Renewable Energy Installer February 2014 | Page 13

Partner organisation MCS presents its regular column for REI
Opinion
Ringing in the
changes
he Microgeneration Certifi cation Scheme (MCS) recently announced two new
initiatives designed to help installers get involved with the Scheme, and take
advantage of the opportunities offered by the forthcoming domestic RHI.
T
Changes to Heat Technology Standards
To support the domestic RHI, MCS has modifi ed the installer standards for the heat
technologies biomass, solar thermal and heat pumps.
The largest change is focussed on the addition of Compliance Certifi cates. This is
designed to be viewed as a checklist for installation companies to complete and confi rm
the suitability of the installation to the relevant MIS standard.
MCS has published on its website (www.microgenerationcertifi cation.org) a
full list of changes, consultation responses, and the relevant Working Group feedback.
A Clearer Path to Certifi cation
This initiative is aimed at helping installers better understand how to become certifi ed
and making it clearer how to up-skill and re-skill in response to changes, such as the
introduction of the domestic RHI.
MCS remains a scheme where it is the company that is certifi ed to carry out
installations. However, it has always been recognised that a company demonstrates
competence mainly through its operatives, whether those operatives have formal training,
industry experience or a combination of both. MCS is publishing the competency criteria
that the experience and training must combine to meet so that the company can be
certifi ed.
MCS now has a framework of roles against which the criteria are mapped so that
individuals can understand how the criteria are likely to apply to their role within their
company. Most roles can be combined or shared as required – the framework is designed
for every size and type of installer company.
MCS will also imminently make available for free on the MCS website a Competency
Checker Tool to support use of these frameworks. The qualifi cations checking and
‘Experienced Workers Route’ functions it contains can be used to help identify which
roles and criteria the installer believes they already fulfi l, and prompt the installer to
assemble evidence they can present to their MCS Certifi cation Body for evaluation.
The new Competency Criteria and assessment are being phased in from 16th
March 2014, applying initially to new certifi cations, and with a transition period of
up to three surveillance visits for existing installers to work to them. All installation
activity under the scheme will at all times have to meet the MCS Standards, giving real
confi dence to consumers.
The new Competency Criteria, supporting guidance framework, and IT tool
will guide installer companies in demonstrating how their staff’s combined industry
experience and formal training demonstrates the relevant competence for the company
to gain certifi cation.
For information regarding the revised Standards and the Competency Criteria project,
visit http://www.microgenerationcertifi cation.org
Well another quarter goes by and the ever-
evolving world of renewables continues
to provide challenges from all sides. How
consumers are supposed to fi nd their way
through the maze of confl icting arguments
made from all manner of sources beats me.
We are all infl uenced by external
forces. Opinions are increasingly led by
what we see on the TV or online and, very
often, what we glean from our friends and
relations. These are ‘trusted’ sources of
information; the trouble is that we really
don’t know how reliable our information is.
Let’s face it; everyone has an axe to grind
and often we hear what we want to hear.
This is why the infl uence of installers
can be extremely powerful. You are the
experts working in a market of inexpert
buyers. You carry the weight of authority
gained by training and experience backed
up by accreditation. You can make, or break,
propositions by exercising your authority.
But you require the trust that markets
will provide the commercial opportunities
for you to trade profi tably and to justify
the costs associated with training and
accreditation.
We know that trust is hard earned
and can be easily lost. False dawns have
littered the past with many forecasts of
uptake lying shattered on the rocks of
failed expectations. Will the domestic RHI
provide the stimulus to make a difference?
We think so but much more importantly, do
you? What I can say for sure is that if there
is consumer demand then someone will
satisfy it profi tably, we’d like it to be you!
www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk | 13