It’s not happening by accident of course. We’re working hard to improve and expand our services all the time and the results are showing. Let’s have a look at the New Years Resolutions, we made at the back end of last year;

1. Provide even better value to our existing and new clients
2. Ask our clients how we did?
3. Increase the number of services we provide
4. To follow up our service in a more effective way

First point – better value – we’ve sharpened our prices somewhat. Not by dropping them willy-nilly is a desperate price-slash bid to gain more business. We’ve done it by asking more questions. When a new or existing client contacts us by email for example, its all too easy for our team to fire off an email with a quote and log it on our CRM system and forget about it. Depending on the enquiry, we are now asking more. By creating a more detailed picture of the premises we can provide a more accurate costing and in 90% of enquiries bring the price down.

Second point – how did we do – we have continued to ask our clients how we did. We don’t receive comments all the time (no news is good news??) but we receive enough to act on and improve our service. We’re pretty proud of the service we provide at present, but there’s always room for improvement. If you’re reading this and you feel that there’s something we’ve done wrong or could do better, let us know. Otherwise we’ll keep making the same mistake.

Third point – increase the number of services – FAIL. We have yet to implement any new services as planned. This is frustrating but as we’re already flat out without greater resource we won’t be expanding any time soon. So a few extra steps have been added to this plan of action. Watch this space.

Fourth and Final Point – follow up service more effectively – whilst there are no outwardly evident signs of improvement here, internally we have been going through all our old files trying to work out who would benefit most from a follow up service.

So that’s it folks. An honest update to the last three months. What never ceases to amaze me, is the amount of time it takes to get things done and how little time there is in which to do it.

I’m going to leave you with a quote I heard not so long ago, but I’ll have to paraphrase because I can’t remember the exact wording…

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

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This caught our “eyes” recently as having quite significant consequences to many.

But first the background. When manufacturers in the mid 90s introduced fan-flued gas boilers they were hailed by many as being a major step forward. They allowed boilers to be installed on internal walls instead of having to be installed on an external one. This meant that architects, house-builders etc. could design systems more efficiently saving on space.

As a consequence thousands of homes, old and new, have gas boilers on internal walls. So far so good.

The pertinent point to this is that the flues to many of these boilers were, in some cases, routed through voids in the ceiling space, through stud walls and between properties above.
Up until recently the guidance governing such checks stated that in the event that a flue could not be checked then it had to be deemed “not to current standards” and in the absence of any other risks which could make the boiler unsafe then that was that. Job done.Here comes the rub. When a Gas Engineer installs, repairs or services a boiler or indeed does ANY work to it, they are legally required to check the flue to ensure that it is safe.

Things changed on the 1st January 2012. New revised guidance came into force. This guidance now requires that inspection hatches be fitted to all properties and premises where the flues are concealed, and this has to be done by 31st December 2012.

To quote the HSE, “Any gas engineer working on affected systems after 1st January 2013 will advise the homeowner that the system is “at risk” (AR) in accordance with the GIUSP and, with the owner’s permission will turn off the gas supply to the boiler so it cannot be used.

In the interim period, where no inspection hatches are fitted, the registered gas engineers will carry out a simple risk assessment which should ensure that the risk from exposure to CO is managed in the short-term. This risk assessment includes:

• looking for signs of leakage along the flue route; and
• carrying out a flue combustion analysis check (and obtaining a satisfactory result); and
• checking for the presence of suitable audible carbon monoxide (CO) alarms (and installing such alarms where they are not already fitted).

As long as this boiler passes the series of safety checks and the risk assessment does not identify any concerns about its safety, it can be left on. Suitable inspection hatches will however need to be fitted to the ceiling (or wall, as appropriate) by end 31st December 2012. Wherever possible it is recommended that inspection hatches are fitted before this date.

Once inspection hatches have been fitted, the gas engineer will be able to make sure that the flue is safe and was installed in line with the relevant standards and manufacturers instructions.”

But what happens if you don’t pass the test? Gas off.

Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/fluesinvoids.htm

In the case of the asbestos survey, the law says that common parts are “non-domestic” and are therefore subject to the law. So in short, the answer is yes.

Common parts are generally thought of as entrance lobbies, stairwells, lift shafts etc. but so is the exterior in most cases, as are blocked off chimney and service ducts. So even if you live in a house converted into two flats, one up, one down with separate entrances and no communal entrance, you still need to check if you share any parts of the building with your neighbour.

