TWO pest control companies have become the first in the UK to gain a new industry accreditation. The European Standard for Pest Management Services EN16636 and its accompanying certification scheme was launched earlier this year by the Confederation of European Pest Management Associations (CEPA).
Premier Pest Control was this week named as the first company in the UK to be measured against the Standard, while Ecolab Pest Elimination was awarded certificate number one.
Roy Smith, general manager of Ecolab Pest Elimination UK & Ireland, and recipient of the first certificate awarded said: "I am particularly proud that we have led the way in gaining certification with the European Pest Management Standard.
"This not only underlines our confidence that our operations meet the highest possible standards, but demonstrates that we place quality at the forefront of everything we do. We take our responsibilities in leading the pest control marketplace very seriously indeed.
"This award means our customers and partners can remain assured of our complete commitment and ability to provide safe, high-quality professional pest management services."
Chris Cunningham, of Premier Pest Control, said: "The EN16636 Standard and CEPA Certified status is a mark of quality, so the fact we were the first company to be accredited is a feather in our cap.
"It has been a lot of hard work to achieve it, but the BPCA helped us to get there and we think it will be worth the effort.
"We do a lot of work in the commercial food industry and clients include major manufacturers and distributors along with large catering operations.
"So it's very important for us to demonstrate our professional status and achieving this accreditation is independent proof of that.
"The process involved having a team of professional auditors visit our business and test all our systems against a very strict standard. For us to pass with flying colours means that we can call ourselves the best in the industry."
Simon Forrester, chief executive of the BPCA, believes the accreditation demonstrates that Ecolab and Premier are on a level playing field with the best pest management companies in the world.
And he has challenged all of the trade body's member companies to follow their lead.
He said: "The EN16636 Standard was developed by the European pest control industry to act as a demonstration of professional credentials, and the very different size of the first two companies to win accreditation is an illustration of how the Standard will benefit everyone.
"Each BPCA member must be at least working towards the Standard from January and we're aiming to help everyone pass the audit by the deadline of June 2017."
Mr Forrester insists accreditation is far from a simple box-ticking exercise.
He added: "Our members will each be independently assessed by Bureau Veritas, a global certification body - we are the only UK organisation that does this.
"The danger is that internal audits by trade bodies are potentially weakened by pressure to allow companies to pass, which we know happens in other associations.
"By using third party verification, clients can be sure our audits are legitimate and every BPCA member company is held to the same high standard."
That audit will involve the entire structure of the company to make sure everything from its working practices and training to its ethos and values is correctly aligned.
Mr Forrester said: "Those who don't meet the criteria at the moment will be offered all the help and support they need to get there.
"This is a move which sends out a strong message that when people use BPCA members, they can have peace of mind that the job will be done properly.
"We want the BPCA to remain the mark of professionalism in UK pest management, and for clients to know to look for our logo every time they select a pest management company."
Source: BPCA.org.uk