ABBE Level 3 Diploma in Domestic Green Deal Advice Annex E: Record-Keeping

1. ABBE Level 3 Diploma in Domestic Green Deal AdviceAnnex E: Record-Keeping Presented by [Name] Record-Keeping

2. Record-Keeping You must ensure that all records are kept for 7 years as required by DCLG. It is a good idea to keep them for 15 years as you do with DEA. Stroma will also keep a record of any audit documents for 15 years. Stroma has created an Online Secure Archive (OSA15), whereby Stroma certified assessors can keep their EPC survey documents in a secure, remote location for the full 15 years required by DCLG. This facility is provided free of charge and has been developed to not only act as a secure store for you to upload your energy assessment documents, but also to assist you in submitting your documents for audit.

3. Evidence The minimum level of evidence required:

4. Evidence It is important that your evidence is of good quality. If it is not clear or misleading it could result in the audit failing Everything you enter in the software must be covered with good quality photographic evidence. The QA assessor needs to see evidence of what you have entered.

5. Site Notes You must provide, within the site notes, anything used in support of decision making, reflective thought, or amendments to recommendations which is not provided through other sources of evidence. Examples of these are: • Bills • Appliances • Meter • Assessing the primary heating system etc.

6. Site Notes You must also ensure that the site notes can be interpreted correctly when producing the EPC and where required, by the Stroma QA assessor. To ensure this you must ensure that the site notes are: • Detailed • Legible • Accurate If a scheme member fails to produce site notes as per the above requirements, the audit may be failed and additional EPCs requested.

7. Floor Plans (not sure this is relevant) You must provide clear floor plans for the property that the certificate has been produced for, including the following as a minimum: • Sketch plan covering all storeys • Annotated with measurements • All areas (e.g. conservatories, extensions or room in roof) • Heat loss perimeter (HLP) and • Location of extensions, conservatory and alternative wall

8. Floor Plans (not sure this is relevant) You must also ensure that the floor plans can be interpreted correctly when producing the EPC and where required, by the Stroma QA assessor. To ensure this you must ensure the floor plans are: • Detailed • Legible • Accurate If a scheme member fails to produce floor plans as per the above requirements, the audit may fail.

9. Photographs You must ensure that clear photographs are taken of the property when you are producing the EPC. Stroma expects you to provide, as a minimum requirement, the following photographs in colour: • Front elevation • Rear elevation • Side elevation for detached / semi-detached • Wall insulation – evidence • Roof construction • Openings – windows, chimneys etc (if previous photographs do not provide sufficient evidence) • Primary heating system (e.g. boiler showing any associated key features such as a condensate pipe or label indicating the boiler model) • Secondary heating system • Water heating system e.g. cylinder • Electric meter • Heating system controls

10. Photographs You may be required to provide additional colour photographs to support the site notes, including but not limited to, the following: • LPG cylinder • Loft insulation which gives evidence of the depth of insulation • Evidence of wall thickness • Conservatory – photographic evidence of whether it is separated or not • Low energy light fittings • Any other key features of the building

11. Photographs Where you are unable to take the required photograph(s) you must provide a justification for not doing so, within the site notes. Any other evidence required to justify the omission or inclusion of additional recommendations - Examples of this might be a guarantee or a building control notice for improvements. Where you believe that photographs are not practically achievable, but a particular element or energy using device is present, site notes must explain why the photographic evidence is not available.

12. Quality of Photographs All colour photographs must be clear and dated within the image; printed photos must have the date stamped on the image, digital photos can either be a date stamp on the photo itself, or within the image file. It is therefore imperative that the date on the camera is set correctly. Let’s look at the two methods of dating the photographs:

13. Method 1

14. Method 2

15. Photographs If a scheme member provides photographic evidence, where the occasionalphotograph is: • blurred • distorted • or doesn’t provide all of the information necessary for the EPC to be properly audited Where these areas are not adequately covered by information in the site notes, Stroma will alert you that more care is needed in the future, and that should there be a future instance, the audit check may be deemed to have failed.

16. Photographs If you provide a number of the photographs that are: • Blurred; • Distorted; or • Don’t provide all the information necessary for the OA to be properly audited; Stroma will declare to you that the evidence provided is insufficient to allow the QA assessor to audit their work Where this is the case, as a minimum you will be subject to the further audit of 2 additional EPCs either lodged previously (within the previous two months), or two of the next 10 EPCs that you lodge.

