A Guide to Quality Assessment D P Gregory Technical Note 1/89ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ‘This guide was produced as part of a larger project on Quality Assurance Procedures, funded jointly by BSRIA and the Department of the Environment. “Assistance, guidance, opinions and experience were obtained from representatives of the following organisations: Associaton of Cerifcation Bodies Bovis Consiniction Lid British Standards Institution British Telecom Building Enginecring Services Certification Authority Colt Intemational Lid Drake & Scull Engineering Co Lid Dunham Bush Lid Engincering Contactors Quality Assurance Lid The Oscar Faber Parership IBM Propeny Deparoment Lloyds Register Quality Assurance Ltd [National Accreditation Council for Cenification Bodies [National Inspection Council Quality Assurance Lid [National Measurement Accreditation Service Property Senices Agency ‘Staefa Control Systems (UK) Lid The Stock Exchange Timber Research and Development Association Wessex Regional Health Authority Yarsley Quality Assured Firms LidCONTENTS Page No. ‘SUMMARY 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2, TERMINOLOGY 1 3. AN OVERVIEW 2 4. _ REASONS FOR OPERATING A QUALITY SYSTEM 6 4.1 COST REDUCTION 6 4.2 AMARKET EDGE 6 5. SOURCES OF THIRD PARTY CERTIFICATION 6 6 WHAT DOES CERTIFICATION INVOLVE? 8 61 GENERAL 8 6.2 WHAT DOES BS 5750 INVOLVE? 9 7 PUBLICITY 10 8 EUROPEAN IMPACTS, 10 9. RECOMMENDATIONS ON PROCEDURES FOR QA REGISTRATION " 9.1 THE STANDARD " 9.2 OTHER COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTS " 9.3 EXISTING DOCUMENTATION 12 9.4 INFORMAL CONTACTS: 12 9.5 SELECT YOUR CERTIFICATION BODY 12 9.6 USE A CONSULTANT 12 9.7 CLAIMAGRANT 13 9.8 APPOINT A QUALITY MANAGER 13 9.9 PREPARE YOUR QUALITY MANUAL 13 9.10 PREPARE YOUR DEPARTMENTAL PROCEDURAL DOCUMENTS 13 9.11 TRY TO PUT YOUR PROCEDURES INTO RIGID OPERATION 4 9.12 GO THROUGH THE "ASSESSMENT HOOP" 4 9.13 POST REGISTRATION ACTIVITIES 410. THE COST OF QA REGISTRATION 11. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 12, SECOND PARTY CERTIFICATION 13. MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS 13.1 13.2 13.3 APPENDIX 1 APPENDIX 2 A2t A22 Aza Aza 25 A286 A27 A28 A29 2.10 Aaa APPENDIX 3 APPENDIX 4 GENERAL PSA OTHER LARGE CUSTOMERS ACRONYMS: DETAILS OF THE RELEVANT CERTIFICATION BODIES BSI KITEMARK SCHEME REGISTERED FIRMS SCHEME LRQA YOAF Nica BESCA EQUAL COA TRADA QAS NAMAS USEFUL ADDRESSES REFERENCE DOCUMENTS Page No. 15 15 16 7 7 7 18 2 2 2 28 29 3 3 33SUMMARY The Concept of Quality Assurance, and the desirability of practising a Quality Assurance System in business operations have now become generally well known and accepted throughout the Building Services Industry. More recently, pressures have been applied from several sources for firms to demonstrate their commitment to Quality Assurance and their implementation of its principles by some form of certification or registration. ‘This guide presents an outline of the various ways in which such a demonstration can be achieved, either through registration in one of several similar commercial schemes or by some form of self certification; ‘provide guidance and to the preferred route to be taken for different situations, and provides guidance in how to go about following the selected approach.INTRODUCTION ‘The Department of Trade and Industry launched its "Quality Campaign’ in 1983 to promote company-wide commitments to quality. The British Standards Institution issued its Standard on Quality Systems in 1979, and this standard, BS 5750, became the focus of attention of industrial firms who wished to commit to a Quality Policy. Subsequently a number of certification bodies, including BSI itself, announced schemes by which individual firms could become "registered! in some way 50 as to prove to their clients and customers that they were operating a valid quality policy. At first this quality certfication was aimed principally at manufacturers, and members of the Building Services Industry began to ask if BS 5750 applied to them, and if so, what certification schemes were available. BSRIA conducted a number of projects to identify how BS 5750 would be applied to the Building Services Sector, and various certififeation schemes aimed directly at the Construction Industry appeared. In the Spring of 1988, the BSRIA Board of Assessors discussed what they then perceived to be a rather confusing situation regarding the various routes available for quality certification, the likely costs involved, the availability of assistance from consultants and of grants, and the perceived justification for ‘making the considerable investment required in order to become certified or approved. This report is the result of a brief study and presents the situation, in as simple a form as possible, as it was perceived in January 1989. The QA scene is a fast-moving one, and changes to the procedures and organisations quoted in this guide may be made within the next year or two. TERMINOLOGY Prior to embarking on a discussion of the various options, it is necessary to be aware of the correct ‘meaning and interpretation of many of the words used in the language of Quality Assurance. A QUALITY SYSTEM is the process by which a supplier of goods or services ensures that he consistently delivers to his customer products that meet a certain predefined STANDARD ot SPECIFICATION. He demonstrates this by a system of QUALITY ASSURANCE, of which a generally accepted outline is available as British Standard BS 5750. This standard relates to the supply of goods and services in general and has been amplified and interpreted by the addition of industry-specific QUALITY SYSTEMS SUPPLEMENTS or QUALITY ASSURANCE SCHEDULES produced by a variety of CERTIFICATION BODIES to whom a supplier may apply for ASSESSMENT. These certification bodies may themselves be ACCREDITED by a national overseeing body to ensure a uniform stringency. Once assessment is completed, the certifying body will offer REGISTRATION under its scheme and will issue a CERTIFICATE of compliance. This compliance must be maintained and is subjected to a series of QUALITY AUDITS both from within the company and by the certification body. This certification process is known as THIRD PARTY CERTIFICATION, since both the supplier and the ‘customer may turn to an independent source of assessment, SECOND PARTY CERTIFICATION is also acceptable in many cases where the supplier himself assesses the quality system of his sub-contractors.Alternatively, suppliers of all sizes may provide SELF-CERTIFICATION in an attempt to convince his ‘customer that he complies with stated standards. AN OVERVIEW The following scries of questions and answers represent the usual concerns expressed by firms in the Building Services sector who are considering what they should do about “Quality Assurance". The ‘remainder ofthis guide is structured so as to amplify these brief answers. 1. Does Quality Assurance apply to my business? The principles of Quality Assurance can be applied to any business whose objective is to act as a supplier of goods, services or information. 2. Why should I operate a Quality System? If you are running a well controlled and internally disciplined business then you are already operating ‘Quality System, However, a fully documented and enforced quality system should be of advantage to you a) asamarketing tool b) —_asamoney-saving tool 3. How can I maximise the marketing aspect of my Quality System? Many large customers and clients are considering, or already implementing a requirement that their ‘must demonstrate evidence of a Quality System. Large suppliers (of goods and services) are also requiring their subcontractors to provide similar demonstration in order to satisfy their own customers. Hence, the ability to demonstrate your quality system will allow you to retain markets that might otherwise be lost, and to penetrate new markets with "Quality” requirements. 4. How can I demonstrate my Quality System? ‘The method which is simplest for the customer, but most expensive for the supplier, is to request third party certification by an independent body that is approved by the customer. ‘An alternative method is for the supplier to generate documentation which complies with the standards used by most certification bodies; provide these to his customer and subject himself to the customer's own audit or scrutiny, thus achieving second party certification, The process of self-certification by the supplier does not scem to be acceptable to most customers ‘without some minimal level of second or third party approval.5S. Who can I turn to for third party certification? There are about twenty QA certification schemes operated by bodies who are members of the Association of Certification Bodies (ACB). Of these, four deal with mechanical and electrical building services, and three others deal with electrical and lighting work. In addition, there are two other schemes specially for building services which are not yet members of ACB, 6. How do Tknow of these schemes are approved by my customers? There is a National Accreditation Couneil for Certification Bodies (NACCB). At present not all schemes are accredited, and some large customers (for example PSA) have approved some schemes which are NACCB accredited and some which are not. Currently, there is no clear alternative to askiog all of your various customers for their approval list. 7. Is Quality Assurance certification or accreditation given "across the board” or for a defined ‘scope of operations? Certification of businesses is given only for the scope of operations which have been assessed and this scope is noted on the certificate, Accreditation by NACCB is only given to a certification body's ‘operations in a defined area of interests, noted in the NACCB directory. 