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SPN AUG 2010 InMyview


www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk In my vIew


Current SPATA President and Commercial Director of Certikin International, Ben Studdy graduated from Exeter University where he met Kelsey Geekie and realised there was actually a UK pool industry. Ben went on to teach at Woodstock Village School until 1985 when he was persuaded by Stephen Geekie to join Pool Gear (PG Group). Ben sits on the ISPE council and is Past President of the ISPE as well as currently Chairman of SPATA Thames Valley


‘EthicS, EducatioN aNd thE rEviSEd SPata StaNdardS’ Midway through my tenure as BSPF President and after many years on the BSPF board in one role or another I want to talk about some of the incredibly positive changes within our trade organisation. In particular on three key issues I feel strongly about – ethics, education and the promotion of the revised SPATA standards. Combined SPATA and BISHTA membership is


approaching 300. Okay, not an all time high, but, given the difficult trading conditions of the last few years, very encouraging. There is no question of complacency and there is much to be done to attract new members and to increase our industry’s profile to the trade itself and, vitally, to the public. A criticism that often has been levelled at the


BSPF is that SPATA and BISHTA do not communicate well enough with the members. To counter this claim I have to stress much has been done of late to improve communication methods and make information freely available and easily digestible, but despite this it is increasingly difficult to drum up interest in, for example, regional meetings. Perhaps it is an indictment of the busy lives we


lead that said meetings have become all but extinct. Many of the ‘oldies’ amongst us will fondly remember the gatherings in packed rooms where awkward questions were often asked and the heated but healthy debates that ensued. Despite much effort put towards regeneration


of the meetings they seem to be of little interest to the majority of the members and one has to


ask why? Apart from a chat over the phone these meetings were at one time the only way for trade companies to get together to exchange information and discuss new ideas. They had the effect of making all of us feel that we had an involvement and a say in the immediate and long term future of our industry. Despite having a place in modern business I do feel that the internet and mobile phones have a lot to answer for in the demise of face to face collaboration and commerce. Onwards and upwards and the BSPF and its


internal organisations have found other ways of reaching members. These include a weekly e- letter, vastly improved websites, the organisation’s notable presence in the trade’s official magazine, SPN, and also member visits by BSPF Managing Director, Chris Hayes. To those few people who complain about never knowing what is going on, start reading the SPN magazine it’s a great industry read! Take a little time to look at the websites (www.spata.co.uk and www.bishta.co.uk) and sign up for the weekly e-letter. An enormous amount of unsung work is


carried out by members of the various committees within the BSPF and we are continually looking to new blood for novel ideas and perhaps to suggest a different approach to decision making. In particular, the promotional arm of the industry, PIP, is on the look-out for retail/builder members to assist with fresh ways of promoting the industry. One of the advantages of being part of a relatively small industry is that your voice can be heard so why not use it!? Now to my bête noire of unethical dealings. In


Ben Studdy: “There is a glorious future ahead for a professional, larger and ethically driven swimming pool and hot tub industry”


its extreme a simple non truth can start a series of events that can ruin companies, lives and relationships. It can also tarnish an industry which can take years to recover. The way companies deal with allegedly poor workmanship, unpaid invoices and how they compete for contracts must all be handled in a way that benefits the contractor, customer and supplier. The knock-on effect of handling problems in an ethical way is in the interests of us all and great for the pool industry as a whole. The revised SPATA (please call the office for your copy) Standards include a revamped code of ethics that is going to appear in the members’ section of the SPATA website. I urge you to have a look at it. I have read in previous issues of SPN the


concerns that were expressed about the BSPF and comparisons were drawn with our industry’s glorious past. The world has changed, and along with it our business practises. For those who feel strongly about the direction of change in our wonderful industry please get involved rather than participating in Chinese whispers which in the end do little to further our collective cause. Attend a SPATA or BISHTA meeting, ask a question, write a letter or send an e-mail to the office. Better still actually join one of the organisations and start to influence the direction of change, rather than complain about it. There will always be differences of opinion but the bottom line is that we all want the industry to succeed. There is a glorious future ahead for a professional, larger and ethically driven swimming pool and hot tub industry and we all have an integral part to play in achieving that end. spn


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