You might have seen companies advertise that they are third party accredited by various certification bodies, but what does this really mean and is it actually important?
In short, yes. Third party accreditation is very important. This is because it means that the company has been assessed by an independent party and they deem the company to be competent in that specific area. This assures competency as the views are not subject to bias, which could possibly be the case if accreditation is awarded by the company or someone connected to the company (1st or 2nd party).
When choosing a fire and security company, third party accreditation is especially important. This is down to the responsibility you are passing onto them. The company you chose could mean the difference between life and death, for example, if you choose a fire alarm maintenance company that is not third party accredited, how can you be sure that they are fully competent to service your fire alarm system to detect and alert when there is a fire?
Don’t just take our word for it, Jonathan O’Neill, Managing Director of the Fire Protection Association has urged the Government to ‘get on with it’ in regards to the change in regulations in the fire industry. In his opening speech at the FPA’s Fire Sector Summit on 5th November 2019, he said “I heard they [the Government] aren’t planning to introduce the legislation that will see Hackitt’s recommendations become law until the middle of next year, and the law will take about a year to get through the Parliamentary process. That is four years after Grenfell – it’s too long. I make the plea to Government, after the General Election whoever is in power – get on with it. Make the changes in building regulations that are so obvious they really don’t require further scrutiny. Mandate Third Party Certification, ban single staircases in tall buildings, install sprinklers and high integrity detection and evacuation systems and ban combustible materials in all high risk occupancies, regardless of a buildings height. This is not rocket science, so get on with it and get on with it immediately please.”