8. What will my Quality System be measured against? The generally accepted standard for quality systems is BS 5750. This standard has been adopted throughout Europe as the EN29000 serics, and internationally as the ISO 9000 series. They are all identical when in the English language. Each certification body issues supplements or schedules which interpret and sometimes add to BS 5750, but are specific to distinct sectors of industry (eg maintenance, commissioning, manufacture of air conditioning equipment, etc). 'BS 5750 part 0:1987 is a useful guidance document to setting up a quality system, 9. How will my customers know that I am a registered company? Each certification body publishes lists or directories of the firms it has registered. A national register is Published by the DTI but this is only updated at infrequent intervals. The BSI Buyer's Guide only includes firms registered by the BSI scheme and not those registered to the British Standard by other registration bodies. 10. Will there be an impact of the Single European Market in 1992 ‘The Construction Products Directive will require that a manufacturer operates a quality system in his Production process in order to obtain the E-mark, Without an E-mark the market for his products in Enrope may be limited. The definition and stringency requirements for the Quality System have not been agreed yet and may be less than compliance with BS 5750, This should be resolved by the middle of 1991,11, If I decide to obtain third party certification, what steps should I take? © Examine BS $750 carefully ‘© Request additional schedules or supplements from one or more certifying bodies Decide which certifying body you are going to use ‘© Discuss with them the preparation of your quality manual © Decide whether or not to use a consultant at this stage to help prepare documentation © Prepare your procedure documents ‘© Make sure your staff know about the procedures and adhere to them © Operate your system for a least four months © Request assessment. 12, What documents must I prepare? ‘You will need a Quality Manual which describes your policy and contains an outline of your Quality ‘System. This will also be useful as a marketing document. ‘You will also need a procedures manual, made up of written procedures for every routine operation you perform between accepting an enquiry and delivering your product. ‘Since the procedure documents need to be indexed in the Quality manual, you must produce them concurrently. 13. How does the assessment take place? Each certification body acts slightly differently. Generally, they will look at your documents, request changes, agree them, and then come in with 1 - 3 people for up to 3 days to ensure that all of your operations are carried out in accordance with the written procedures. If they are, they will issue @ certificate and put you in their published directory. 14, What happens next? ‘After you have been given a certificate, or registration with a scheme, you will be required to conduct routine Quality Audits yourself and you will be subject to 2to 4 annual one-day audits of specifi parts of your operation by a representative of the certification body. You will also have to demonstrate to this representative that you have been regularly checking the operation of your business in accordance with your procedure manuals. 15, What does all this cost? ‘Assessment and registration fees are levied on the size of the company, and vary slightly from one body to another. As a general rule the cost of fees for a modest size company over a three-year period will be in the region of £6-10,000.In addition, you must designate a Quality Manager who must devote part or all of his time specifically to the quality system, Most companies have found the nced for a full time person for the first year. A large company may require a full time staff of 2 - 3 people for this. It is unlikely that a small company could achieve registration with less than 3 man months of preparatory work plus 10% of a full time person as an internal auditor. 16, What help can I get ‘Your chosen assessment/certification body will provide a certain amount of free advice as part of their assessment fee. Independent consultants are available to take on various loads of work ranging from advising to the preparation of documents. ‘The Department of Industry offers grants of 50% of some of the consultancy fees for businesses having fewer than 500 employees worldwide (66% for companies in development areas). They also have lists of registered consultants. 1 ‘choose the second-party certification route? If you arc a subcontractor (ie a supplier of goods or services to someone who in turn is supplying to a final customer) you will have to comply with the requirements of your customer. If he is working to BBS 5750 he will require certain evidence from you that you are maintaining a Quality System. He may require this in the form of third-part certification or he may not. As the cost and complexity of third party assessment is being increasingly realised, it seems likely that small firms will be allowed to operate the second-party or self-certfication route. Ifyou are the principal supplier to a major Government Department or major construction company it is possible that you are already being required to have third party certification, or will have to have it in the foreseeable future. 18. What kind of evidence will I have to provide for second-party certification? Typical evidence of the maintenance of a satisfactory quality system which has been asked for inthe past by BS 5750 registered companies could include some or all of the following: 4) Lists of major Government clients with whom you have done repeated business b) Lists of large industrial customers for whom you have done repeated business ©) _Lists of contracts or orders for goods or services supplied to the specific customer requesting the second:-party evidence 4) _Asstatement of management policy concerning Quality Assurance.44 4.2 REASONS FOR OPERATING A QUALITY SYSTEM ‘COST REDUCTION BS 5750 defines Quality Assurance as the attainment of the desired quality that is required to meet the purchascr’s stated or implied needs. In other words, to provide the customer consistently with what he ‘wants, no better and no worse. This, surely, must be the aim of any respectable supplier of goods or services. Not only does it imply a satisfied customer, but it implies also that there is no need to expend effort (and money) on an excessive “overkill, so that the supplier should be able to reap financial advantages from implementing a quality policy. Many of the firms approached in this study who had introduced a QA system were of the opinion that they have saved money in better management and operational efficiency, fewer recalls and warranty claims, or reworking of products, but several questioned whether they had yet recouped enough to repay their OA costs. A MARKET EDGE Proponents of Quality Assurance may deplore the attainment of a market advantage as the principal reason for investment in a QA programme, but most of the firms approached did state that this had been a major incentive. An incentive which for most has not yet borne fruit. However, there is evidence that the justification for a QA policy will be seen when the purchasing policy of public bodies and major private bodies demands compliance - as is already beginning with PSA (see Section 13). Also, the stated need in the European Construction Products Directive for manufacturers to have a “factory production control procedure” in order to be able to affix the EC mark to their products, is likely to make some form of OA certification essential. ‘Thus, while the principal justification for operating a Quality System isto save costs, the only justification in subjecting the system to a costly and time-consuming external assessment is to impress the market place or to protect your existing market. SOURCES OF THIRD PARTY CERTIFICATION ‘There are a number of certification or registration bodies offering an independent appraisal of a firm's compliance with quality standards. In practice, anyone can set themselves up to do this, but the certificate they offer would be only as good as their own reputation. In an attempt to standardise and to maintain standards among the registration bodies, the Government has sct up the National Accreditation Council for Certification Bodies (NACCB). It is hoped tha this central body, because it has Government involvement, will be recognised throughout Europe since it uses harmonised international guidelines in setting its standards. The most recently published Directory of Accredited Certification Bodies from the NACCB is dated anuary 1988. In January 1989 there were nine accredited certification bodies.