What RISQS is, and why it matters
RISQS is a supplier assurance scheme used within the GB rail industry. This stage explains what it is, why buyers use it and what it can involve.
What RISQS is
RISQSRailway Industry Supplier Qualification SchemeOne of the rail industry's supplier assurance schemes. It verifies information about suppliers, benchmarks them, and connects them with the buyers who use it to find and check suppliers. (the Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme) is one of the rail industry's supplier assurance schemes. It is run by RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board), and RISQS describes itself as the entry point for suppliers to the rail industry.
It independently verifies information about suppliers, benchmarks them, and connects them with the buyers who use the scheme to find and check suppliers.
RISQS is not the only route. Which supplier assurance you need depends on the buyers you want to work for, the activities you intend to undertake and your scope.
What supplier assurance means
Supplier assurance is how a buyer gains confidence that a supplier can deliver safely and competently. It covers who you are, what you supply, how you manage risk, and whether your arrangements work in practice.
In rail, much of this checking is shared through supplier assurance schemes, so that each buyer does not have to check every supplier separately. RISQS is one of these schemes.
Why you may be asked for RISQS
Rail clients and main contractors commonly ask their suppliers to be registered through RISQS, and sometimes audited, before they will place work with them.
The request may arrive through a tender, a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQPre-qualification questionnaireA set of questions a buyer uses to check a supplier's suitability, often before inviting it to tender.), a framework application or directly from a client.
Registration and scope
When you join RISQS, you describe the products and services you supply by selecting codes from the RICCLRailway Industry Commodity Classification ListThe standard list the rail industry uses to classify products, services and materials. Selecting your codes is how you define the scope of work for which your organisation seeks qualification, and buyers use the codes to find suppliers. Your codes influence which audit requirements apply, but they are not the only factor: buyer requirements and where you will work can also matter.. Buyers use those codes to find suppliers.
The codes you select can also influence what RISQS asks of you, including whether an audit is needed and which audit modules may apply.
Audit
For some products and services, RISQS requires an audit of your organisation. RISQS describes its audits as collecting evidence of, and reviewing processes for, each Audit moduleA defined part of a RISQS audit covering one area, such as Core or CDM. Every supplier subject to audit is audited against one of the Core modules. Whether other modules apply depends on your activities and the RICCL codes you select, and on the requirements of infrastructure managers and buyers..
In practical terms, an audit looks at what you have documented and whether you can show that it is followed.
When an audit is required
RISQS states that an audit is required where you select an auditable RICCL code, and that higher-risk codes require audit. An audit may also be needed because of where you will work, or because a buyer requires it.
Where a code needs verification only, RISQS grants it once your compliance information has been completed and verified. Whether an audit applies, and what it covers, therefore depends on your own codes, work and buyers.
Ongoing assurance
RISQS is not a one-off exercise. Membership is renewed, audits recur where they apply, and your arrangements need to keep working between audits. Stage 8 covers this in more detail.
Do I need RISQS?
It depends. Whether you need RISQS, and what it will involve, depends on:
- the activities you intend to undertake in rail
- what your customers, and their procurement processes, require
- the products and services you need to register for, and whether any of them need an audit
This guide cannot make that decision for you. It can help you understand the questions to ask, and prepare for the answers.
Joining RISQS
You join RISQS directly with RISQS, not through this guide or through Harcon Solutions. RISQS publishes how to join, and what it will ask for, on its website. It usually makes sense to settle your intended scope first.
Where to confirm the detail
RISQS publishes its own guidance for suppliers, including frequently asked questions, the RICCL list, its audit protocols and its Scheme Rules. Always confirm current requirements there. The sources this guide draws on are listed with each section and on the About page.
Guidance on this page last reviewed: .