The Locksmith Journal 87 July 2023 | Page 55

ASSOCIATIONS & ORGANISATIONS

DHF ANNOUNCES PATRICIA SOWSBERY-STEVENS AS NEW COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR

» DOOR & HARDWARE Federation ( DHF ) has announced that current Head of Commercial Operations , Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens , has been promoted to the position of Commercial Director . The announcement was made by CEO , Bob Perry , on 30th March in a statement that praised Patricia ’ s ‘ significant development and improvement of our commercial offering involving membership , marketing and training ’.
Patricia joined DHF in 2015 , and over a seven-and-a-halfyear period , has transformed the Tamworth-based trade association into a modern , progressive , forward-looking organisation that is committed to maintaining and raising
quality standards , and very much remains the industry ’ s ‘ go to expert ’ on training and technical advice in the industries it serves .
In particular , Patricia has been the driver behind DHF ’ s first refresher course website in 2016 , as well as its extensive rebranding in 2017 , which incorporated the vision of the federation with new branding , a new website , and newly branded publications that brought continuity to DHF and a thorough overview of the six member areas that it represents .
In 2018 , Patricia implemented the online training booking and payment facility which took DHF to ‘ another level ’ and enabled
learners to book and pay for courses online ; this was a first for DHF and the start of things to come . In 2019 , she deployed the CSCS card offering ( launched in November ), a comprehensive platform held on the DHF website that enables users to complete , apply and pay for a CSCS card online with ease . The same year saw Patricia positioning DHF to become an ABBE Assessment Centre , offering the accreditation of courses , the only formal theory-based qualification for the industries that complement the NVQ .
“ Patricia is a great ambassador for women in the industry , and an inspiring role model for our younger employees . She has very
effectively developed the commercial team who form a key part of our organisation ,” says Bob .
Further to the DLP , Patricia has succeeded in creating DHF ’ s Training Academy website with on-site training , launched in November 2021 , and enabling learners to take control of their own learning and book training and refresher courses online .
www . dhfonline . org . uk

DHF TAKES ANOTHER STEP TOWARD THE GOLDEN THREAD , WITH ‘ PRODUCT DATA TEMPLATES ’ FOR DOORSETS

» AS A RESULT OF THE DEVELOPMENT of a new industry-approved Product Data Template ( PDT ) for doorsets , manufacturers and distributors seeking to build confidence in their products and move closer towards implementing the ‘ Golden Thread in construction ’ can now supply consistent performance data to specifiers , contractors and building owners , says DHF . The PDT is timely , following the recent publication of the landmark Morrell Review into the regulation , testing and verification of the performance of construction products .
“ A Product Data Template is a common way of describing essential product characteristics that can be traced to a credible source such as a product standard ,” explains Michael Skelding , General Manager & Secretary at DHF . “ Once a manufacturer completes a
PDT , the output is a Product Data Sheet summarising the performance and other technical characteristics of a construction product . Structuring product information in this way enables more consistent , audience-specific information , and identifies all the performance information required to make informed choices about construction products .”
The doorset PDT has been published by the shadow Fenestration Relevant Authority , a group of 14 organisations and trade associations that have come together to provide PDTs for the sector , which DHF is represented . This means that the industry will now be able to create a coordinated set of Product Data Sheets for any doorsets involved in their projects . Hanna Clarke , digital and policy manager at the Construction Products Association ( CPA ) said :
“ Structured product information is absolutely vital to a joined-up construction and built environment sector . But the key to arriving at this information is consensus , and the CPA is pleased to see that the trade associations in the fenestration area have come together to form a shadow Relevant Authority as per the processes identified in the LEXiCON project .
“ It is these consensus processes and due diligence that will allow all those using the template and resulting product data sheets to trust that the information has been appropriately considered and will have longevity in application .”
The PDT is available to download here : https :// bit . ly / DHF-GenInfo www . dhfonline . org . uk
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