The Sports and Play Construction Association, SAPCA, has strengthened its role in promoting high standards within construction of sports and play facilities, with the launch of its new Quality System.
SAPCA has always aimed to "raise the bar" for companies that specialise in the design and construction of sports infrastructure since its inception in 1997. The new Quality System brings together a number of key areas of SAPCA's activities and puts a strong emphasis on regular inspections of SAPCA members' work, to ensure that contractors always deliver projects to the absolute satisfaction of their clients.
SAPCA chief executive Chris Trickey comments: "The Quality System ensures that only specialist companies that can consistently deliver high standards of sports and play facility construction can join SAPCA and then remain as members."
The main elements of the Quality System are:
- Strict membership criteria - SAPCA's membership criterion ensures that only specialist companies and organsiations, with a proven track record and trading history, can be admitted.
- Financial stability - SAPCA works closely with credit reference specialist Experian and bases its membership criteria on the Commercial Delphi Scoring System used by Experian within its Risk Reports. This ensures our members are in the top 70% of UK businesses for financial stability, with a minimum Commercial Delphi score of 40 out of 100.
- Customer service - Each year all SAPCA members are required to re-sign the Association's Code of Professional Conduct, through which companies guarantee a continued commitment to quality.
- Standards of design and construction - SAPCA has a series of Codes of Practice that set out and define the industry's standards of construction. SAPCA members must comply with the required construction specifications and quality of completed work.
- Inspection of contractors' projects - In order to ensure that SAPCA contractors continue to deliver high quality facilities, the Association has introduced a new inspection programme, through which checks are carried out on a selection of members' projects, both during construction and on completion. This ensures projects are all built to exacting standards.
- Complaint resolution - SAPCA can provide impartial assistance in the resolution of complaints and disputes, should it ever be necessary, on the technical aspects of projects.
- Customer feedback - The clients of all SAPCA members are invited to provide feedback on their projects, and the performance of the companies that they have employed.
- Education and training - Each year, SAPCA provides a series of educational opportunities for its members that help to share technical knowledge and best practice, and reinforce the high standards that are required of SAPCA companies.
The new and vastly improved Quality System is here to safeguard the sports and play industry and wider community against poor quality design, build and construction standards.
Chris Trickey says: "It underlines the benefits of choosing members of SAPCA for sports and play projects, and will give greater peace of mind to those that buy, operate and maintain such facilities that their funds have been invested wisely."