17. Poor Resolution Photographs

18. OSA15 The easiest way to access OSA15 is through the WinRdSAP software. Selecting ‘Online Datastore’ from the ‘Tools’ menu will give you direct access to OSA15

19. OSA15 This will open up a separate window that will display folders for the surveys you have done by year. In this example, surveys on this account have only been lodged in 2011, and therefore it is the only folder on display.

20. OSA15 After selecting the appropriate year, the months in which you have lodged reports will be displayed.

21. OSA15 You will then see the individual reports lodged in that particular month. The folders will initially be empty. Simply drag and drop your assessment files into the relevant folder to save them on OSA15.

22. OSA15 It can also be accessed via the OSA15 web page: http://www.osa15.co.uk/. Contact Stroma for login details.

23. OSA15

24. Audit 4.2.2 Green Deal Advice Report (GDAR) Audit 15. The Certification Body shall ensure that two per cent of domestic and two per cent of nondomestic Green Deal Advice Reports lodged by GDAs employed by their certified Organisations are audited per year. As a minimum, the Certification Body shall audit the items at (a) and (c) in this clause: One domestic GDAR quarterly for each domestic Green Deal Advisor (if any are lodged); and One non-domestic GDAR for each non-domestic Green Deal Advisor every six months (if any are lodged).

25. Audit 16. In determining the two per cent sample, the Certification Body shall seek first to sample from those EPCs linked to a GDAR which have already been subjected to quality assurance audit by EPBD Accreditation Schemes/Approved Organisations (as applicable to country). Only where this process does not yield a two per cent sample of GDARs, they shall sample from the remaining GDARs on record and request that the EPBD accreditation scheme that lodged the relevant EPCs carries out an audit. 17. During a GDAR audit the Certification Body shall verify the things at (a) to d) in this clause: The Green Deal assessment work assigned to a Green Deal Advisor is in accordance with the qualification and competence requirements outlined in the Specification for organisations providing the Green Deal Advice Services; Continued

26. Audit The EPC that is used is valid and suitable for the Green Deal assessment as per the requirements outlined in paragraph 64 (a) and (b) of the Specification for organisations providing the Green Deal Advice Service; That an EPC quality assurance audit has been carried out on the relevant EPC as per the EPBD requirements in England and Wales or Scotland as applicable (see paragraph 15 above); and Compliance with the operational procedures for Green Deal Advisors for customer sign-off and lodgement of the GDAR for domestic/non-domestic properties in England and Wales or Scotland as applicable and as outlined in the Specification for organisations providing the Green Deal Advice Service.

27. Audit The Body shall assess and verify that the necessary activities have been carried out in accordance with the separate Specification for organisations providing the Green Deal Advice Service, that documentary evidence has been collected and stored and that the evidence and outputs of the assessment are consistent with each other. This shall include verification of the evidence at (a) to (f) in this clause, as appropriate to sector: Data collection methods and accuracy of data input; Breakdown of customer’s energy use compared to typical energy use; Any revised savings for the recommended package; Data collection for, and relevance of, alternative packages included in the GDAR; Any behavioural advice provided to the customer in writing; and Communication in writing of any subsidies to the customer where appropriate.

28. Witnessed Assessments 4.2.3 Witnessed Assessments 19. The Certification Body shall conduct Witnessed Assessments of the Green Deal Advice Service carried out by authorised Green Deal Advisors to establish compliance with the conditions at (a) and (b) in this clause: Instructions provided by the Organisation in relation to customer interaction as outlined in paragraph 46 of the Specification for organisations providing the Green Deal Advice Service; and Operational procedures as outlined in section 6 of the Specification for organisations providing the Green Deal Advice Service.

29. Numbers of Witnessed Assessments 20. A sample of Green Deal Advisors shall be evaluated through witnessed assessments within the first six months of initial certification being granted. This sample size shall be calculated as a square root of an Organisation’s Green Deal Advisors rounded up to the next whole number. Please see Annex C at the end of this Specification for details of the sample sizes. 21. Following the first set of witnessed assessments, a sample (as described in paragraph 20) of authorised Green Deal Advisors shall be evaluated though ongoing witnessed assessments at least every 12 months. A risk-based approach shall reduce the period by three months each time any of the following risk triggers are identified.

