The terms we use, defined once.
Procurement and AI search both have their own vocabulary. This page defines the terms we use across the site, in plain English, so a director, an estimator and an AI assistant all read the same meaning.
AI visibility
How likely ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews are to name your business when someone asks for a subcontractor in your trade and region. Depends on signals the tools can verify: accreditations in text, consistent business details across the registers, case studies with values and pages that answer specific questions.
Capability statement
A short document, usually two pages, setting out what a subcontractor does, the accreditations it holds, the sectors and values it works at and named contacts. Buyers attach it to a tender; a website version that is always current is the one we build.
CHAS
The Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme, one of the SSIP member schemes. Buyers check the level held (Standard, Advanced or Elite) and the expiry on the CHAS register, which is why both should be written out on your site.
Constructionline
A pre-qualification register used by main contractors and public bodies to check subcontractors. Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum levels indicate how much has been verified. Gold is the level most Tier 1s ask for.
Framework
An agreement under which a public body or client pre-selects contractors who can then be called off for projects without a full tender each time. Examples include SCAPE, Pagabo, Procure Partnerships, Fusion21 and the regional frameworks such as NEPO, YORhub and SEWSCAP.
Find a Tender
The UK government portal where public contracts above the threshold are advertised since 2021. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also use Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eSourcing NI.
ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001
The international standards for quality, environmental and health and safety management systems. Buyers want the certificate number, the certification body and the scope written out, not a logo.
llms.txt
A plain-text file at the root of a website that summarises the business for AI assistants in a form they can read quickly. Almost no subcontractor sites have one; this site does, at groundproof.co.uk/llms.txt.
Main contractor
The contractor with the direct contract with the client, who buys packages from subcontractors. Also called the principal contractor under CDM. Tier 1 refers to the largest national main contractors.
NAP consistency
Name, address and phone. AI tools and Google compare your business details across your website, Google Business Profile, Companies House, Constructionline and the trade registers. Differences lower trust; matching details raise it.
Package
The unit in which subcontract work is bought: the groundworks package, the M&E package, the cladding package. A buyer prices and scores packages separately, which is why each one needs its own page.
PQQ
Pre-qualification questionnaire. The first stage of most tenders, where a buyer checks accreditations, insurance, financial standing, experience and health and safety before deciding who is invited to price. A website that answers the same questions makes the PQQ faster to complete and easier to verify.
Procurement Act 2023
The legislation that replaced the previous public procurement regulations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from February 2025. It introduced a central supplier registration and changed how frameworks and notices work.
Quality submission
The part of a tender scored on how you will deliver rather than on price: method, programme, team, case studies and social value. Case studies written in the format the questions ask for are the evidence it depends on.
Schema markup
Structured data added to a web page that states facts in a form search engines and AI tools read directly: your organisation, accreditations, services, address and reviews. It is how a machine confirms what the page says.
SSIP
Safety Schemes in Procurement, the umbrella body under which CHAS, SafeContractor, SMAS, Constructionline and others mutually recognise each other’s health and safety assessments. Buyers accept any SSIP member scheme for the health and safety stage of a PQQ.
Supply chain register
A main contractor’s internal list of approved subcontractors, with the accreditations, insurance and performance records it has checked. Getting on it is the aim; staying on it depends on keeping credentials current.
Tender Check
Our free three-minute check that scores a subcontractor website out of 32 on the four stages buyers and AI tools go through: Found, Verified, Evidenced and Contacted.
Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3
Tier 1 contractors hold the client contract. Tier 2 subcontractors work directly for them. Tier 3 firms work for Tier 2s. Most subcontractors we build for are Tier 2 and want more direct Tier 1 work.
Value band
The range a package is worth, such as £100k to £250k or £1m to £2m. Stating it on a case study proves you have delivered at the scale a buyer is pricing without disclosing a client’s rates.
Put it to work on your own website.
The free Tender Check checks the credentials, signals and pages this glossary describes.
