Installer - profinder.eu
Installer - profinder.eu
Installer - profinder.eu
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the<br />
column<br />
Certass is the UK’s leading Competent Person Scheme<br />
TRR –isthe easiest way tocomply with Part Lofthe Building Regulations<br />
Certass Highlights –<br />
an Overviewof2012<br />
December has arrived again and it’s that time of year when we consider achievements<br />
over the last year and look forward tothe next,writes Mike Billington Chairman of Certass<br />
T<br />
his has probably been<br />
our busiest year since<br />
Certass was established<br />
in April 2006 –our membership<br />
base now exceeds<br />
2,500. In fact, even though<br />
the country has been through the<br />
toughest trading period since the<br />
1930s, we are still recruiting new<br />
members, many of whom have<br />
never been in aCompetent Person<br />
Scheme before. So it is clear that<br />
the message about the benefits of<br />
our scheme over the alternatives<br />
continues to be received.<br />
Being amember of Certass entitles<br />
you to self certify that your<br />
work complies with current Building<br />
Regulations. As a Certass<br />
member this means that your profile<br />
is boosted and ensures that<br />
your clients are protected from accusations<br />
that their installation is illegal.<br />
<strong>Installer</strong>s who do not belong<br />
to ascheme like Certassmust register<br />
every job with the local authority<br />
and pay asubstantial fee<br />
for each one. Inevitably,this leads<br />
to widespread avoidance of the<br />
legal requirement to get Building<br />
Regulation approval. This puts<br />
your client at risk of local authority<br />
enforcement action which can<br />
lead to aconviction and fine.<br />
Our accreditations<br />
When you join Certass we are required<br />
to assess your capability to<br />
deliver aquality installation for<br />
your customers that complies with<br />
the Building Regulations. This duty<br />
to check your company and its<br />
work is placed on us by central<br />
government and we are subject to<br />
very stringent conditions. After a<br />
16 |CertassColumn |theinstaller<br />
gestation period of over three<br />
years, the terms and conditions<br />
under which we operate as a<br />
Competent Person Scheme were<br />
completely rewritten and came<br />
into force in June this year. This<br />
meant we have had to substantially<br />
revise the way we operate<br />
and the way we assess our members.<br />
As partofthis revision it was<br />
necessary for us to apply to the<br />
United Kingdom Accreditation<br />
Service (UKAS) to be accredited<br />
under EN 45011. We achieved<br />
this in May of this year and at the<br />
same time achieved accreditation<br />
to certify the installation of energy<br />
efficient glazing and doors under<br />
the GreenDeal. This means, effectively,<br />
that our members will be<br />
able to apply to Certass to carry<br />
out Green Deal work when the<br />
scheme comes into operation in<br />
2013, subject to them satisfying<br />
certain competence requirements.<br />
Green Deal<br />
Green Deal is ahot topic at the<br />
moment about which installers<br />
have alot of questions. Itisthe<br />
Government initiative that will provide<br />
both homeowners and commercial<br />
customers with the<br />
opportunity to make energy efficient<br />
improvements withouthaving<br />
to pay for the installation costs upfront.<br />
We have been publishing<br />
details of this on our website, so<br />
for more information go to<br />
www.certass.co.uk/news<br />
Qualifications<br />
Another way in which our new<br />
terms and conditions of operation<br />
and the GreenDeal initiative have<br />
affected the way we operate is in<br />
the area of glazing sector qualifications.<br />
Both these initiatives will<br />
require installing companies to<br />
demonstrate that they employ a<br />
competentworkforce.This can be<br />
achieved by either:<br />
•Having arecognised national<br />
qualification such as Level 2<br />
NVQ/QCF in Fenestration<br />
Installation; or<br />
•AMinimum Technical<br />
Competence assessment<br />
(MTC assessment).<br />
In order to assist its members to<br />
satisfy these requirements Certass<br />
has partnered with 4GE Academy<br />
to provide funded NVQ/QCF<br />
training and apprenticeship<br />
places for glazing sector qualifications.<br />
4GE Academy specialisesin<br />
the development and management<br />
of apprenticeships and national<br />
qualifications across many<br />
industrysectors, helping to deliver<br />
our commitment to continually improve<br />
industry standards all<br />
round. More details are avail<br />
-able from www.certass.co.uk/<br />
contractors/training<br />
Commercial extension<br />
Finally, Certass has applied to the<br />
Government to extend the scope if<br />
its current glazing scheme to commercial<br />
buildings (at present it only<br />
covers domestic dwellings) and<br />
we have also submitted anapplication<br />
to run aCompetent Person<br />
Scheme for building fabric insulation<br />
which will be important when<br />
the Green Dealstarts up next year.<br />
The Government is due to announce<br />
the results of these applications<br />
in the next few weeks. i
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