‘They are: ‘© British Standards Institution (BSI) British Approvals Service for Electric Cables (BASEC) ¢ Bureau Veritas Quality International Ltd © Ceramic Industry Certification Scheme Ltd (CICS) ‘© Lloyds Register Quality Assurance Ltd (LRQA) ‘© Loss Prevention Certification Board Ltd ‘© Quality Scheme for Ready-Mixed Concrete ‘© UK Centification Authority for Reinforcing Steels (CARES) © Yarsley Quality Assured Firms Lid (YOAF) It should be noted that none of these bodies has in fact received a "Universal Accreditation’ but they have been approved for operation only in clearly defined fields. ‘The field of "Building Services" is in fact mentioned specifically only in the accredited scope of YOAF, which uses the words: “The Building Services and Maintenance Industry, covering design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of mechanical and electrical systems". Some specific activities related to building services, such as pump manufacture, ball valves, thermostats, cables for control, compressors, energy measurement, refrigeration assemblies, are spelled out in the accredited scope of LRQA. Similarly, activities such a fire detection, multi-disciplinary buildings, civil and structural engineering design, sanitary ware, electric cables, lamps, sheet metal work, water treatment, arc in the accredited scope of BSI. There is an Association of Certification Bodics (ACB), to which all the NACCB accredited bodies belong, together with the following bodies who were not yet accredited by NACCB. This list is valid as of 1 January 1989: © The Central Certification Board @ TRADA Quality Assurance Ltd ¢ Industry Committee for Emergency Lighting Ltd © Electrical Equipment Certification Service © Det Norske Veritas © SIRA Safety Services Ltd/SIRA Certification Service ‘© Domestic Solid Fuel Approval Scheme © Engineering Contractors Quality Assurance Ltd (EQUAL)64 © British Board of Agrement © Certifire Decorative Lighting Association Independent Engineering Insurers Committee © British Electrotechnical Approvals Board ASTA Certification Services © British Constructional Steelwork Association Led ‘© Associated Offices Technical Committee © National Computing Centre © Associated Offices Quality Certification Ltd © Fencing Industry Quality Assurance Ltd ‘© National Inspection Council Quality Assurance Ltd (NICQ) There are two more certification bodies offering certification specifically in the building services field. They are: ‘© Building Engineering Services Certification Authority (BESCA) © Construction Quality Assurance (COA) Finally, there is an accreditation scheme specifically applied to test laboratories and calibration services. This was formed by the merger of the former National Testing Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (NATLAS) and British Calibration Service (BCS) and is now called "NAMAS’, the National ‘Measurement Accreditation Service. ‘On March 1 1989, BESCA and EQUAL will merge to form Construction Quality Assurance (COA). It will operate across the entire spectrum of construction and engincering and itis expected that NACCB ‘Accreditation will be achieved during 1989. WHAT DOES CERTIFICATION INVOLVE? GENERAL All of the schemes which are relevant to building services and are operated by BESCA, EQUAL, NICO, YQAF, LRQA, and BSI certify that the firm being assessed is operating a quality system in accordance with BS 5750, The BESCA, EQUAL, NICQ, LORA and BSI schemes also require compliance with some additional, but fairly minor requirements which form the substance of supplementary documents which they provide. These are called Quality System Supplements or Schedules. Uniquely, the YOAF (Yarsley) scheme does not require any supplementary compliance, and they have no special sector62 documents or schedules. In all cases full compliance with the relevant part or parts of BS 5750 - 1987 is required. WHAT DOES BS 5750 INVOLVE? BS 5750 has been adopted by ISO as an International Standard, and by CEN as a European Standard, The British Standard now carries an "EN" number showing that itis accepted by CEN members. BS 5750 was completely revised in 1987 and has been re-published. You should be sure that the documents you are using are in fact the BS 5750 - 1987 issue. BS 5750 sin four parts, as follows: the relevant ISO and EN numbers are given: BS 5750 Part O : Section 0.1: 1987 1S0 9000 - 1987 EN 29000 - 1987 This is a guide to selection and use of a quality management system. It provides useful background for the justification of a QA system but does not contain any mandatory requirements. BS 5750 : Part © : Section 0.2 : 1987 ISO 9004- 1987 EN 29004 - 1987 This is a guide to quality management and quality system elements. It provides very useful definitions, background and structure to a quality system and should be required reading for anyone contemplating setting one up. It does not contain any mandatory requirements. BS 5750: Part 1: 1987 180 9001 - 1987 EN 29001 - 1987 This is a specification for a quality system covering design, development, production, installation and servicing. It consists of a scries of mandatory procedural requirements which must be met in order to comply with the Standard. Its comprehensive coverage attempts to include all aspects of the PRODUCTION and SUPPLY of goods and services. BS 5750 : Part 2: 1987 ISO 9002 - 1987 EN 29002 - 1987 This is a specification for a quality system covering PRODUCTION and INSTALLATION only. Its content is the same as Part 1 for these Sections and it ignores all ofthe others. BS 5750 : Part 3: 1987 1SO 9003 - 1987 EN 29008 - 1987This is a specification for a quality system for FINAL INSPECTION and TEST only. Its content is the same as Part 1 for those sections that are relevant, All the others are ignored. ‘Thus, although the total 5750 package may appear quite formidable, only part of Part 1, in most cases, is required for mandatory compliance. PUBLICITY {All the certification bodies recognise the need for their registered firms to publicise the fact that they are registered. They issue a certificate for display which may be presented at a public relations function. They suggest that the certificate is copied into the quality manual and/or other forms of marketing literature. They all permit the use of their "logos" on your stationery, reports and other literature. They all do, or intend to, produce directories of their registered firms and have various attitudes towards keeping these up to date, ‘There is only one comprehensive all-in-one directory of registered firms. This is published by DTI as "Register of Quality Assessed United Kingdom Companies’. However, the most recent issue is dated January 1986 and a revised edition is "in preparation’. The current one is so out of date that the addresses and telephone numbers of nearly all the certification bodies are incorrect, and you are advised rot to waste time using this as a method of contact, and the listings of registered firms are far from complete by today’s criteria. BSI produce their "buyer's guide" each year. It includes all firms who have received registration under their various schemes. Contrary to common belief, however, it does not include firms registered under other bodies’ schemes, even though they are assessed to a British Standard. HEVAC publishes a quality assurance product directory listing firms in the HVAC sector who have been registerd under the BSI schemes (Registered Firms, Kitemark and Certification of Air Moving Equipment schemes) and Lloyds. Their intention is to republish this at six monthly intervals. HEVAC ‘members have to pay to be included in this. EUROPEAN IMPACTS At this point it is difficult to do more than speculate about how UK Quality Assurance schemes will be integrated into the Single European Market. BS 5750, in all three parts, has been accepted by CEN, the European Standards Body, as a European Standard without modification. Until this happened, no other European member state had any such ‘quality standard. However, some countries are now expressing concer that BS 5750 is too rigorous for general application, and may seek to introduce some less stringent procedures. Similarly, the NACCB registration of certification bodies is acceptable to, and similar to schemes in operation in France and Holland, but appears to be too rigid for German acceptance. 10oA 9.2 ‘This situation is likely to be resolved as the Construction Products Directive passes through the system. ‘This Directive, already accepted by the EEC, calls for certain common legislation to be adopted by all member states by mid 1991, Clauses in the Directive call for manufacturers to exhibit a system of *Factory Production Control" in order to be able to affix an EC mark to their products, thus obtaining a product passport to Europe. Whilst conformity with BS 5750 will certainly achieve this, the Commi ‘may yield to advice from others that a less stringent requirement will be sufficient. ‘The Directive also calls upon member states to nominate their National Certification Bodies for product certification. This is presenting considerable dificulty in its UK interpretation since product certification is accredited by NAMAS while factory control is assessed by others and is subject to NACCB accreditation. These accreditation standards are far from being acceptable across Europe. In early 1989, DOE, DTI and others are trying to sort out the UK situation prior to attempting to reach agreement with the remainder of Europe. Itis likely that it will be 1992 before any definitive statement can be made on how valuable a UK quality registration will be Europe. RECOMMENDATIONS ON PROCEDURES FOR QA REGISTRATION Each certification body offers its own individual advice, some formally and some informally. The following notes are a distillation of the informal advice gathered from all of these bodies. THE STANDARD Start off by examining BS 5750 : 1987 carefully. Make sure you have the 1987 version, it is much simpler and shorter than earlier issues. You can sce the entire standard in Part 1, while Part 2 excludes sections ‘on design, development and servicing, and Part 3 excludes all material except what is