Proving competency has been a key topic this year, and one that is only going to become more important going forward. With this in mind, James Talman, NFRC Chief Executive, talks through the NFRC’s ‘relaunched and refreshed’ Competent Person Scheme.
On 1st December, 2020, NFRC formally launched the NFRC Competent Person Scheme (CPS).
NFRC CPS was previously known as CompetentRoofer, and since it first started in 2010 has become a well-known and respected scheme for both roofing contractors and homeowners alike.
NFRC Competent Person Scheme, the only active scheme of its kind for the roofing industry, allows contractors to self-certify that work complies with Approved Document L1B of the Building Regulations, without having to go through costly and bureaucratic Building Control sign-off process.
The government-endorsed scheme is now more successful than ever with over 550 contractors registered, self-certifying over 13,000 projects a year. October 2020 saw the busiest month for the scheme on record with over 2,000 Building Regulation Compliance Certificate (BRCC)s lodged on our database in one single month.
Rebrand
So why the name change? For many years NFRC has had several different brands under one umbrella, but this hasn’t always been clear. We are now bringing all of these brands into the wider NFRC family, so alongside the NFRC trade association will be NFRC Competent Person Scheme, NFRC RoofCERT Roofing Accreditation, NFRC Commercial and NFRC Charitable Trust.
NFRC CPS will form the certification part of the business with its ISO/IEC 17065:2012 accreditation. We’ll gradually be moving over to this new brand, but don’t worry, we’ll be supporting contractors with this transition and providing new letterheads, van stickers, and other materials.
Quicker and easier system
As part of the relaunch of NFRC CPS, we have made a significant investment into a new Contractor Portal. The portal will be much simpler to use, particularly when registering blocks of flats. Previously, contractors had to enter the address of a flat multiple times but with the new portal contractors will be able to label work as ‘flats’ and it will automatically replicate the main address. The portal will also allow for BRCCs to be automatically emailed to property owners rather than them receiving them in the post, and contractors will now be notified when these have been sent.
Greater choice over Insurance Backed Guarantees
Providing an Insurance Backed Guarantee (IBG) on a dwelling (except where the client is a local authority or housing association) is a core requirement of a Competent Person Scheme and provides reassurance to the client. In the new NFRC CPS, contractors will have a greater choice of which insurer to use for their IBG, including with the following organisations which we are pleased to be working with:
• Installsure
• QANW (GPI)
• Qualitymark Protection Limited
Futureproofed
We hope over time to grow and broaden the scope of the NFRC CPS Scheme as new government initiatives are introduced that require companies to prove their competency, such as the Green Homes Grant.
This newly relaunched and refreshed CPS is ready to face the challenges and opportunities ahead, and I encourage all roofing contractors to read through our new website and consider joining the scheme.
Find out more at: www.nfrccps.com