SCA discusses third party accreditation at House of Lords symposium

The Smoke Control Association (SCA) was recently invited by the Fire Sector Federation to present to a House of Lords symposium on third party certification and accreditation. Sponsored by Lord McKenzie of Luton, this industry wide discussion was aimed at agreeing how some of the critical findings from Dame Judith Hackett’s report could be turned in to practice.

Chaired by Baroness Brinton of Kenardington and including several Lords and MPs, the meeting overwhelmingly supported the need for third party certification and accreditation, importantly for both people and products. The Smoke Control Association, represented by Will Perkins (pictured), was able to explain the progress it has made in delivering a comprehensive system of product certification (the EN12101 series underpinned by the CPR) seamlessly linked to people’s competency through the industry’s IFC SDI 19 scheme.

The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) makes it mandatory for manufacturers to only place products on the market which carry both a CE Mark AND a Declaration of Performance both underpinned by a UKAS Accredited Notified Body. The CPR sets out clear rules and guidelines and it is essential that all stakeholders in the fire safety industry quickly gain a good understanding of these regulations and put them in to practice. Ignorance cannot be an option.

Recognising the industry’s shortfalls in independent accreditation for installers, the Smoke Control Industry has introduced their SDI 19 Third Party Installer Accreditation Scheme which is run by IFC. Importantly UKAS accreditation has already been applied for. Six SCA members have successfully gained accreditation and a further 12 have applied and are in the process of being assessed. It was agreed by the SCA that only those members who offer installation services and have SDI 19 accreditation can belong to the SCA.   

The Smoke Control Association is working hard to raise the standards of its products and its people through third party accreditation. After this House of Lords symposium, the rest of the fire safety seems to be determined to raise their standards too.

You can find more information on the SCA here

18-03-2019