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OCTOBER 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
WHAT IS A
CONTRACTOR
GUARANTEE?
If you’re an independent contractor or a builder,
offering a high quality contractor guarantee should
form an integral part of your business.
REASONS IT MAKES
SENSE TO OFFER A HIGH
QUALITY INSURANCE
BACKED GUARANTEE
The CPA is one of the most experienced companies when it comes
to offering high quality Insurance
Backed Guarantees. Choosing an
Insurance Backed Guarantee from
companies like The CPA can give
tradespeople and their customers extra peace of mind when it
comes to installations.
ISO 9001, the most widely-adopted
quality management systems standard
has benefitted millions of organizations
globally - with users reporting increased
growth and productivity and significantly
higher customer satisfaction and retention.
The standard has undergone
its first major revision since
2000 to incorporate changes
made following feedback
from users and experts
around the world. Terms
crucial to understanding
ISO 9001 are defined in ISO
9000*, which has also been
revised, with both standards
published on 23 September.
WHAT IS A CONTRACTOR
GUARANTEE?
A contractor guarantee is a term
used to describe an Insurance
Backed Guarantee: the guarantee
that all UK independent contractors and builders must offer by
law to customers when carrying
out an installation or project.
An Insurance Backed Guarantee
is designed to protect tradespeople and their customers in the unlikely event of a company ceasing
to trade. Available for a period of
up to 10 years, and backed by a
UK authorised insurer, an Insurance Backed Guarantee raises consumer confidence as homeowners
will know that they are protected
should your business go bust.
If, because of liquidation, receivership, administration or winding
up of a business due to bankruptcy, state retirement or death, the
company no longer exists, faults
appearing after they cease to trade
may be covered by the Insurance
Backed Guarantee.
As of June 2014, all UK tradespeople must offer an Insurance
Backed Guarantee with any installation they carry out. This means
that finding the right guarantee
that can protect tradespeople and
their customers, whilst enhancing
reputation, is more important than
ever.
2015 Quality
Management
Systems standard
now available
‘Offering a high quality contractor
guarantee from a respected and
industry-renowned company such
as The CPA can help to improve
the reputation of a business’
Here are some of the main
reasons it makes sense to offer a
contractor guarantee (or Insurance Backed Guarantee):
1. LEGAL PROTECTION
YOU CAN TRUST
By offering a contractor
guarantee tradesmen and their
customers can benefit from extra
peace of mind about your legal
protection in the unlikely event
of something going wrong during, or after the installation. All
of the contractor guarantees that
The CPA offer are provided by
a UK authorised insurer so that
tradesmen can be sure of receiving high quality legal protection
should anything unforeseen
happen.
2. PEACE OF MIND
With a contractor guarantee
from tradesmen can rest safe
in the knowledge that you’ll be
complying with the law.
3. A BETTER REPUTATION
Offering a high quality contractor guarantee from a respected
and industry-renowned company such as The CPA can help
to improve the reputation of a
business. Offering an IBG from
a respected company is a great
way for tradespeople to make
their company more attractive to
customers.
Source: www.thecpa.co.uk
Since 2000, the way we do business has changed enormously. We
have instant access to information
and higher expectations of organizations we work with, whilst
having to deal with more complex
supply chains and a globally competitive economy. ISO 9001:2015
has been revised to take this into
account.
Some of the key changes include:
• Greater emphasis on building
a management system suited to
each organization’s particular
needs
• A requirement that those at
the top of an organization be
involved and accountable, aligning quality with wider business
strategy
• Risk-based thinking throughout
the standard makes the whole
management system a preventive tool and encourages continuous improvement
• Less prescriptive requirements
for documentation: the organization can now decide what documented information it needs and
what format it should be in
• Alignment with other key
management system standards
thr ough the use of a common
structure and core text
‘The importance of
achieving, maintaining
and improving quality
within organizations,
cannot be emphasized
enough’
Anne Hayes, Head of Market
Development for Governance and
Resilience at BSI, said: “The importance of achieving, maintaining
and improving quality within organizations, cannot be emphasized
enough. As supply chains become
more complex and productivity
levels increase, so does the need
to ensure all contributing elements
are operating to the highest standard. ISO 9001 is the world’s most
used management system standard
for good reason. It ensures businesses are not just doing ‘enough’,
but taking additional steps to
further reach their potential. The
aim is to become more efficient,
reliable and to enhance reputation
and trust.”
Pre-order ISO 9001 at: shop.
bsigroup.com/ISO9001
*ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems. Fundamentals and Vocabulary