2021 has been an unprecedented year for home improvements and activity has surged over the past eighteen months , fuelled by a combination of more time to tackle the jobs often neglected , and tradesmen unable to enter our homes because of Covid restrictions . Throughout the increase in DIY pursuits , DHF has continued to stress the importance of professional installations and compliant products , particularly in the instance of fitting , for example , a domestic garage door .

DHF ’ s Head of Commercial Operations , Patricia Sowsbery- Stevens says : “ Although activity dipped in the summer months , it rose again from September and our members working in this sector have reported being particularly busy . One area of concern , however , is the shortage of materials that could continue until the Autumn of next year .”

Looking ahead , with the Building Safety Bill due to be passed , DHF will embrace any changes in legislation and , as always , notify members to allow time for them to prepare for the potential new regulatory requirements for safety critical products . The focus for the federation will continue to be on third-party certified fire doorsets . DHF will also be supporting the ‘ Code for Construction Product Information ’ ( CCPI ), recently launched by the CPA to drive higher standards in the presentation of construction product information in the manufacturing industry . The new code promotes urgent positive culture and behavioural change in the approach and management of product information by the construction product manufacturing industry and has been described by DHF as ‘ a step in the right direction ’ in moving away from inaccurate product

information being presented to customers , architect and specifiers and bringing integrity back to the industry .

Renowned for providing a superb service to its members , DHF has become known as a centre of excellence across all the industries it serves . It maintains this reputation by implementing methods and processes that ‘ future-proof ’ the federation , and by thinking ‘ outside of the box ’. Just this month , for example , DHF announced it has created a safety video for the benefit of its garage door group members – and the general public – educating them on the standard safety features for automated domestic garage doors . It is the first time DHF has made such a video .

“ We are determined that both garage door group members and consumers are

well-versed on what they need to look for when purchasing a new garage door ,” says Patricia , “ and that safety and compliance are never considered an ‘ optional extra ’.”

At the very heart of DHF ’ s operations is training . Indeed , since launching its first training course in September 2013 , DHF has assisted almost 4,000 candidates in successfully completing a DHF training course . Educating the industry is a key part of the federation ’ s offering and it fully expects a wider uptake of NVQs , as well as a growing emphasis on the importance of apprenticeship schemes to support trades , including ours , as we move into 2022 . Throughout the Covid- 19 pandemic , the federation has received widespread praise for continuing to deliver training through a combination of face-to-face teaching and via its ‘ Distance Learning Programme ’ ( DLP ), and DHF ’ s training academy at Tamworth has gradually got back to ‘ normal ’, with face-to-face learning and more places now available on training courses .

“ Training is set to increase in 2022 with more courses being released , including collaborations with BRE and ALEM ,” explains Patricia , “ and we have also just launched our new training website , a hugely effective platform to enable delegates to book and learn online . It offers greater flexibility for our learners .

“ There is much to be positive about in the year ahead , both for DHF and the industry ,” concludes Patricia , “ and as ever , the federation will continue to lead the way with regards to safety , compliance and best practice .”

www . dhfonline . org . uk

36 JANUARY 2022

CLEARVIEW-UK . COM