Independently assessed against the standards your procurement team already uses
Before any contractor is appointed to a power infrastructure project, the buyer has to answer one question: Can this business be trusted to deliver safely, compliantly and without exposing us to risk?
Heighway Group answers that question before the conversation starts. We hold two of the accreditations UK construction and engineering buyers rely on most, Constructionline Gold and SafeContractor, both independently assessed and both aligned to the Common Assessment Standard (CAS) used across the industry for supplier prequalification.
For a developer, network operator or Tier 1 main contractor, that means the prequalification work is largely done: our health and safety, quality, environmental, financial and ethical credentials have already been verified by recognised third parties.
Constructionline Gold
Constructionline is the UK's largest procurement and supplier-management register, used by tens of thousands of buyers across construction, utilities and infrastructure. Gold is the membership tier assessed against the Common Assessment Standard, the industry question set developed with Build UK that replaced PAS 91 and gives buyers a single, consistent view of supplier competence.
Gold membership confirms Heighway Group has been independently verified on:
Financial standing and business stability
Health and safety policy and competence
Environmental management
Quality management
Equality, anti-bribery and modern slavery compliance
It is the same standard that major contractors and public-sector buyers set as a condition for inclusion in their supply chains. When a procurement team checks the register, our record is already there, current and complete, removing a round of paperwork from every tender.
SafeContractor Approved
SafeContractor is an SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) certification aligned to the Common Assessment Standard, and one of the most widely requested health and safety accreditations in UK contracting.
Our approval confirms Heighway Group has been independently assessed across health and safety, quality, environmental practice and social responsibility, and that our systems support CDM 2015 compliance, a non-negotiable on every site where we act as principal contractor or as part of a wider delivery partnership. Because the assessment is matched to the specific trades and activities carried out, it reflects the real risk profile of high-voltage and extra-high-voltage work.
Achilles UVDB Verify Silver Plus
Achilles UVDB is the supplier qualification community for the UK utility industry, used by around 70 utility buyers to prequalify and manage risk across their supply chains. Verify Silver Plus is granted based on an independent audit conducted both in our offices and on-site, covering our health and safety, environmental, quality, and corporate social responsibility management systems, with reassessment at regular intervals.
UVDB is the register that utility buyers work from, and the Silver Plus audit means the management systems behind our registration have been examined in practice.
Achilles Sustainability Score
Achilles also rates registered suppliers on a sustainability score built from environmental, social, governance and financial performance, alongside health and safety risk. It is calculated using verified data and supporting evidence and reassessed annually.
Heighway Group holds a four-star rating for 2026. For buyers carrying their own ESG, CSRD or supply chain reporting obligations, that provides an independently assessed rating they can take straight into their own due diligence.
What these accreditations mean for your project
Faster prequalification. Constructionline Gold and SafeContractor both map to the Common Assessment Standard, and our UVDB registration is live on the utility sector's own qualification system, so the questions most buyers ask at PQQ stage are already answered and verified on whichever register your team works from.
Verified safety and competence. SSIP certification and CDM-aligned systems give principal designers and authorised engineers documented assurance that the contractor on their site meets the standard their own governance requires.
Lower supply-chain risk. Independent assessment of our financial stability, insurance and management systems is exactly the evidence a Tier 1 supply chain manager needs before adding a specialist subcontractor to a framework or call-off.
One verified partner across four disciplines. Both accreditations sit at group level and cover the full self-delivery model, so the same verified standard applies whether you engage us for civils, M&E, plant or commissioning, or all four under a single contract.
Backed by full self-delivery across four divisions
Heighway Group delivers power infrastructure projects through four specialist divisions, coordinated under one accountable team:
Heighway Energy – HV cable jointing, terminations, connections, substation M&E installation, testing and certification.
Heighway Construction – civil engineering, ducting, excavation, foundations and compound works that connection and substation projects depend on.
Heighway Plant – in-house plant, lifting, logistics and operated equipment, reducing reliance on third-party hire on our own sites.
Optimi – industry specialists in EHV design, commissioning, protection and system integration.
Planning a power infrastructure project?
Our accreditations and self-delivery model reduce risk and shorten your route to mobilisation, whether you appoint us directly, through a framework supply chain, or as a specialist package beneath a main contract.
Frequently asked questions
What accreditations does Heighway Group hold?
Heighway Group is a Constructionline Gold member, is SafeContractor approved, holds Achilles UVDB Verify Silver Plus accreditation and carries a four-star Achilles Sustainability Score. All are independently assessed. Constructionline Gold and SafeContractor align with the Common Assessment Standard used for supplier prequalification across UK construction and infrastructure, while the Achilles credentials cover qualification and sustainability performance in the UK utility sector.
What is Constructionline Gold?
Constructionline Gold is the Constructionline membership tier assessed against the Common Assessment Standard, on the UK's largest procurement and supplier-management platform. It confirms a business has been independently verified on health and safety, financial standing, environmental and quality management, and ethical compliance, against the question set that replaced PAS 91.
What is SafeContractor approval?
SafeContractor is an SSIP health and safety certification aligned to the Common Assessment Standard. It independently verifies a contractor's health and safety, quality, environmental and social responsibility management, and supports CDM 2015 compliance.
What is the Common Assessment Standard?
The Common Assessment Standard is an industry-agreed prequalification question set, developed with Build UK, that replaced PAS 91 and gives buyers a single, consistent view of supplier competence. Accreditations that align with it let buyers prequalify a supplier without repeating the same checks tender by tender.
Why does this matter when appointing a contractor?
It gives the buyer independently verified evidence, before any contract, that the contractor is financially stable, compliant and competent to work safely. Constructionline and SafeContractor answer that question for construction and public-sector procurement, while UVDB answers it for the utility sector's own qualification system. The Achilles Sustainability Score adds verified ESG performance data that buyers can use in their own supply chain reporting. Together, they reduce prequalification time, lower supply chain risk, and provide principal designers and authorised engineers with documented assurance that the contractor meets the required standard.
What is Achilles UVDB Verify Silver Plus?
Achilles UVDB is the supplier qualification system used by around 70 UK utility companies to prequalify their supply chains. Verify Silver Plus is its audited tier, granted following an independent audit of a supplier's health and safety, environmental, quality and corporate social responsibility management systems, conducted both at the supplier's premises and on site, with reassessment at regular intervals
What is the Achilles Sustainability Score?
The Achilles Sustainability Score is a supplier rating covering environmental, social, governance and financial performance, together with health and safety risk. It is built from verified data and supporting evidence and is reassessed annually. Heighway Group holds a four-star rating.
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