required for inspection and testing. Part 0.1 is essential reading at this stage. OTHER COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTS You will need to be aware of the supplementary documents, schedules, etc. issued by the certification body with whom you arc dealing. Before making the selection of this body, itis best to obtain some schedules from two or three bodies. YOAF does not have any; those produced by BESCA and BSI are very similar; LRQA are brief and must be read with BS 5750 while EQUAL schedules are stand-alone documents. There are a few additional and supplementary conditions and requirements in each schedule which are not common to all the others. un9.3 94 95 9.6 EXISTING DOCUMENTATION Put together all the standing procedural documents already in existence in your firm, and make a list of the steps in your process that they cover. Then make a simple flow-chart of all of the operations carried out in your firm from receipt of an enquiry to “despatch of the final product" (this may be a design, a site commissioning visit or a completed installation job). Use your existing documents as examples of these steps. Compare these with the mandatory requirements of BS 5750 and the appropriate schedules. Now make a judgement as to whether you are almost complete or far from it. See if there are any sectors ‘of your business which are better documented than others. Write a few more procedures to fill in a few gaps. You are now ready to make first contact with a certification body. INFORMAL CONTACTS Most certification bodies recommend you make your selection of the right body before embarking too far ‘on manual preparation. In saying this they are informally inviting you to make contact. If these informal contacts have not developed in the process of asking for schedules, make contact now with one or two bodies that you think you can work with, based on information in this guide and elsewhere about their characteristics. [Do not expect an immediate response automatically, Although all the certification bodies we spoke to in this survey stressed their eagerness to secure business, neither of the two that BSRIA formally applied to, requesting forms of application, etc in connection with our own certification process, had actually responded to these requests eight weeks after the contact was made ] Remember that all these bodies are competitors, secking your business, and out to make a sale. Do not expect too much without paying for it. However, if you can persuade the body of your choice to offer advice without creating a conflict of interests, accept it and pay for it. ‘SELECT YOUR CERTIFICATION BODY ‘Select your certification body early - they can help by telling you how to structure your documents. Check ‘with some of your major customers whether they will require NACCB accreditation or inclusion on an approved list ofthe scheme under which you are contemplating registration, USE A CONSULTANT Most certification bodies and firms who have been assessed advise on the use of a specialist consultant at this stage. This will save you time - particularly senior staff time - but be prepared afterall to say with hhindsight that you could have done the job yourself, it would simply have taken longer. Choice of a consultant is critical It is said that there are "cowboys" about in this ield. Surprisingly, there is no registration or certification scheme for QA consultants, so you will have to seek referrals or take ppot luck. Ifthe latter, only commit for a day’s work at the outset, ust to get help on your Quality Manual. 29.7 98 99 9.10 ‘You must be prepared to show your consultant your existing procedure documents in order for you to size cach other up. CLAIM A GRANT If you are using a consultant, claim your grant from DTI (see Section 11). Beware the fact that it is rumoured that some consultants increase their fee by one third when a 30% grant is being paid to cover their "extra hassle" costs. DTI will provide a list of registered consultants, but this list is not itself a ‘guarantee of quality. APPOINT A QUALITY MANAGER BS 5750 requires you to have a designated Quality Manager. He need not be full time in this post. However, to get a system up and running most medium to large companies have found that a full ime assignment is vital, especially at the beginning, So find somcone who knows your business fairly well, who ccan be relieved of all or most of his other duties for 3 - 6 months at least, and who likes adherence to detail. Most firms recommend sending him onto a 3 or 4 day lead-assessor course, as he will have the job later of being your internal QA assessor. PREPARE YOUR QUALITY MANUAL All advice from many sources is not to let a consultant do this for you in its entirety, or you will be lumbered with a system you cannot enforce. Even more strongly, the only people who can write workable departmental procedures are the department heads. Your consultant can guide them, ensure uniformity, completeness and compliance. The Quality Manual must contain a minimum of information required to comply with BS 5750. Some firms do just this - keeping the manual to such a size and containing such "punch" that it becomes a selling tool. In any case you will be required to provide a copy of your manual to any new customer operating under BS 5750, so keep this in mind when deciding its optional extra contents. For example, one large diverse manufacturing company has a BSI-approved Quality Manual of only 14 pages. Four of these pages are copies of the BSI Certificates, two are a policy statement by the Chief Executive, while the "meat in the sandwich" is merely a 2-page index of procedures and a page of amendments. So, do not be daunted by the manual - it is as comprehensive as you want it to be. If the ‘manual is more than very brief, structure it so as to follow the structure of BS 5750, In any case, use the 'BS 5750 paragraph numbering structure for the mandatory index of your procedure documents. PREPARE YOUR DEPARTMENTAL PROCEDURAL DOCUMENTS. This is the biggest job of all, and will probably result in a large quantity of paper. Two large design consultants visited in the course of preparing this guide each had about 5 metres of shelf space filled with ‘manuals, while two relatively large manufacturers each had about 3 metres of manuals, 39.11 9.12 9.13 Structure the manuals to comply as far as possible with the wording and format of BS 5750. This will make the assessment job easier. ‘TRY TO PUT YOUR PROCEDURES INTO RIGID OPERATION Remember that your external assessor will measure your firm’s (and your staff's) compliance with your manuals and procedures, not with BS 5750, Thus all staff must be aware of their relevant procedure manuals and have regular access to copies, but they can be blissfully ignorant of BS 5750 itself and of your Quality Manual. ‘You will find that you need further compliance documents in house - for example covering instrument calibration, document control, security of access to sensitive documents, that you probably had not thought about. Most certification bodies recommend that you operate your QA system for 4 - 6 months before being assessed as (a) it will be working properly by then, and (b) the assessor will require evidence that it has worked in the past. GO THROUGH THE "ASSESSMENT HOOP" ‘When negotiating your assessment with the chosen certification body insist on a proper written report of ‘non-compliance areas, and give priority to putting these right in the specified time to avoid paying the assessment fe all over again. POST REGISTRATION ACTIVITIES ‘Your Quality Manager must carry out regular and routine "audits’ of all aspects of your Quality System, documenting that he has done so, non-compliance items and remedial procedures. If this is not done and recorded, you will fil your nest surveillance vist, Some certification bodies have earned the reputation of trying to be helpful in their surveillance visits, while others are reputed to take the attitude of trying to catch you out. ‘Try to find out from your certification body the date and topic of their next visit. Whether or not you alert your staff to this is up to you. Most bodies will supply this information, but cases have been reported of the certification body assessor just turning up, unannounced, only to find the Quality Manager on leave, and then submitting a bill for an abortive visit. Good liaison with your certification body should avoid this "policeman" approach. Be prepared to react to non-compliance notices rapidly. You may only get 7 days to fix minor problems. Ifyou do not you could lose your certificate. “410. 11. THE COST OF QA REGISTRATION ‘Most of the certification bodies have fee schedules which are, in the long run, fairly similar. The cost ‘depends greatly on the size of your firm, how many sites it has, and how many re-assessments you have to have. For a 100-strong design consultancy, the three year cycle external costs seem to add up to a little over £10,000. Overall costs ranging from £800 to £16,000 have been quoted for a range of sizes of firms. NICO, dealing only with electrical installations at present, has set out to do an inexpensive assessment {for small companies. Three year cycle costs as low as £1,000 might be achieved for very small firms. Overshadowing all this, however, isthe real cost of staffing a QA system. Your QA manager must have fairly extensive experience and seniority, and requires secretarial help. Your divisional managers must be given time to prepare the procedure manuals, and your operational staff must be allocated time to familiarise themselves with the system and implement it. And, paper does not come cheap in the quantities required. