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FM industry to benefit from move to raise standards
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move to promote professional standards in pest control has been hailed as positive news for the facilities management industry. Two pest control companies this week became the first in the UK to be accredited against a benchmark of quality recognised throughout Europe. Both are allied to the British Pest Control Association (BPCA) and the leading trade body is now challenging its 450-plus servicing members follow their example.
Simon Forrester, chief executive of the BPCA, is confident the plan will deliver significant benefits to the FM sector. He said: “The European Standard for Pest Management Services EN16636 was developed by the pest control industry to act as a demonstration of professional credentials. “We know of many pest controllers who are untrained and do not stay up-to- date with the latest products, techniques and legislation – and that’s something which can create big problems. “But this will demonstrate our members are on a level playing field with the best pest management companies in the world and will mean that, by employing members of the BPCA, facilities managers can be totally
confident of a professional service.” Premier Pest Control, based in West
Yorkshire, was this week named as the first company in the UK to be measured against the Standard, while Ecolab Pest Elimination was awarded certificate number one.
The initiative was launched earlier this year by the Confederation of European Pest Management Associations (CEPA). It defines quality and best practice and acts as an assurance that member companies are fully qualified to deal with all pest species and are experts on integrated pest management, the use of chemicals and health and safety issues. It’s the cornerstone of a strategy to portray a positive image of the pest management industry in terms of public health, food safety, environmental sustainability and economic significance. All BPCA member companies will be at least working towards the standard from January and Mr Forrester is aiming to help everyone pass the audit by the deadline of June 2017.
He added: “Our members will each be independently assessed by Bureau Veritas, a global certification body – we are the only UK organisation that does this. “The danger is that internal audits by
trade bodies are potentially weakened by pressure to allow
companies to pass, which we know
happens in other associations. By using third party verification, clients can be sure our audits are legitimate and every BPCA member company is held to the same high standard.”
That audit will involve the entire structure of the company to make sure everything from its working practices and training to its ethos and values is correctly aligned. Mr Forrester said: “Those who
don’t meet the criteria at the moment will be offered all the help and support they need to get there. “This is a move which sends out a strong message that when people use BPCA members, they can have peace of mind that the job will be done properly. “We want the BPCA to remain the mark of professionalism in UK pest management, and for clients to know to look for our logo every time they select a pest management company.”
www.bpca.org.uk
New tester helps Elm EV to ensure safe and reliable operation
ne of the UK’s leading EV charging infrastructure companies has become one of the first to utilise new electrical test technology for fast and efficient fault finding and maintenance of charging installations. Elm Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions has equipped its service and maintenance team with the new EV100 test instrumentation developed by Seaward for comprehensive validation testing and fault finding on all types of AC electric vehicle charging equipment. When connected to the charging point, the handheld EV100 carries out all of the tests to ensure that EVSE operates correctly and safely at the time of installation and as part of any ongoing periodic maintenance schedules, in accordance with IEC 61851.
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For diagnostic testing, the dedicated EV100 tester also simulates a number of
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vehicle faults and measures the EVSE response, including disconnection time and the amplitude, frequency and duty cycle of the PWM signal. As well as carrying out basic field tests, more detailed diagnostic data from the charge point is retained in the unit and can be transferred to a mobile Android app using NFC wireless communications. This comprehensive technical data can then be quickly sent to a specialist engineer or head office location for full remote fault diagnosis and records management purposes.
The Seaward EV100 automatically carries out an extensive set of EVSE tests and measurements including output voltage, maximum available charging current, earth loop impedance and RCD trip time. Insulation tests are also carried out on the EV charging cable to verify
safety for users.
Elm EV is a leading independent electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) company and has been responsible for over 2,000 charging point installations for private and public sector clients throughout the UK, including many large employers and healthcare organisations. Further details at
www.seaward.co.uk/EV100 Building & Facilities Management – January 2016
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