Third Party Certification - How Does It Work?
Third party certification (TPC) is where an
assessment is conducted to ensure compliance, whether for a service
or a product, by a body that is independent of the supplier or
customer organisation.
In the fire sector, NSI is licensed by BAFE (the supplier) to
approve companies providing appropriate services (customer
organisation) and is entitled to issue compliant companies with
certification.
The Role of BAFE
BAFE developes relevant schemes for the fire sector in
conjunction with interested parties such as NSI, the Chief Fire
Officers' Association (CFOA), insurance companies and the fire
industry.
These schemes can then be operated by appropriate Third Party
Certification Bodies (TPCB) which must be accredited by UKAS for the relevant BAFE scheme, known as the
accredited scheme.
There are only two accredited schemes for Fire Detection and
Alarm companies and one for the Maintenance of Portable Fire
Extinguishers as detailed in the table below.
BAFE SP203, through NSI Fire Gold, is equivalent to LPS 1014 as
both schemes require ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System
Standard.
Certification/Documentation Required By System
Owner
Enforcing authorities should look for two forms of certification
relevant to Fire Alarm and Detection Systems that can be issued by
the company contracted to install the system.
- BS Model Certificates - These are found in the back of the
relevant British Standards documentation. However, these can
be copied and issued by anyone.
- TPCB Certificates - These have more authority as they can only
by Third Party Certificated Companies. Samples of this type
of certificate are shown below.
