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How assessment works
From first enquiry to an entry on the register
The same seven steps under both schemes. Every one happens in the Westmark hub, and every screen says whose turn it is and what is waiting. From agreement to outcome we plan on four to eight weeks.
Assessments open October 2026. Enquiries and scoping are open now.
Before you start
Scoping is the first conversation and it costs nothing. It settles what would be assessed, which scope or tier fits, and what the fee would be. Two things decide how quickly the rest follows: how soon the site visit can be arranged, and how complete your records are at the start.
What to have ready
- Your procedures, as they are actually used
- The records from recent delivery, or from recent operation of the premises
- Screening and clearance records for the people involved
- Incident records, including the ones that came to nothing
- The names of the people who did the work, since they are the ones the assessor will want to speak to
If something on this list does not exist yet, say so at scoping. It changes the timetable and leaves the answer untouched.
Everything happens in the hub
- Quotation and agreement, accepted on screen
- Self-assessment and visit arrangements
- Every document, from the scoring report to the certificate
- The annual declaration, when it falls due
The hub emails you when something needs your attention, and sends a daily summary of what is waiting. The work itself lives in the hub, so there is one record of the engagement and one place to look.
The sequence
Seven steps, in this order. The label above each one says who acts.
- Westmark and you
Scope
What you deliver or what premises you hold, for whom, and which scope or tier fits. This is where the timetable is agreed and where any gap in your records is best mentioned.
- Westmark, then you
Quotation and agreement
Both are issued in the hub and accepted on screen. The acceptance records who accepted it, their position and the time, and stands as the signature. The fee is fixed at this point and stays the same whatever the outcome.
- Westmark
Assessor assigned
Authorised for the scheme and the scope, independent of any advice you have had, and accepted with a conflict declaration. Where a Licensed Partner has advised you, the hub enforces the separation at assignment.
- You
Self-assessment
Plain questions in the hub, one for each requirement. Your answers are shown to the assessor and tell them where to spend the time. The score stays with the assessor, so there is nothing to optimise here and every reason to answer plainly.
- Your assessor
The assessment
Documents, delivery records, observation and interviews. Delivery staff are interviewed on their own, unless the worker asks otherwise. Any view that may be adverse to you is put to you before it settles, so you can produce more evidence.
- A second assessor
Technical review
Somebody independent of the assessment confirms the record or returns it with reasons. Issue waits until that is done.
- Westmark
Outcome and register
The documents are issued in the hub, the entry is published on the register, and the claim wording is sent to you with the licence terms for the mark.
How it is scored
Every requirement is scored against the published control set, and every outcome carries two things: a score and a confidence level. They answer different questions.
The score: how good is the position
- Each requirement is scored on the scale set out in the control set
- Full marks need evidence from more than one independent source. A procedure and the checklist from it count as one
- Records made while doing the work are the evidence that scores
- Disqualifying conditions stop a positive outcome whatever the score
The confidence level: how good was the evidence
- Recorded by the assessor alongside the score
- Reflects the breadth of the sample and what could be observed directly
- A high score with a narrow sample, or where observation was refused, produces low confidence
- Published on the register with the outcome, so a reader can weigh both. Numeric scores stay off the register
Getting ready
Most organisations find gaps on a first read of a control set, and scoping is where they surface. Where you want help closing them, Westmark introduces you to a Licensed Partner: a consultancy Westmark has approved, whose consultants work alongside your people so the procedures and records are built up to what the standard asks and belong to you.
What a partner does
- Goes through the published control set with you and says plainly what is missing, before anything is booked
- Advises on what each requirement is really asking, then works with your people so what gets built fits what you actually do
- Stays with you between assessments, so the annual declaration is quick to complete
Kept apart from the judgement
- During the assessment you speak for yourself, and the partner stands aside
- Your assessor is always independent of your partner. The hub enforces that automatically at assignment
Ask us to introduce a partnerHow the partner arrangement works
If you disagree
An appeal is raised in the hub and considered by somebody independent of both the assessment and the review, with the decision given to you in writing. A complaint about conduct, timeliness or an assessor follows the same route. Both are free of charge.
Seen enough of the method?
The first conversation settles what would be assessed and what it would cost. Nothing is signed until both are in writing.