This still depends on your clients and buyers. It is therefore vital that any choice you make about your CAS assessor takes into account what your client or buyers currently insist on. Those buyers signed up to the CAS (see the Build UK website) should now accept CAS assessment from any assessment provider, though it is worth checking this before your assessment. However, others may still insist on a particular assessment provider. If you encounter the latter at your request we will provide these client/buyers with information about the possibility and benefits of recognizing the CAS from any assessment body.

Yes, but please note that those buyers and clients who are not yet signed up to the CAS may still have assessor preferences.

If they are signed up to the CAS, yes. They will require you to achieve the CAS, but it should not matter which Recognised Assessor gives you your certificate. Other buyers who are not signed dup to the CAS may still have particular assessor preferences, though the industry will be looking to persuade as many as possible to sign up.

Not right away – the CAS will take time to move more widely through the industry. However, the CAS offers many cost and efficiency benefits to buyers and suppliers, so it should be increasingly attractive to buyers of all kinds. ECA will also work with the industry to encourage buyers to accept supplier CAS certification from any Recognised Assessor. 

Yes, and an ECA ‘CAS manual’ provides practical information to small and medium sized ECA Members on how to engage with the various CAS questions.

The three Recognised Assessment bodies will set their own charges. CAS assessment may cost more (or possibly not, depending on your assessor) but suppliers should expect to save time as PQQs increasingly align with the Common Assessment Standard, and save money as they find they can discard some of their multiple PQQ certifications.  

Applications are already in the pipeline, though all new assessors must meet the Build UK assessor criteria. 

Yes, the questions in the SSIP (health and safety) assessment are also asked in the CAS, so you will already have met this key part of the CAS assessment. This will save you time and may also save you money.    

For more information on the Common Assessment Standard please also see the Build UK website >