Tōtika prequalification

Tōtika isn't a company you apply to. It's a single national health and safety standard, run by CHASNZ, that a number of prequalification schemes assess against. You get prequalified by one of those member schemes, and the result is recognised by every client that accepts Tōtika - so you answer the questions once instead of once per client.

Who asks for it

Main contractors, councils, large asset owners and government agencies. If a client has told you they need you Tōtika'd, they mean: go to one of the member schemes, get assessed at the right category, and let us see the result.

The categories

This is where most people get it wrong, and getting it wrong is expensive.

Category S - a sole trader working alone, who doesn't routinely engage, manage or supervise other contractors.

Category 1 - up to 20 people, contracts up to $2.5m, and no primary work activity on the high or very high risk lists.

Category 2 - high-risk primary work, or more than 20 and up to 200 people, or contracts over $2.5m and up to $20m.

Category 3 - more than 200 people, or contracts over $20m, or a primary work activity on the very high risk list.

Category S and Category 1 last two years. Categories 2 and 3 are annual.

Your category is driven by the work you do as much as by your size. A six-person crew whose main activity is on the very high risk list is not a Category 1.

Performing or Developing

Tōtika doesn't give you a pass mark, it gives you a status. Performing means you've met the minimum for every core criterion. Developing means you haven't yet - you're on the register, but your client can see the gap.

One thing worth checking before you pay

Some of the Tōtika member schemes also sell their own prequalification under their own brand. They're different products with different requirements, and only the Tōtika one counts for Tōtika. If your client asked for Tōtika and you buy the other one, you've paid for the wrong assessment.

What we do

We check your system against the Tōtika core criteria and tell you which category you actually fall into. Then we write the policies and procedures you're missing and rebuild the ones that aren't earning their keep - so they describe how your crew really works, rather than how a template says they should. Get that right and the assessment largely looks after itself; get it wrong and you've got a folder nobody opens.

Records and certificates come from you - we tell you exactly which ones and chase them up if that helps. We get everything loaded and ready, you hit submit, and we answer the assessor's follow-up questions.

Health and safety law is changing over the next couple of years, and we're keeping across it so your system stays current.

We're not an assessor and we're not connected to any scheme. We can't influence the outcome, and nobody honestly can guarantee a result.