In the case of the fire risk assessment, the law stipulates that in all non-domestic environments a risk assessment should be carried out. Whether or not the findings should be documented depends on the type of premises and the number of employees, but in the case of sleeping accommodation the rules are very clear cut – it has to be done and documented.

Of course, that’s not the end of the story. If asbestos is found it should either be removed, which can be very costly, or managed and monitored on a regular basis (most likely annually) and a management plan must be put in place.
With fire safety, following the initial risk assessment an annual review should be undertaken and a management plan must also be implemented. But that’s another chapter.

True to form 2011 has flown by. We have welcomed many new clients to our portfolio as well as new team members, including my fabulous PA, Becki. Becki’s input has been phenomenal and in a very short space of time has made herself pretty much indispensable.

We have heard from many existing clients and worked with them on a range of projects this past year, which in this age of economic uncertainty is more than encouraging. We have found that in order to remain competitive, we have had to “sharpen our pencils” as it were and make sure we are providing our clients with best value. This doesn’t always marry with the lowest price so we are not always successful, but to put it frankly, we don’t want to be the cheapest.

We have tried to add value to our service in a number of ways. Obviously price is a key factor but its not exclusive when it comes to adding value. Many of our services involve an inspection/survey/assessment of some form, which is followed by a report, which details the outcomes of the inspection and whether there are any shortcomings . Delivering this on its own, in many cases is simply not enough. The report only gives half the story – by itself it would often only serve to confuse, telling the client that they need to do something,  but not what to do and how to do it!

Our aim is to provide solid recommendations and in effect a roadmap to acheive the goal, whether that is compliance, completion or general success.

Its not always easy to do this without feedback from the client and our experience is that feedback often only comes when the client is not entirely happy – a situation no business owner wants to find themselves in. So to that end we have introduced a client feedback form. We now send these as standard, but it can also be accessed at hurstsolutions.co.uk/customer-feedback-form should any existing clients feel the need to update us, or give us advice on how to improve.

So to 2012. In the coming year the plan is to improve and expand. The first quarter will see the introduction of a number of new services for which we are currently recruiting. By the end of 2012, we want to be able to provide our existing and new customers with a more rounded “premises consultancy” service.

I feel I also need to explain the term “premises consultancy” as it seems that its not always apparent. We have never wanted or been able to pigeon-hole what we do. When coming up with the term we toyed around with well used descriptions such as “facility management”, which came close, but as a small company providing a skeleton of FM services we felt that term would be misleading. Perhaps at some point in the future we will provide a more encompassing service which we feel we can call facility management, but we are under no illusions – we haven’t reached that stage yet.

So the term “premises consultancy” was born. It is in essence what we do – we look at your premises, whether that be your home, your office, your factory (even your caravan in some cases!) and provide you with the answers to the questions you have asked us. As long as those questions are within our field of expertise of course, which as mentioned above is growing.

We also provide a follow up or re-inspection service, which in many instances is a legal requirement. This is never a hard sell and we don’t push the service for one reason. We have felt that in all but the most complex cases we should be providing our clients with the necessary tools and knowledge to do this on their own. But it seems that we have missed the point to an extent. If a client comes to us in the first place, they are saying, “we can’t or don’t want to do this ourselves, can you do it for us so we can get on with what we do?” So why should things change when a re-inspection is due, and more importantly unless we remind the client, why would they remember it was due. This is something we also plan to change for the better in 2012.

So without further ado, I shall set out the Hurst Solutions New Years Resolutions;

1. Provide even better value to our existing and new clients
2. Ask our clients how we did?
3. Increase the number of services we provide
4. To follow up our service in a more effective way

So don’t be surprised if you get an email from us soon, but in the meantime, we at Hurst Solutions, wish you all the best for the coming New Year whatever your plans may be!

Now refurbished and open for business, the staff at Tinello can be confident that they work in an asbestos-free environment!

The new website, whilst still being tweaked, provides a far more comprehensive overview of the company’s wide-ranging products.

Have a look around and see what you think. If you have any suggestions then please feel free to leave a comment below!

Becki is a bright and experienced operator with a background in administration, HR and health and safety amongst others. The combination of her previous work experiences coupled with her industrious attitude to work has ensured that she has quickly become a valuable member of the team.

Welcom Becki!