ADMINISTRATIVE
STRUCTURE AND COMMITTEE TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Scheme will be administered by a Committee. The Terms of Reference of the Committee and its Technical Assessment Panel are as follows:-
BUILDCERT INDUSTRY FORUM.
The membership shall comprise:-
All BuildCert Members.
Representative from DWI.
Representative from NHS Estates..
Representative of BuildCert
The Technical Assessment Panel.
The Bathroom Association.
Any other invited expert.
The Secretary (BuildCert staff member).
Meetings will be held twice annually, otherwise meetings will be held as and when required at the request of the Chairman.
The Functions of the Committee
This shall include:-
To approve testing laboratories that have been investigated and recommended by the Technical Assessment Panel.
To agree the membership of the Technical Assessment Panel.
To agree on any necessary cancellation of certification.
To agree amendments to the Specification.
To consider issues referred to it by the Technical Assessment Panel
To resolve disputes and differences between aggrieved parties.
TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT PANEL (TAP).
The Panel shall report to the BuildCert Advisory Committee.
Membership of the TAP.
The membership shall comprise:-
An independent Technical Expert.
A member endorsed by NHS Estates as representative of the Hospital Engineers.
A Secretary (to be provided by the BuildCert and not involved in the work of testing
As and when necessary or requested by members, observers shall be invited from:-
Members of the BuildCert advisory committee.
The NHS Estates.
DWI
The Testing Laboratory concerned with the testing of a particular fitting.
The manufacturer of a product and/or his independent expert.
(Note: The manufacturer of a product and/or his independent expert may only be present with the consent of the Panel and only when the subject of his application is being discussed.
The functions of the Technical Assessment Panel
This shall include:-
To review application forms in advance of testing, to establish those fittings that require testing and the test requirements to be applied.
To receive test results for non standard products from the approved test houses together with all relevant documentation marking and any other appropriate details relating to the product to establish whether the product meets the requirements of the product standard or BuildCert's .
To establish the reasons for any failure and advise the manufacturer or factor.
To propose amendments to the Specification for consideration by BuildCert
To investigate applications for nominated testing laboratories seeking approved status and to make recommendations to the BuildCert Advisory Committee.
To oversee the Audit Scheme in accordance with the laid down Audit Scheme procedures for each product.
To collaborate with BuildCert in the investigation of failures and all matters arising from such as laid down in the Audit Scheme procedures.
NOMINATED TESTING LABORATORIES
Testing Laboratories may be nominated by manufacturers, factors or themselves for testing to the BuildCert specification.
Testing Laboratories shall be investigated by the TAP which will then make a recommendation to the the BuildCert Advisory Committee. Applications shall be made directly to the BuildCert Secretary.
The Testing Laboratories shall be accredited for testing to the relevant Specification by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) or an equivalent accreditation body affiliated through some national agreement to UKAS.
The Testing Laboratories may be required to undertake round robin testing with WRc-NSF Ltd to demonstrate consistency between the Laboratories.