It’s taken nearly 20 years but the Considerate Contractors Scheme, an independent non-profit organisation set up in 1997 to boost the image of the construction industry, has just registered its 90,000th contractor. That’s quite an achievement, and it highlights the importance attached to the organisation’s aims by those in the sector.
What Is the CCS?
Membership is voluntary, and the aim is to abide by a code of best practice agreed by the suppliers, contractors and building companies who make up the membership. They agree to respect the communities they are working in, to protect the environment, to secure everyone’s safety, so it is of vital importance that ground work is completed correctly and no traces of asbestos are left over from poorly controlled demolition practises. For a reliable Soil Remediation Service one option is https://soilfix.co.uk/services/soil-groundwater-remediation. This can help to protect the workforce and those using the area afterwards.
Participating members are monitored, and members of the public can contact the CCS if they have any comments to make. Sites display posters and billboards advertising that the companies involved on-site are members of the CCS.
Monitoring is undertaken by senior professionals in the construction industry, such as architects, engineers, contractors and surveyors. They visit sites and mark conduct against the best-practice guidelines before writing a report that should contain positive, helpful and constructive criticism to improve standards as well as the image of the sector. Monitors also offer support and guidance to members, and the organisation awards those who achieve excellence in the sector.
A Best Practice Hub that contains a range of documents to aid members in improving and maintaining standards is available online. And the scheme links with other bodies in the industry to provide a collaborative, cooperative approach to improving the way in which the construction industry operates.
Bespoke tensile fabric structures along with thousands of other companies in the industry, are in favour of the scheme, which instill confidence in an often maligned sector.
Members of the CCS
Any size of company can register to join the CCS, which draws its membership from small suppliers up to national giants in the industry like Sainsbury’s and Barratts, who were the 90,000th registered member.
To date the organisation admits to having focused on what the industry does rather than on how to make improvements, but that is likely to feature high on the list of priorities for the next five-year plan, along with encouraging more SMEs to register. The strategic plan came into effect in 2018.