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What are the National Highways Sector Schemes?

National Highways Sector Schemes (NHSS) are bespoke integrated management schemes which supplement ISO 9001:2008.

The schemes were developed in partnership with key stakeholders of the highways industry to interpret ISO 9001 and its specific application to highways maintenance activities. They are designed to:

Provide an industry benchmark
Ensure that all processes are planned
Provide a basis for continuous improvement
Focus on quality as an objective
Reduce overall costs for the client and supplier
Provide and maintain a properly trained and competent workforce
Involve all sides of the industry in scheme ownership within a partnership framework
Ensure that Certification Bodies use auditors with technical knowledge and experience of the sector concerned
Promote confidence in quality management systems by provision of a robust, transparent system.

The schemes provide the Highways Agency and local authorities responsible for the operation and maintenance of the road infrastructure in the UK with an assurance that only competent organisations are carrying out work on their behalf.

The bodies responsible for the road system include local authorities in the case of ‘local’ roads and the Highways Agency in the case of major trunk roads and motorways. They have a statutory duty to maintain the road system.

Which sectors are the Schemes relevant to?

National Highways Sector Schemes are relevant to organisations undertaking a variety of highways activities under contract with the Highways Agency.

The current list of Schemes certified by NQA is as follows:

Scheme 2A
Sector Scheme for the Design and/or Supply, Installation and Repair of Fences for Infrastructure Works.
Scheme 2B
Sector Scheme for the Supply, Installation, Maintenance and Repair of Vehicle Restraint Systems
Scheme 2C
Sector Scheme for the Design, Supply, Installation and Repair of Environmental Barriers (Structural) for Infrastructure Works
Scheme 5A
Sector Scheme for the Manufacture of Parapets for Road Restraint Systems
Scheme 5B
Sector Scheme for the Installation of Parapets for Road Restraint Systems Scheme 6 Sector Scheme for Manufacture and Verification of Lighting Columns
Scheme 7
Sector Scheme for the Application of Road Marking Materials and Road Studs to Road Surfaces
Scheme 8
The Installation and Maintenance of Highway Electrical works
Scheme 9A
Sector Scheme for the Manufacture of Permanent and/or Temporary road Traffic Signs
Scheme 12A /12B
Sector Scheme for static temporary traffic management on motorways and high speed dual carriageways including on-line widening schemes
Scheme 12C
Sector Scheme for Mobile Lane Closure Traffic Management on Motorways and Other Dual Carriageways
Scheme 12D
Sector Scheme for Installing, Maintaining and Removing Temporary Traffic Management on Rural and Urban Roads
Scheme 13A
Sector Scheme for The Supply and Application of Surface Dressings to Road Surfaces
Scheme 13B
Sector Scheme for the Supply and Application of Micro-surfacing
Scheme 15
Sector Scheme for The Supply of Paving Bitumens
Scheme 19A Sector Scheme for corrosion protection of ferrous materials by industrial coatings

Benefits of certification

Ability to win more business - particularly where procurement specifications require certification as a condition to supply. The Schemes are included in the procurement process referenced in the Specification for Highway Works (SHW). For Highways Agency contracts their use is a mandatory requirement of SHW.
Customer satisfaction - through service delivery that consistently meet customer requirements
Reduced operating costs - through continual improvement of processes and resulting operational efficiencies
Improved stakeholder relationships - including staff, customers and suppliers
Legal compliance - by understanding how statutory and regulatory requirements impact the organization and its customers
Improved risk management - through greater consistency and traceability of products and services
Proven business credentials - through independent verification against recognized standards

How to gain registration

NQA provides certification to the Highways Sectors Schemes as an extension to scope of an ISO 9001 registration. The process of registration follows three simple steps:
Application for registration is made by completing the QMS questionnaire
Assessment to ISO 9001 and relevant NHSS is undertaken by NQA - the organisation must be able to demonstrate that its quality management system has been fully operative for a minimum of three months and has been subject of a full cycle of internal audits
Registration is granted by NQA and maintained by the organisation.

Maintenance is confirmed through a programme of annual surveillance visits and a three yearly re-certification audit.

Initial Certification Audit

The assessment process for achieving certification consists of a two stage Initial Certification Audit as follows:

Stage 1 - the purpose of this visit is to confirm the readiness of the organisation for full assessment.

The assessor will:

confirm that the quality manual conforms to the requirements of ISO 9001 and relevant NHSS
confirm its implementation status
confirm the scope of certification
check legislative compliance
produce a report that identifies any non-compliance or potential for non-compliance and agree a corrective action plan if required.
produce an assessment plan and confirm a date for the Stage 2 assessment visit.

Stage 2 - the purpose of this visit is to confirm that the quality management system fully conforms to the requirements of ISO 9001 and NHSS in practice. The assessor will:

undertake sample audits of the processes and activities defined in the scope of assessment
document how the system complies with the standard
report any non-compliances or potential for non-compliance
produce a visit plan for the first surveillance visit

Please note that if any major non-compliance is identified, the organisation cannot be certified until corrective action is taken and verified.

Contact us

For more information about this service, contact our friendly team. We will be pleased to help you.

Please also visit www.scheduleofsuppliers.com for the National Highways Schedule of Suppliers.

National Agency Sector Schemes
National Highways Sector Schemes (NHSS) are bespoke integrated management schemes which supplement the ISO 9001:2008 the international quality management systems standard.
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