WIRS accreditation: preparing your self-lay business

1. Start with the proposed water connection work

The Water Industry Registration Scheme (WIRS) provides a technical assessment route for self-lay organisations. LRQA assesses areas including design, construction, connections, commissioning and project management. Read the official WIRS overview for the scheme’s purpose.

Your first task is to describe the service you plan to sell. Will you design the work, manage delivery, construct mains or services, or undertake particular connection activities? Identify what you will do directly and what others will deliver. Include the project location and the relevant water company.

WIRS has distinct scopes and some geographical conditions. WIRSAE is a separate route for accredited entities undertaking specified activities in the water market. Use LRQA’s scope and application resources to confirm the appropriate route before preparing an application.

Ask the buyer to confirm its wording in writing. “Water accreditation required” leaves important questions unresolved: the activity, the responsible organisation and the acceptable scope or status.

2. Agree who controls each part of the work

Draw up a simple responsibility list covering the customer, your business, designers, subcontractors and the relevant water company. For each stage, identify who prepares information, who checks it and who gives the necessary agreement.

Use a typical project to make the list concrete. Who receives design changes? Who confirms the correct materials have arrived? Who organises inspections or testing? Who compiles the final records? Record named roles and working arrangements so that an unanswered question does not first emerge during site delivery.

Discuss technical roles and competence gaps early. A certificate list is useful, but preparation should also establish whether the proposed people have experience relevant to their responsibilities and will be available when needed.

For water hygiene, testing, commissioning and connection activities, obtain the applicable scheme and water-company requirements. LRQA’s published WIRS requirements (PDF) include responsibilities, competence, subcontracting and work controls. Confirm the technical methods and acceptance criteria for your actual work.

3. Organise the evidence around a project

The following is a practical preparation checklist, to be adapted during your scope review. A folder structure that follows a project from enquiry to handover is often easier to use than a collection of unrelated policies.

• Project brief: proposed activities, location, customer requirements, planned programme and the relevant water-company contacts.
• People: organisation chart, technical responsibilities, relevant qualifications and experience, training records and supervision arrangements.
• Planning information: available drawings, specifications, work instructions and a clear way to communicate revised information.
• Materials and equipment: purchasing and receipt checks, storage arrangements and equipment inspection or calibration evidence where applicable.
• Delivery records: examples of site briefings, inspections, checks and how defects or changes are recorded and resolved.
• Testing and handover: the records required for the planned work, who will produce them and how completeness will be checked.
• Subcontracted activities: agreed responsibilities, competence and approval checks, and the evidence you expect to receive.

Create an index with four columns: item, owner, current location and outstanding action. Where you have no completed project example yet, say so and record how suitable evidence will become available. Keep proposed arrangements clearly separate from records of work already performed.

4. Plan the application around real readiness

Use a gap review to decide the order of work. Confirm the scope and delivery responsibilities, then address missing competence or resources, introduce the necessary controls and organise evidence for the assessment discussion.

For illustration, a contractor moving from general civils into a wider self-lay package may already have useful plant and site-management records. Its preparation should still examine the water-specific responsibilities and project information needed for the proposed package. Existing documents are a starting point to review.

Ask LRQA how the assessment will apply to your circumstances and what work or evidence must be available. When comparing support proposals, separate consultancy, scheme assessment charges, staff time, training and any project-specific resource costs.

Our WIRS accreditation support focuses on understanding your intended activities and turning the gaps into clear, assigned tasks.

Common WIRS preparation questions