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ‘The DTI Enterprise Scheme offers grants in a number of arcas including Quality Assurance. You may receive a grant towards consultancy costs only, provided you use a registered consultant for 5-15 days. If you are in an Assisted Arca or an Urban Development Area, you can claim 2/3 of the consultant's costs. Otherwise you can claim 1/3 of his cost. You are only eligible if you are: UK based An individual, a Single Company, Partnership or part of a group Have 500 of less employees world-wide within the group. ‘You may only get 2 assistance grants, in two different fields taken from the following: Quality Marketing Design ‘Manufacturing Systems Business Planning Financial and Information Systoms Application should be made to your regional office from the list in Appendix 3, or you could contact PERA (The Production Engineering Research Association), who operate the scheme for DTI: 1512. PERA Melton Mobray Leicestershire LE13 0PB Tel: 0664-501501, In Northern Ireland a different scheme operates; details from: ASI Co-ordinating Centre NI Automation Centre ‘Queens University Belfast BT9 SAH SECOND PARTY CERTIFICATION It is possible, in principle, to satisfy the conditions of BS 5750 by convincing your customer that you are complying with that standard or otherwise operating an acceptable quality system without having to subject yourself to independent third party certification. This is particularly applicable to sub-contractors oo subsidiary suppliers who are themselves supplying goods or services to a customer who is himself a certified supplicr to his customer. Thus second party certification may be the most appropriate route for smaller firms. BS 5750 Part 0, which is an introductory and definition document suggests under "procurement" that a close relationship and feedback system should be developed with cach supplier; that requirements, inspection procedures and standards should be defined; and that the customer should “Establish the supplicr’s capability’ by on-site inspections, product samples, historical experience of similar products or of other users. He should agree verfication methods, and establish methods for settling disputes. BS 5750 Part 1 requires a firm to carry out an assessment of their sub-contractors including Quality Requirements, and the verification of products at source, or on receipt. ‘The BSI Schedule states that sub-contractors must be formally assessed and formally supervised. ‘The EQUAL Schedule for Heating and Ventilating Contractors states that the selection of suppliers may be based on one or more of the following: a) Satisfactory third party assessment to BS 5750 by a recognised body b) Assessment of the supplier to BS 5750 by the contractor himself ©) Provision by the supplier ofa certificate of conformity to specified requirements 4) A rreview of previous performance in supplying to similar specifications. 1613. 13.1 13.2 At least one LRQA registered firm has already asked its suppliers either to show that they themselves are registered or to provide a list of similar goods or services previously supplied to large customers. ‘Thus, there is fairly widespread acceptance that as an alternative to getting BS 5750 registration, you will be able to satisfy your customer by providing evidence of the following nature: ) A policy statement including the fact that you do operate a Quality System b) List of similar goods and services that you have provided to him, as your customer, in the recent past ©) List of contracts or goods and services, and their destination, supplied to large Government Departments, National Bodics, well known large firms, in the recent past. You should be able to produce suitable documentation virtually automatically from your sales records and keep it up to date, far more easily than subjecting your Quality System to external assessment. But if you do this, be prepared for one or other of your customers’ Quality Managers to insist on an on-site verification of your Quality System (on-site means either at your premises or at your place of current work), MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS, GENERAL At present there are no mandatory requirements for suppliers of goods or services either to operate ‘Quality Systems or to obtain third party certification. However, it must be realised that the casiest way for an already registered firm to satisfy his internal and external quality auditors that his procurement system is in compliance i to insist that all suppliers are indeed certificated to BS 5750. In our brief survey we found two BSI-registered manufacturers who had adopted this policy, but one of them inadvertently restricted his choice by using the "BSI Buyer’s Guide" which is far from a comprehensive UK list of firms registered under all available schemes. PSA ‘The PSA maintains internal memoranda stating its policy and procedures. PRODUCTS Itis PSA policy to specify and purchase Quality Assured products covered by third party schemes which are deemed appropriate for PSA work and have sufficient manufacturers to ensure adequate un13.3 competition. To date PSA has approved over 160 schemes operated by BSI, BASEC, CARES, BBA, CICS and TRADA (note that not all of these bodies are NACCB approved), INSTALLATION Generally the approved schemes cover manufacture of the product only, Installation is a feature in schemes related to only two product groups, viz fencing and cavity wall insulation. DESIGN ‘The Design Standards Office of the Agency has developed and operated a Quality Management System to BS 5750 Part 1 and obtained registration as a multi-disciplinary office of assessed capability from BSI. A second pilot study in a Regional Office of the Agency is now in hand. ‘THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS [At present the only contractors and consultants required to operate a quality management system are those carrying out work for nuclear-related projects. OTHER LARGE CUSTOMERS ‘Several large construction companies have implemented quality assurance procedures and are imposing requirements on their suppliers and trade contractors. For example, Bovis Construction requires its supplicrs of goods and services to demonstrate their adherance to a quality management system aligned with their own status as a BSI Registered Firm to BS 5750 Part 1/1SO 9002, They require sub-contractors to conform with Bovis’ own QA system: ideally this is accomplished by being already certificated in the appropriate scope area by a reputable certification body, together with compliance with some on- and off-site checking procedures by Bovis. Independent certification is not mandatory. However, in such uncertified’ cases Bovis will carry out its own "second party’ assessment of its sub-contractor or supplier. ‘The Stock Exchange Property Department operates a procurement quality system using BS 5750 as the standard. They require all suppliers of goods and services to comply with procedures which they have laid down in a manual. They are now introducing a requirement for a formal Quality Plan (required by BS 5750) to be included in tenders for all major (above £100,000) contracts and are imposing quality audit and monitoring procedures for smaller contracts. They are now considering the gradual introduction of a requirement for all suppliers and contractors to have third-party registration under a 'BS 5750 scheme in order to remain on the tender list. Uniquely, they have adopted a policy, at least for the time being, of paying their contractors’ costs in ‘conforming to the Quality System, and this cost is shown as a separate line in their tender documents. ‘The Stock Exchange is practising what it preaches by introducing an in-house Quality System, and will probably seck third-party registration for its own internal operations as a matter of principle. 18British Telecom have operated a Quality Assessment System for its suppliers and contractors since well before BS 5750 was published. Their quality standard is very similar to BS 5750 and their assessment procedures are quite similar to those quoted by the third party registration bodies, requiring initial assessment, subsequent audits and periodic surveillance visits. Suppliers who have received BT quality approval have subsequently found it helpful in gaining BS 5750 registration, and presumably BT approval is readily given to those who already have independent registration. IBM Property Department practise an in-house Quality System and they invite their contractors and suppliers to participate in their internal “quality circles’ - establishing measurement criteria by which their work will be assessed. Contractors are not specifically aware of BS 5750 which is the backbone of the whole system, but are, in effect, going through a form of second-party assessment by IBM to IBM's own procedural standards. 