The assessor is coming next week
Your competent person scheme's assessor has booked the annual visit. They will want to see a list of recent jobs, pick some to inspect, look at certificates, check that your test instruments are calibrated, and ask about your reference documents. The qualified supervisor spends the week before searching.
One tester's calibration certificate is in the glovebox of a van that's on a job fifty miles away. Another has lapsed. The job list is assembled from the accounts software, which doesn't say which jobs were notifiable.
By the time the assessor arrives, the supervisor has pulled the pack together, but it has cost several days of work that should have gone on reviewing certificates and supporting the team.
Why evidence isn't ready
The evidence is created all year, but nobody collects it as it's created. Job details are in the job software, certificates in the certification software, calibration certificates wherever the tester was sent from, and reference books on a shelf. Pulling it together happens once a year, under pressure.
| Evidence | Where it usually is |
|---|---|
| Job list with types | Accounts or job software, not filtered |
| Certificates | Certification software |
| Instrument calibration | Paper certificate in the van |
| Reference documents | Shelf, edition unknown |
| Complaints and callbacks |
Instruments are a particular weak spot. Multifunction testers, loop testers and PAT testers move between vans, go for calibration and come back, and occasionally get borrowed by a subcontractor. The calibration certificate travels with the tester, if it travels at all. Nobody in the office has a list of which serial number is where, and when each one is due.
The cost of a yearly scramble
Your qualified supervisor loses days of productive time. Lapsed calibration found late means testing done with an instrument whose calibration had expired, which is an awkward thing to discover. A disorganised visit makes a poor impression. What your scheme requires is for them and your supervisor to set; our work is making sure the evidence is in one place.
There is also a knock-on effect on normal work. While the supervisor is buried in preparation, certificates wait for review, quotes wait for pricing, and site questions go unanswered. The whole business slows down for a week or two every year.
The evidence record we build
- Job register: every completed job is logged with its type, address, certificate reference and whether it was notifiable, pulled from your job and certification software.
- Instrument register: each tester has a record with its serial number, who holds it and its calibration due date. Reminders go out ahead of time, and a loan or spare is flagged for the gap.
- Calibration certificates: when an instrument comes back, its new certificate is photographed and attached.
- Reference library: the editions of documents you hold are recorded, with a note when a new edition is expected.
- Callbacks and complaints: logged against the job, with what was done.
- Assessment pack: ahead of the visit, a pack is produced with the job list, sample certificates and all the registers, for your supervisor to review.
Most of the registers fill themselves from software you already use. The only new habit for your team is photographing a calibration certificate when a tester comes back, which takes a moment.
Assessment week becomes a normal week
The evidence is always up to date. Your supervisor reviews a pack rather than builds one. Calibration never lapses unnoticed. And when the assessor picks a job, you can find everything about it in seconds.
It also improves the rest of the year. Callbacks and complaints logged against jobs show your supervisor patterns worth addressing, such as a job type that often needs a return visit, long before an assessor might notice.
Signs you need this
- Assessment preparation takes days of searching.
- Calibration certificates are kept in vans or not at all.
- An instrument's calibration has lapsed without anyone noticing.
- Your job list doesn't show job types or notifiable status.
- Callbacks and complaints aren't recorded against jobs.