What Evidence Is Needed for Achilles UVDB and Verify?

Achilles operates several sector-specific communities, with UVDB being widely used within the UK utilities sector alongside other communities serving different sectors and buyer groups. The exact questionnaire and evidence requirements depend on which community and buyer requirement applies, so confirming this before gathering evidence is the essential first step.

Beyond standard company and insurance information, buyers increasingly expect evidence of implementation rather than policy documents alone - training records, inspection records, audit outcomes and performance data are used to demonstrate that arrangements are genuinely operating, not just written down.

Where a Verify audit is required, the assessment typically goes further than a desktop questionnaire review, examining how health and safety, quality and environmental arrangements operate on site through interviews, document sampling and physical observation.

Mutual recognition arrangements, sometimes called Deem to Satisfy, can allow a valid assessment from one registered SSIP member scheme to be recognised by another in some circumstances, which can reduce duplication of evidence where a business already holds a relevant existing certification.

As with other prequalification schemes, the most common source of delay is evidence that does not clearly correspond to what has been asked, rather than the underlying arrangements being inadequate - reviewing the exact questionnaire wording before submitting evidence avoids much of this friction.