19APPENDIX 1 ACRONYMS USED IN THIS GUIDE ACB Association of Certification B. BASEC British Approvals Service for Electric Cables BBA British Board of Agrement BCS British Calibration Service BESCA Building Engineering Services Certification Authority BPMA British Pump Manufacturers Association BSI British Standards Institute BSRIA ‘The Building Services Research and Information Association CARES UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Stee! CEN European Standards Commission cics ‘Ceramic Industry Certification Scheme Ltd coa Construction Quality Assurance pir Department of Trade and Industry EQUAL Engincering Contractors Quality Assurance Ltd Iso International Standards Organisation LROA Lloyds Register of Quality Assurance Ltd NACCB National Accreditation Council for Certification Bodies NAMAS National Measurement Accreditation Service NATLAS National Testing Laboratory Accreditation Service NICO National Inspection Council Quality Assurance Ltd PSA Property Services Agency SIRA ‘The Scientific Instrument Research Association TRADA ‘The Timber Research and Development Association YOAF Yarsley Quality Assured Firms LtdAPPENDIX 2 DETAILS OF THE RELEVANT CERTIFICATION BODIES A21 BSI ‘The British Standards Institution is not only the UK National Standards Body, but it has operated third Party product certification and assessed capability registration systems for many years. These systems include the Kitemark Product Certification Scheme and the System for Registration of Firms of Assessed Capability - the latter intended for those situations where product certification is impracticable, KITEMARK SCHEME This scheme applies to a particular product, not to an entire firm. BSI issues a licence to exhibit the Kitemark in order for you to provide customers with an independent assurance that the product complies with the relevant product standard and that it has been produced under a quality system complying with BS 5750. The certification procedure includes independent testing of samples of the product against the relevant performance standard, and assessment of the in-house quality system against BS 5750 and appropriate supplements. The Kitemark scheme can only be applied where there is a relevant British Standard for product performance. REGISTERED FIRMS SCHEME This scheme is applied to a firm and not a specific product. It is applicable to firms in manufacturing, Process and service industries, and uses BS 5750 Parts 1, 2 and 3, as appropriate, as the reference Standard. In addition, a Quality Assessment Schedule is prepared defining in precise terms special requirements relating to a specific group of products, processes or services. ‘The following Schedules are relevant to Building Services: (QAS 8370/34 Issue 1 : August 1988 to BS 5750 Part 1 Relating to the design of building engineering services QAS 8370/345 Issue 1 : August 1988 to BS 5750 Part 2 Relating to the installation of building engineering services (QAS 8370/346 Issue 1 : August 1988 to BS 5750 Part 2 Relating to the commissioning of building engineering services (QAS 3284/37 Issue 3: March 1986 to BS $750 Part 1 Relating to the design and manufacture of Air Moving Equipment aQAS 3284/98 Issue 3 : March 1986, to BS 5750 Part 1 Relating to the design and manufacture of heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment ‘and individual components. OAS 3284/150: March 1986 to BS 5750 Part 2 Relating to the manufacture of heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment and individual components. QAS 3284/236 Issue 1: April 1986 to BS 5750 Part 1 Relating to the manufacture of heating, ventilating and air conditioning of industrial refrigeration systems. QAS 8370347 Issue 1: August 1988 to BS 5750 Part 2 Relating to the maintenance of building engineering services. ‘The BSI scheme is accredited by NACCB in many specific areas of technology, some of which are "Management of design, manufacturing, procurement, installation and commissioning of multi-discipline engineering products comprising uu. large scale electric/mechanical projects", and *"Multi-disciplinary building, civil and structural engincering design’. Registration may be obtained for all or part ofa firm's scope of operations, and the registered scope will be defined on the registration certificate. ‘The procedure for obtaining registration is as follows: 1. Make contact with BSI Business Development Department, requesting appropriate schedules for your firm’s interests. 2. Complete the application and questionnaire that you willbe sent. 3, Receive a free technical visit from a BSI staff member, who will wish to look at your existing procedures and any documentation on these that you have in place. BSI will give you an estimate of the cost of assessment. 4, Pay the application fee. 5, Receive a visit from a one-to-three person team of assessors. The length and cost of this varies with your size, but as a guide a consultancy practice of 100 staff will take about 9 man-days. Every procedure will be examined and measured against your procedural documents. 6. Receive positive assessment, pay a registration fee. 7. Receive four surveillance visits (1 man day each) in the first year, 2 to 4 in subsequent years. A ‘contractor will have at least one visit to a works site. You will probably not be told in advance of the date of these visits or of the specific area to be surveyed. Their purpose is to ensure that, after assessment, you remain in compliance with your stated procedures. & Ifyou are not in compliance, you will be told what to put right and given a stated time (eg 7 to 30 days) in which to conform.Before entering steps 2 and 3 above, you should be confident that you have a reasonable Quality System in operation. You may obtain help in setting up such a system from an independent consultant; BSI do not offer such a consultancy service. However, BSI will provide a one day visit to explain the Standard and describe how you should "behave", but will ot assist in drafting manuals. BSI aso offers a"pre-assessment" visit of 1 man-day to have a brief look at your system as it takes shape, This may avoid paying the full cast of a9 or 10 day assessment if you have major flaws in your system. BSI approves of the use of external consultants but recommends that you do not leave everything to him (eg take a part in preparing your own manuals). ‘The cost of the assessment is as follows (as at December 1988) Application Fee £450 Assessment Fee {£400 per man day (Typically £3,600 for a 100 man consulting practice) ‘Annual Certificate Fee £440 Surveillance Fee £400 per visit (2-4 per year) Preliminary Explanatory Visit (optional) £500 Pre-assessment visit (optional) £500 All prices plus VAT and expenses BSI uses only in-house assessors for building services schemes LRQA Lloyds Register Quality Assurance Ltd was established in 1985 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds Register of Shipping, and is accredited in specific fields by NACCB and its Dutch equivalent Raad Voor de Centificatie. There is an individual firms scheme and sector based schemes which have been developed with relevant trade associations. LRQA commenced operations in the heavy industry sector but has moved into the food processing and construction sectors. NACCB accreditation has been obtained in arcas relevant to building services including pumps, pressure vessels, thermostats, environmental controllers, water check valves, thermostatic mixing valves, control cables, UPVC extrusions and fabrication, and in project ‘management, design and construction of industrial, commercial, public, residential and special building, including incoporated process plant; design, procurement and management of construction projects for the petro-chemical, process and engineering industries, excluding nuclear reactors and fuel and waste Containment; and building automation, mechanical, fire protection, heating, ventilation and airconditioning control systems. Assessment is carried out against the appropriate part of BS 5750, together with a Quality System Supplement (QSS) developed by Lloyds. They usually do this by forming a working party from that sector of industry, who submit their draft to an approvals committee of users and suppliers. ‘A number of sector schemes and QSS's already exist with relevance to building services. They include © Building Design Consultancy and Associated Services © Construction Industry - Management © Consulting Engineering Services ‘© Design Draughting Development and Engineering Service ¢ Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Equipment © Environmental Control Devices Fire and Security Systems © Plant Management Systems, Commercial Buildings ‘© Lifts and Associated Equipment, Service and Repair © Pipe Fittings and Ancillary Equipment for Gas and Water Service ‘© Pipe Fittings, Butt Welded, Ferrous and Non Ferrous Alloys Project Management, Engineering, Construction and Installation Organisations © Pumps, General Purpose ‘© Pumps, Pump Sets or Components (BPMA Sector Scheme) © Refrigeration and Air Conditioning ‘© Valves, Industrial, for Control of Fluids. Lloyds are willing to develop further sector schemes on request but will also assess single firms independently. ‘Their opinion on the application of their scheme to very small companies is that it would probably be inappropriate. ‘The process for approval is as follows: 1. Prepare Quality Manual and Procedural Documents 2. Apply for assessment -a fer is payable 3. Lloyds will review the Quality Documentation at your site, also agree assessment criteria and scope, and plan the assessment.4. Lloyds will carry out an on-site assessment of the implementation of your procedures, normally requiring 6 to 8 man days. One member of the assessment team will be a mechanical engineer with skills in your sector. An assessment fee is payable. 