Description
National Highway Sector Schemes (NHSS) are a collaborative venture between Highway
Authorities, the National Accreditation Body (United Kingdom Accreditation Service
(UKAS)), UKAS accredited Certification Bodies, relevant Trade Associations, Awarding
Organisations and Training Providers in the United Kingdom. They were established in
the mid1990s as bespoke schemes within an ISO 9001 quality management system
framework. They were designed to replace existing Certification Body's schedules for the
installation of highway products and where appropriate product conformity schemes.
(Most of the product conformity schemes have been replaced by requirements included
in relevant harmonised European Standards, as and when they became available.)
National Highways' requirements relating to Quality Management Schemes (such as the
NHSS) are contained in the Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works (MHCW)
within GC 101- General Requirements for the Specification for Highway Works. The
requirement for a Quality Management Scheme, and the relevant scope of its application,
is embedded within the individual specification documents where applicable. At present,
NHSS is the only quality management scheme that meets National Highways
requirements, but in future there may be other accepted schemes if they satisfy our
requirements.
National Highways has undertaken a two-phase review of the National Highway Sector
Schemes (NHSS) and the wider use of Quality Management Schemes for site-based
activities. Phase 1 (2023-2024) concluded that National Highways should continue to
mandate Quality Management Schemes for relevant activities but reduce reliance on
specifying NHSS by name, thereby enabling appropriate equivalent schemes, supported
by enhanced National Highways involvement.
Phase 2 (2024) validated Phase 1's direction and identified several implementation
needs, including: (i) the lack of a clear, documented rationale for why some activities
require schemes and others do not; (ii) procurement checks that are typically light-touch
(certificate-based), which increases the importance of downstream assurance; and (iii)
limited evidence of consistent assurance activity "on the ground" beyond checking
certification remains in place. The Phase 2 report sets out implementation workstreams
covering internal awareness, risk-based scheme specification by activity, procurement
criteria, and strengthened assurance.