W O R K S H O P
INDUSTRY-LED QUALITY SCHEME
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
SUCCESSFULLY PUT TO TEST
Five years on from its launch,
New Zealand’s Steel Fabrication
Certification (SFC) scheme
has been a great success.
Approximately 88% of structural
steel is fabricated by SFC
certified fabricators, with several more businesses
well on their way to certification.
To ensure the integrity of SFC, there is a robust
complaints process whereby certified fabricators
are held to account when things don’t go as they
should.
The first complaint was lodged in 2017 by an
inspection services provider (complainant)
contracted to inspect the work of an SFCqualified
company.
While formal complaints are made to the
SFC scheme manager, the actual complaints
process is handled independently by the HERA
Certification Ltd.’s Certification Panel.
In this instance, the complainant provided a
detailed inspection report highlighting where
contractually agreed specifications were not met
and voiced their concerns that the work did not
comply with SFC requirements, specifically:
1. Lack of welding supervision and time pressure
to get the work out the door
2. In-house inspections were not performed and
documented
3. Failure of welders to fabricate welds in
accordance with AS/NZS 1554.1
4. Third-party inspection was not performed
before despatching items.
Weld quality is a key certification plank of SFC. In
this case, the fabricator failed to comply with the
SFC scheme and the underlying welding quality
management standard AS/NZS ISO 3834.2. This
could have been avoided if the system had been
maintained properly.
When deciding action, the Certification Panel
noted the respondent’s full acceptance of the
complaint in its response, where it also described
the root cause and their proposal to remedy
the shortcomings in their QA process. They
also ensured the non-compliant steelwork was
repaired in compliance with the standard and
approved to the satisfaction of the complainant.
The situation didn’t warrant suspension of
certification. Instead, the Panel issued a formal
warning and outlined a series of corrective
actions, including being put on the auditor’s
watchlist for one year. The respondent also
agreed to provide full QA documentation for
selected completed projects and to implement a
training programme for the welding coordination
team and welders. The auditor’s final report
confirmed that all proposed actions were
implemented satisfactorily.
“I am happy with the professional handling
and response taken by the HERA Certification
Panel in respect to my complaint. I have been
constantly advised and updated on how this was
being addressed. As a result of this experience
I believe the HERA/SCNZ complaints procedure
has proven to be open and cooperative and, as
such, this has helped allay my concerns around
the accountability of its members under the SFC
scheme.” – Complainant
To find out more about the SFC scheme,
visit www.scnz.org/Resources/Compliance/
Steel+Fabricator+Certification.html
28 November 2019
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