5. Once approved, an annual maintenance fee is payable. For this you will receive 2 visits per year (usually 1: man day each) to audit parts of your operation. You will get reasonable notice of the dates of the vist and a forward surveillance plan of the areas they wish to cover, 6. After 3 years you must go through the whole assessment procedure again, ‘The cost of the above is currently Application Fee 370 Assessment Fee (typically 8 man-days) $370 per man day (Typically £2,960 for a 100-man consulting practice) Maintenance Approval (Ist year) £740 typically 2nd and 3rd years 3 man-days typically Reassessment fee at beginning of fourth year All prices plus VAT and expenses. Lloyds recommend the use of an independent consultant in preparation of the Quality System and they offer a one day pre-assessment which results in detailed reporting to obtain subsequent approval. This currently costs £550, and over half oftheir applicants have made use of this. LRQA employ full ime staff assessors in the UK, supplemented by assessors available world-wide from Lloyds Register of Shipping, plus contracted assessors brought in for their specialist ski YQAF YOAF was established in 1983 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fulmer-Yarsley, which is a subsidiary of Fulmer Ltd, owned by the Institute of Physics. YOAF employs 12 full-time staff backed up by 80 technical specialists in other parts of the Fulmer Group, and has a number of regional offices, They commenced operations in the field of building and construction, and have since developed to include chemicals and polymers and the electronics and information technology industry. YOAF policy is to develop Quality Management and conformity services in those industries where other Fulmer Group companies have expertise. YQAF are accredited by NACCB for a number of arcas including "Building Services and Maintenance Industry covering design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of electrical and mechanical services" and are the only body to be accredited in this specifically named area. 25YOAF assessment is against BS 5750 and currently they arc the only body operating in building services who do not issue a supplementary document or schedule. Their belief is that BS 5750 stands alone and does not need to be embellished or made more complicated. YOAF does provide some interpretation documents, however, and some assistance for building services companies may be obtained from: © A Guideline Document for Architects © A periodical newsletter ‘A recommended procedure prior to an application for registration with YQAF is as follows: 1. Survey and write down all your procedures for all activities from receipt of an enquiry to delivery of a product. 2. List any existing procedural documents and note those procedures which are "informal" 3, Obtain BS 5750 and compare what you have got with what the Standard demands. 4, Identify where you comply, and where you do not. 5. Decide what needs doing, who does it, and by whom. 6. Produce a manual of all your written procedures. 7. Approach YQAF at this point via head office or regional office. & A YOAF consultant will then be assigned to your enquiry and a questionnaire and other documentation will be sent to you. ‘The registration procedure is then as follows: @ Complete the questionnaire (i) ——_ Receive a fully costed proposal from YQAF. (ii) On acceptance of the proposal, send the appropriate fees and your manuals to YQAF (i) YQAF will conduct desk-study of your manual and documents. 9. YOAF will assess every procedure on your premises and will ask your staff to show how they comply with the manual(s). 10, You will be subjected to 2 surveillance visits per year for 2.5 years of which due notice will be given, and a full reassesment is required at the end of the third year. ‘The cost ofthis assessment at current rates is:Application Fee £450 Assessment Fee ) ayear eer priced according to your size 2 surveillance visits 2nd year 1 surveillance visit 3rd year YOAF estimated total 3-year costs ranging from £4,500 to £30,000 for companies of different sizes, multiple sites, etc, ‘They offer an "easy payment” scheme by which the three-years costs are evened out annually over the period. YOAF suggest the use of an independent consultant to assist in steps 1 - § above, but recommends that step 6, the preparation of a manual, is done by your staff, not wholly by an external consultant. NICQ NICO was established in 1988 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting, a membership body principally serving the electrical contracting industry. NICEIC has over 11,000 electrical contractors registercd, and many local authorities require their ‘contractors to be NICEIC members. The NICO scheme has been tailored for small contractors in electrical installation, but will widen coverage to other construction contractor areas. They are undergoing accreditation by NACCB. NICO offers one free advisory visit, but no consultancy. They have commissioned a consultant to prepare ‘model documents, including a model quality manual which you can edit to make it fit your company. This is available on wordprocessor disk or hard copy. NICQ will assess you to BS $750, plus some specific Quality System Supplements. They include Production Installation and Final Inspection and Test of Electrical Installation; Final Inspection and Test of Electrical Installations; and the assessment procedure is as follows: 1. Produce your manuals and documentation, preferably using a model such as mentioned above. 2 Request information package, return question 3. Receive free advisory visit from NICQ. 4. Pay application fee and send manuals to NICQ. 5. NICO conduct a desk-assessment of your manuals. 6. NICO perform an on-site assessment of your company. 27A27 7. Receive certificates. 8 Receive 1 or 2 surveillance visits per year; no reassessment needed after 3 years. ‘The costs of this are according to company size (by employees) and to whether Part 2 or Part 3 of BS 5750 is used. (BS 5750 Part 1 registration is subject to individual quotation) Fees range: <25 employees 150 employees [BS 5750 Part 3 BS $750 Part 2 Application and Assessment B75 £1,255 Annual Registration, etc. 250 £520 All prices are subject to VAT and expenses. “The model manual package costs £89. BESCA ‘The Building Engineering Services Certification Authority was set up as a non-profit organisation in 1987 to provide certification to designers, installation and maintenance contractors and commissioning specialists. It was set up as an independent body under the auspices of ACE, CIBSE and HCVA and initially used the Heating and Ventilating Contractors Association address as its registered office. ‘Assessment is carried out to BS 5750, but in addition a Quality System Schedule is used. Originally, BESCA contracted with BSI to operate and manage their scheme for them, but this arrangement ceased carly in 1988. At the time of writing this Guide, BESCA is undergoing another change, having agreed to merge with EQUAL to form a new body, COA (see A2.9). There are four QSS documents: BES 001 - Relating to BS 5750 : Part 1: 1987 as applicable to the Design of Building Engincering Services BES 002 - Relating to BS 5750 : Part 2 : 1987 as applicable to the Installation of Building Engineering Services BES 003 - Relating to BS 5750 : Part 2: 1987 as applicable to the Commissioning of Building Engineering Services BES 004 - Relating to BS 5750 : Part 2: 1987 as applicable to the Maintenance of Building Engineering Services. The procedure for registration is: 1. During, or even at the start of preparation of your quality system, contact BESCA for assistance/ advice and the information pack.2. Forward the BESCA questionnaire and receive a quotation, 3. Submit the assessment fee. 4. Submit the Quality System documentation for assessment. 5. Undergo an assessment of your actual Quality System to ensure you are following the procedures detailed in your documentation, 6. Rectify all discrepancies. 7. Achieve certification. 8 Undergo ongoing surveillance visits at a minimum rate of two per annum, The costs of the registration are as follows, as of December 1988: Application Fee for one schedule £350-450 depending on staff numbers Application Fee for additional schedules £150 Assessment Fee Based on time required Annual Certification Fee 300 ‘Surveillance Visits Based on time required, BESCA only uses IOA registered lead assessors. EQUAL Engineering Contractors Quality Assurance Ltd (EQUAL) was set up in 1987 at the instigation of the electrical contracting industry as an independent body to offer certification to electrical, mechanical and civil engineering contractors. It is a non-profit organisation. It uses the Electrical Contractors Association address for its registered office. It will shortly reccive NACCB accreditation. EQUAL is currently undergoing a rcorganisation, having agreed to merge with BESCA to form a new body, COA. These notes describe the operation of EQUAL as it existed in December 1988. Assessment is made against BS 5750 plus Quality Assessment Schedules (where relevant) which are Published by EQUAL for each particular type of work, to amplify the requirements of the British Standard. The following schedules are currently available or are in preparation, and others wil follow: 1. Electrical Installation Work 2 Security Systems 3. Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning4, Machine Rewinds 5S. Pipework 6. Industrial Instrumentation 7. Mechanical Construction These schedules are far more detailed and specific than those produced by other bodies, and include the relevant parts of BS 5750 so that they may be used as "stand alone" documents. ‘The procedure for certification is as follows: 1. Prepare your Quality System and its documentation and put it into operation. 2. Contact EQUAL, return the questionnaire, application form and application fee. 3, Submit your manuals and documents for a “desk” assessment, correct any areas of non compliance. 