Tōtika - Why should I bother?
The contractor prequal space in NZ is, well, shite.
There are far too many schemes all covering the same information and competing against each other to remain relevant. Look, long story short, we get it. As a main contractor or client, you want to make sure your downstream is up to par (health & safety wise). And fair enough too.
Where it all breaks down is the plethora of prequal schemes available.
A few years ago, Worksafe and CHASNZ had a wee coffee date to see if CHASNZ could simplify this space. Short answer, yes. Longer answer, yes.
Please meet Tōtika.
The logic behind Tōtika is that as a contractor, you only have to belong to one prequal scheme that is vetted by Tōtika. If you meet that standard, you meet all standards in the H&S space. RFP’s, Tenders, etc all become so much more simpler, especially when submitting to local or central Government (schools, DHB’s, local and regional Councils, etc) or to main contractors / Tier 1 companies.
Going forward, if you want to make your life easier and secure future income streams, you would want to align your H&S space to Tōtika. Several DHB’s already require this now as do a number of Councils and Tier 1 Contractors.
Tōtika has accepted three Prequal Schemes to meet the Tōtika standard – Qualify365, Impac Prequal, and SHE Prequal. You do need to ask to be audited to the Tōtika standard for the latter two.
From a practical view, you hook up with one of these three prequal schemes, pay them their going rate, get vetted, then register on the Tōtika framework. The good news is Tōtika itself is free to a contractor so your only cost is the prequal scheme provider.
If all of this confuses you, that’s ok, no problems. Reach out and talk to us – we will give you straight down the middle feedback and guidance.
John Gould - john@managecompany.co.nz | 027 965 0245
