Why should end users use third party certificated companies when sourcing contractors for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and alarm systems? Julian Stanton sets out the benefits of doing so and explains the approval process that such companies go through.
Some customers of the fire industry will have experienced, or will be aware of, problems resulting from contractors who were not up to the job. This can result in costly mistakes, which are not always of a financial nature when safety is involved.
Contractors may talk a good story, explain they work to the standards and claim to have many satisfied customers. But it's not just the quality of work customers need to be aware of. It's just as important that the company contracted is competently run as a business. It does not matter how well a fire detection and alarm system is installed, for example, if the contractor goes out of business mid-project because the company has been badly run. Even if the project has been commissioned, most customers still want their contractor to be around to sort out any ongoing problems and fulfil essential maintenance requirements.
But how can they prove their competence? The most credible evidence of a business working to high standards can be provided by contractors who work to industry-recognised standards, and who then seek independent verification from an officially accredited third party certification body such as the National Security Inspectorate (NSI). NSI, which operates on an independent, not-for-profit basis, is a third party certification body for contractors involved in the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and alarm systems through the requirements of the BAFE fire protection industry Modular Scheme SP203.
By using a third party certificated company, customers can be reassured that a contractor will perform to a minimum level of acceptable standards. Contractors that choose the approval route – which is voluntary in the fire protection industry – are those that are genuinely committed to quality as they see good customer service as a way to become more profitable themselves. End users can also be reassured that third party certificated companies can help meet the requirements of the fire authorities and insurance companies where necessary.
Complaints service
To give the end user further confidence, third party certificated bodies also operate a complaints service that allows customers to complain about technical issues, such as poorly installed fire alarms. In NSI's case, valid complaints will be taken up with the approved company. In most situations, the problem will be resolved to the customer's satisfaction. Approved companies that fail to resolve problems they are responsible for risk losing their approved status.
Third party certification bodies, just like the companies they approve, need to work to benchmarked standards and be publicly accountable. Non-accredited approval and certification bodies have little value, as they are not accountable to any overseeing authorities and cannot be benchmarked against relevant standards, so they should be avoided. In the UK, official accreditation is provided by the government-recognised (through Department of Business, Innovation and Skills), United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
Does that mean that companies who are not third party certificated work to a lower standard? This question is regularly put to us at NSI. A company could claim to work to recognised standards and have experienced staff and indeed do a good job, but how can they prove they work to and meet the standards? Through the inspection process, third party certificated companies are audited against the relevant standards, such as BS5839-1 for FD&A systems. This provides independent confirmation that they are doing what they claim.
There are, of course, companies in the fire sector that are not third party approved. However, the introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and developments to the Chief Fire Officers' Association's policy on reducing false alarms have encouraged an increasing number of contractors to choose third party certification in order to ensure their customers comply with the requirements. There are now around 300 SP203 sites that have been approved. NSI have over 170 of these and have a significant number of others going through the application process. Contractors who have yet to choose this route will find it increasingly difficult to compete against competitors who have differentiated themselves by achieving third party certificated status.
Newer and smaller companies may also not be approved by a third party certificated body whilst they are establishing their business and striving to meet the standards approval requires. If companies are not approved, customers should ask why? It may be that the contractor is just not good enough or is not committed to working to standards.
At NSI, we see companies applying for approval who genuinely believe that they do work to high standards and assume they will fly through the approval process. This is rarely the case, as our auditing process will often find areas for improvement in most applicant companies. However, the serious ones have the opportunity to learn, put things right and improve their performance.
Most companies appreciate this process; often much later on as they start to see further improvements in their business, which can ultimately improve their profitability. This is a significant reason many companies seek approval. Independent auditing and analysis of a business provides an external perspective on its operation and can identify problem issues that can be easily missed, even by the best organisations.
There are also changes to standards and their interpretation. This can be an issue and it gives companies confidence when they know the third party auditor will pick up any errors or misinterpretations resulting from this.
A typical audit
Typically, an applicant company would have two or three inspections to achieve approval, depending on whether they choose the Gold or Silver level in NSI's case. Once approved, companies are normally audited twice per year at each approved location they wish to be approved for. Companies do not have to be approved for each location they operate from, but cannot claim they are operating under the approval of a third party certification body or issue certificates from a non-approved location. This situation may occur as a multi-branch company decides to go through the approval process. Each branch must go through the same rigorous approval process and this can take different lengths of time. End users should confirm the actual branch they are dealing with is approved in this circumstance. This scenario also occurs when non-approved companies are acquired by an approved company who then puts the acquisition through the approval process.
At NSI, audits are carried out by International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA) qualified fire scheme trained inspectors. There are two elements to this annual assessment. A technical audit will concentrate on work conducted by the approved company by visits to customer locations. For example, FD&A systems will be checked to see that they have been designed, installed, commissioned and maintained in line with the relevant standards.
The second part of the assessment will focus on office-based audit procedures that include verifying that previous corrective actions have been carried out, checking customer service procedures, and identifying that relevant administrative processes are adhered to. All companies are assessed for their quality management system, with Gold approved companies receiving a more rigorous assessment against BS EN ISO9001: 2008.
There is a diverse range of reasons why some companies struggle to achieve approval. Applying before the business is capable of meeting the third party certification body's criteria is common, so NSI will discourage applications until the company is in a position to progress. Neither ourselves nor the applicant company benefits from failed application audits, with the latter set to lose out financially.
A company can fail to get approved because of inadequate preparation prior to the first visit, or not having sufficient customer sites available for a technical inspection of systems that meet the required standards. Other problems may include an inadequate knowledge of the standards and out-of-date documentation.
So businesses seeking approval should ensure that they are ready to become approved. At NSI, we recommend that they talk to us first to discuss their application. It may also pay to have a pre-inspection advisory visit where the NSI auditor will identify potential problems, which can then be corrected by the applicant before submitting an application.
Lean times
During and after recessions there are plenty of contractors who are successful, even when their core market is seemingly shrinking. The message you hear time and time again is that in order to succeed in these circumstances and be in the best position to exploit the market when it recovers, contractors should continue to market their business at pre-recession levels or even higher where possible. Of course, companies still need to maintain their overall standards; otherwise their marketing investment will be in vain.
Why is this relevant to third party certification? Having worked hard to achieve and maintain approval, contractors should use their approved status as part of their marketing initiative, as knowledgeable customers will be looking for evidence of accreditation. Fire safety issues do not go away during recession and even empty premises need to be protected from the threat of arsonists. For populated buildings, a serious fire can be financially crippling as well as risking the welfare of staff and others who could be victims of negligence.
Julian Stanton is marketing manager with the National Security Inspectorate