4, Receive an in-depth assessment visit when you will be required to demonstrate the practical application of your documented procedures. 5. Receive a written report. 6. Remedy any areas of non-compliance. 7. Receive a certificate. 8 Receive at least two unannounced surveillance visits per year. 9. Be prepared to go through complete re-assessment after 3 years if required by EQUAL Certification Board. The cost ofthis process is: Application Fee - one schedule 350 Application Fee - additional schedules 1200 Assessment Fee Dependent on time required (Estimate will be provided prior to application) ‘Annual Certification Fee £325 Surveillance Fees Dependent on time required. Al Fees plus VAT and expenses.A210 EQUAL does not offer consultancy services, but does run workshops designed to help delegates develop their own policies and procedures. EQUAL uses specially selected contracted assessors with relevant industrial knowledge. COA Construction Quality Assurance is @ new body to be formed on 1 March 1989, combining EQUAL and BESCA. It will provide certification “across the entire spectrum of construction and engineering” and expects to gain NACCB accreditation during 1989. The new body will include representatives from ACE, ECA, CIBSE, HVCA and 21 others. It will honour and endorse existing certificates and applications in progress through EQUAL and BESCA. However, at the time of its announcement (20 January 1989) COA had not produced any schedules or fee structure, and was using the joint addresses of ECA and HVCA for its publicity TRADA QAS TRADA Quality Assurance Systems Ltd was established in 1987 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Timber Research and Development Association. The existing Quality Assurance schemes for the timber and construction industry that have been successfully oprated by TRADA for some 20 years were transferred to TRADA QAS on Ist January 1988, TRADA QAS has been developing new schemes which encompass the construction and building industry. RADA QAS provide assessment against BS 5750 and Product Conformity Schemes. TRADA QAS are currently in conjunction with TRADA developing ways of providing "E" mark certification for 1992 and onwards with regard to the EEC Construction Product Directive. TRADA OAS accreditation by NACCB is pending and is expected to be completed in the near future. TRADA OAS provides a full consultation service to enable you to prepare for BS $750 and Product Conformity Scheme, whi wolves: 1. Initial survey 2. Detailed consultancy to prepare procedures and operating manuals 3, Readiness for assessment 4. Advice on compliance aA211 ‘The cost of assessment at current rates is: Application Fee £450 ‘Assessment Fee . ; re ) Priced according to size TRADA OAS estimated total costs range between £4,000 - £30,000 depending on size, multiple sites, or participation in group schemes. NAMAS. The National Measurement Accreditation Service was formed by merging NATLAS (The National Testing Laboratory Accreditation Scheme) and BCS (The British Calibration Service) both operated by the National Physical Laboratory. NATLAS provides independent third-party accreditation of a firm's testing laboratory. Assessment is ‘carried out to the NATLAS accreditation standard, not to BS 5750, and is subjected to periodic ‘monitoring subsequent to the intial assessment. A Directory is produced annually with updates in a monthly newsletter. Being an accreditation body itself, NATLAS does not have NACCB Acereditation, but NACCB does require firms operating under accredited product conformity schemes (eg Kitemark) to subject their products for independent testing by a NAMAS/NATLAS accredited laboratory. However, BS 5750 permits a manufacturer to test his own products in-house without NATLAS approval, and this is sufficient forall certification bodies with the exception of the BSI-Kitemark scheme. ‘The British Calibration Service provides accreditation for laboratories who in turn provide certfication of the calibration of instruments, gauges and reference standards. 32.APPENDIX 3. USEFUL ADDRESSES AND CONTACTS: ‘Association of Certification Bodies (ACB) clo BSI 2Park Street London Tel: 016299000 Contact: Roger Brockway Association of Consulting Engineers Alliance House 12.Caxton Street London SWIHOOL Tel:012226557 Contact: Colonel Peacey BSI Quality Assurance PO Box 375 Milton Keynes MKI46LL Tel: 0908 220908 Contact: Peter Bartley BSI Business Development Department PO Box 375 Milton Keynes MK146LL Tel: 0908 220908 Contact: Mike Lukey Building Engineering Services Certification Authority (BESCA) Elton Close Balderton Newark, Nottinghamshire NGUIY Tel: 0636 705207 and 0860 300834 Contact: David Stack Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) ESCA House 34 Palace Court London w24HY Tel: 01 229 1266 Engineering Contractors Quality Assurance Ltd (EQUAL) POBox 194 Laton LU33NN Tel: 0582.405424 Contact: Peter Griffin Federation of Environmental Trade Associations Sterling House 6 Furlong Road Bourne End, Buckinghamshire SL8SDG Tek: 06285 31186 Lloyds Register Quality Assurance Ltd Norfolk House Wellesley Road Croydon CR92DT Tel: 01688 6882 Contact: Bruce Rees NAMAS Executive National Physical Laboratory Teddington, Middlesex TW1LOLW Tel: 01977322 Contact: Dr John Rogers National Accreditation Council for Certification Bodies 3 Birdcage Walk London SWIH 9TH Tel: 012225374 Contact: Cecil Young National Inspection Council Quality Assurance Ltd Vintage House 37 Albert Embankment London SELTUI Tel: 01 5828411 Contact: Peter Seott ‘Timber Research and Development Association Quality Assurance Services ‘Stocking Lane Hughenden Valley High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HPI44ND Tel: 0240243091 Contact: Ray Hobbs Yarsley Quality Assured Firms Ltd Trowers Way Redhill Surrey RHIZIN Tel: 0737 765070 Contact: Roger Easy 3BAPPENDIX 4 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS Directory of Accreditation Bodies, NACCB Latest available edition - No.1 Jantiary 1988 Quality Assurance Product Directory (FETA) Latest available issue - No.2 January 1979 Register of Quality Assessed United Kingdom Companies com From HMSO Books, P © Box 276, London, SW8 SDT Latest available issue - January 1986 BSI Buyer's Guide 1988/89 (BSI) Latest available issue - August 1988 Quality Assurance Guidance Note, with synopsis for Quality Manual and Operational Procedures (Association of Consulting Engineers) Department of Trade and Industry Enterprise Initiative Contact your regional office: DTI North East Cleveland, Durham, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear Stangate House 2Groat Market ‘Neweastle-upon-Tyne NE11YN ‘Telephone: 091 235 7292 Telex: 53178 DOITYNG Fax 091 232.6742 DTI North West (Liverpool) Liverpool, Widnes/Runcom, St Helens/ Wigan and Wirral/ Cheshire Graeme House Derby Square Liverpool 12 7UP ‘Telephone: 051 224 6300 ‘Telex: 627647 DTILPLG Fax: 051 236 1140 Price £10 No charge Price £5 DTI North West (Manchester) ‘Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and ‘Merseyside and the High Peak District of Derbyshire 75 Mosley Street Manchester M23HR ‘Telephone: 061 838 5000 ‘Telex: 666382 DTINWM Fax: 061 236 8420 DTI Yorkshire and Humberside North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Humberside 4th Floor Fairfax House Merrion Street Leeds LS28UI ‘Telephone: 0532 338300 Telex: 557473 DTIETU Fax: 0532 424639DTT East Midlands Nottingham, Derbyshire (except the High Peak District), Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire Severns House 20 Middle Pavement Nottingham NG17DW ‘Telephone: 0602 596460 Telex: 37143 DTINOTGI Fax: 0602 587074 DTI West Midlands Formerly West Midlands Metropolitan County, Hereford and Worcester, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire Ladywood House Stephenson Street Birmingham B24DT ‘Telephone: 021 631 6181 Telex: 337919 DTIBIRMG Fax. 021 643 5500 DTI South East Ebury Bridge House 2-18 Ebury Bridge Road London SW180D Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Bedfordshire, Herfordshire Telephone: 01 627 7803 Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight Telephone: 01 627 7802 Sussex, Surrey and Kent ‘Telephone: 01 627 7801 Greater London Telephone: 01 627 7800 Telex: 297124 SEREXG Fax: 01 730 6500/2965 DTT South West Avon, Comwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire The Pithay Bristol BS12PBN ‘Telephone: 0272308400 ‘Telex: 44214 DTIBTLG Fax: 0272299494 SCOTLAND Highlands and Islands Development Board Bridge House 27 Bank Street Inverness IV110R ‘Telephone: 0463 234171 Fax: 0463 244469 Scottish Development Agency 3 Market Street Galashiels TD13AD ‘Telephone: 0896 3463 Fax: 0896 58710 Central The Alpha Centre Stirling University Innovation Park Stirling FK94NF ‘Telephone: 0786 70080 Fax: 0786 51030 Dumfries & Galloway 16/18 Buccleuch Street Dumfries DG12AH ‘Telephone: 0387 54444 Fax: 0387 51650 Fife 441 High Street Kirkcaldy KY128X ‘Telephone: 0592 205171 Fax: 0592 202221 Grampian 10 Queens Road Aberdeen ABLOYT ‘Telephone: 00224 641791/645705 Fax: 0224 644325Lothian Rosebery House Haymarket Terrace Edinburgh EHI25EZ ‘Telephone: 031 337 9595 Fax 031 3379318 Strathclyde 21 Bothwell Street Glasgow G26NR ‘Telephone: 041 248 8706/7 Fax: 041 226 5089 Tayside ‘The Nethergate Centre Yeaman Shore Dundee DD14BU ‘Telephone: 0382 29122 Fax 0382 201319 WALES ‘Welsh Development Agency Business Development Centre Treforest Industrial Estate Pontypridd Mid Glamorgan Wales CFS7SUT ‘Telephone: 0443 841777 Fax 0443 841121 51748