act applies, whether higher risk building (HRB) or not.  
• The Common Assessment Standard is the right certification to use where you are undertaking PQQ stage 1.  
• The additional Constructionline BSA questions focus and dive deeper on the specific project and assess a suppliers credentials and suitability to work on that particular build. These are available via the Constructionline Gold certification.  

*PQQs have been in use for approx 15 years.