TECHNICAL
QUALITY ASSURANCE – meet the team helping to uphold the highest standards on the agenda
O
ne of the many reasons why clients choose an Association Accredited Contractor is the fact that we take considerable steps to ensure that our members consistently and systematically deliver what clients can reasonably expect, in-fact that is our definition of quality. Before being granted British Association of Landscape Industries Accredited status all members are assessed against our published Quality Standard to ensure that they stringently meet all the required criteria. To guarantee continued quality, the stakes were raised even higher in 2014 with the introduction of Quality Standard Reviews (QSR); a process that replicates the initial vetting process.
The majority of Accredited Contractors have received a QSR, but just as we made plans to carry out further visits we were forced to suspend trips to members because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are delighted to say that we have recently recommenced our
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QSR programme and have planned to visit most of the outstanding members in the coming months.
With over 500 Accredited Contractors to assess, spread throughout the United Kingdom, we need a dedicated team of Vetting Officers to deliver the important task. I am delighted to say that I am privileged to be part of such a team. The Vetting Team has evolved and grown significantly over the past few years to meet the QSR challenge, and it now boasts a wealth of industry expertise. Therefore, we thought it would be a good idea to introduce you to the team as it currently stands.
The team is currently nine strong and our Vetting Officers are all engaged on freelance basis and only called upon when needed to ensure effective spend of Association budget. As you can appreciate, the density of our membership varies considerably across the country and as a result some vetting officers find themselves busier than others, but we now have very good geographical coverage. (continued on page 34)
By Richard Gardiner Technical Officer (Quality Assurance)
