Kurnal, I always forgive your many many errors of judgement and, in this case, your hardness of hearing, which is something that comes with advanced age I would imagine. Firstly, how do you know none of our people post here. Perhaps they are being anonymous like Simon the CB. Secondly, I think you will find I said that if they gave any advice (free or otherwise) without it being subject to QA they would be in trouble, because of liability considerations, of which, I know, you are always totally unaware. On the QA point, if you do ever manage to get a QMS system in process like any responsible practice would have had in any case, you will understand the point.
Colin I am grateful for your benevolent forgiveness. It is good to know one can be absolved so quickly, after all I am unlikely to find if the Good Lord has been so accommodating till I arrive at the Pearly Gates.
It is good also to hear that you do understand others desire for anonymity. Firenet has no problem whatsoever with the concept of anonymous postings provided posters do not purport to represent the views of anyone other than themselves.
Your concern for potential liability as a result of posting off the cuff advice on a public forum has been raised in the past, I had not linked this to your concerns over your own people posting here and apologise for misrepresenting this. Communication is a two way thing and this point had not come over to me. Perhaps we should revert to fire service radio procedures. Message ends. Over.
In terms of Quality Management Systems I do recognise the point, but as you recently said yourself in this thread , Rome was not built in a day. Speaking personally I actually operate as a sole practitioner, but with strategic links to other sole practitioners who assist me to complete projects. I find that most of the big players in the field also operate in this way, (and I for some of them). Very few fire safety consultants are direct employees of the companies for whom they carry out work.
As a small consultancy I find I am already way ahead of most large competitors in having signed up to the FIA code of practice and from April this year undertaking to use only practitioners who are on one of the existing four registers. I note that the majority of large practitioners including National and International companies / fire safety organizations do not appear to have yet taken this step.
Whilst quality and service are important to me, as a fairly young business timing is an important consideration when considering ISO 9001 certification. There are obvious costs involved:- the cost of certification itself, plus the other costs such as consultants fees, perhaps buying a kit, and the work associated with developing audit and management systems involved.
It's something I have been weighing up to see if the cost-benefit ratio stacks up: that is at what stage it becomes viable to do so. Not one customer has yet asked me for it, so market forces are not leading me down this path, as with the FIA membership criteria it’s founded in a desire both to do a good job and to be seen to be doing a good job for my customers.
Regarding the other practitioners that I use, they only want to make an honourable living and are not interested in ISO 9001 certification. As they are my subcontractors though my QMS will have to show how I select, monitor & manage them to ensure that my client gets the standard of work they expect and deserve.
Like many other member companies of the FIA I feel I am bending over backwards to meet the concerns of Sir Ken and the Government and will implement the recommendations of the Compentency Council when these are finalized. I look forward to BAFE to produce a decent Company scheme in SP205 to complement the FRACS company scheme already operating. But I also hear concerns from other disciplines in respect of the performance of some of the CBs operating some of the other BAFE schemes which undermine their credibility within their sectors..
No matter how good the schemes, I fear all this effort and expense will not come to fruition and standards generally will not improve unless the CBs, Fire and Rescue Services and the Government grasp the nettle and publicise the importance of using competent companies.