30. Non-Compliances 4.3 Non-Compliance and Suspension 23. In relation to the seriousness of the non-compliances, the following guidance shall be used: Minor non-compliance: No significant impact on the customer or other stakeholders associated with the non-compliance. The Certification Body shall inform the Organisation of the nature of the shortcoming and require evidence of action taken to rectify the non-compliance; Continued

31. Non-Compliances Significant non-compliance: Significant impact on a customer or other stakeholder. Depending on the nature of the non-compliance the Organisation may be allowed to continue or may be subject to suspension until the non-compliance is rectified. Significant non-compliance shall be counted as a risk trigger against the Organisation; and Major non-compliance: Compelling evidence that the Organisation or authorised GDA has failed to meet the Specification or Green Deal Code of Practice, in a way that has had a major impact on the customer or other stakeholders. The Organisation shall be suspended until the non-compliance is rectified. Major non-compliance shall be counted as a risk trigger against the Organisation.

32. Non-Compliances 24. The Certification Body shall take into account the following factors when considering the impact of the non-compliance: the level of harm which flowed from the non-compliance; whether the non-compliance has occurred in a number of other cases; whether other bodies have imposed sanctions in relation to the non-compliance; whether the Organisation has accepted responsibility for the non-compliance; and whether the Organisation made a financial benefit from the non-compliance, or intended to make such a gain for themselves or a commercial partner

33. Non-Compliances 25. Any minor and significant non-compliances must be rectified within 12 weeks and the Certification Body shall check on, and record, the effectiveness of remedial action. The Certification Body shall have an escalation process in place if remedial action does not substantively remedy the shortcoming: In the event of failure to rectify the minor or significant non-compliance within 12 weeks the noncompliance shall be treated as a major non-compliance; In the event of failure to rectify the major non-compliance within 12 weeks the certification shall be withdrawn.

34. Audit CPD 6.4 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) 41. The Certification Body shall review the Organisation's procedure for identifying and organising CPD to ensure all elements of the Specification for organisations providing the Green Deal Advice Service are captured. (Certification audit) 42. The Certification Body shall verify that the Organisation has made provision for Green Deal Advisors to undertake the required CPD by reviewing a sample of 5 per cent (or at least one) of the appraisals and training records or any other relevant personnel records as noted in the procedure. (Surveillance audit) 43. The Certification Body shall request information from the Organisation regarding any changes to the procedures for identifying and organising CPD. (Surveillance audit)

35. Insurance 24. Organisations shall ensure for Green Deal assessments on domestic buildings that they have professional indemnity cover of £100,000 for each claim in relation to any Green Deal assessment, and public liability insurance of £1,000,000 per claim. 25. Organisations shall ensure that for Green Deal assessments on non-domestic buildings that they have procedures in place to ensure a minimum level of indemnity cover is in place that is proportionate to the risks associated with the provision of the Green Deal assessment, and is in any case no less than £250,000 per Green Deal assessment.

36. Record-Keeping 5.5 Green Deal Assessment Control – Documents, Record Keeping and Information Management 38. Organisations shall validate that the Green Deal assessments undertaken conform to the operational procedures in section 6 of this Specification. 39. Organisations shall establish and maintain records containing at least the information identified in (a) to (j) of this clause, in relation to each Green Deal assessment undertaken. a) Location of the assessment; b) Type of assessment i.e. domestic/ non-domestic; c) Dates of assessment commissioning, delivery and completion; Continued

37. Record-Keeping Reference number for the lodged elements of the Green Deal Advice Report; Details of any problems encountered and corrections agreed; Name of GDA who carried out the assessment; Signed customer sign-off sheet – providing confirmation that the consumer has understood the information provided during the assessment; Customer complaints (if any); Insurance claims (if any); and Site notes, photographs and other supporting information relating to the domestic occupancy assessment for Green Deal, and the non-domestic Green Deal assessment.

38. Interaction with Customers 5.7 Interaction with Customers 46. Organisations shall instruct all GDAs on how to act in response to an approach from customers especially, but not exclusively, in respect of the subjects at (a) to (h) of this clause: The collection of pre-visit information; Pre-notified customer requirements and expectations particularly issues of work timing and access; Organisation-stipulated customer service requirements; Customer questions or requests for information; Customer request for other services outside the scope of the GDA role and this specification; Continued

39. Interaction with Customers Customer complaint or other customer feedback in respect of the assessment or assessment process – including how to record and who to inform; cost of assessment; and Meeting the GDA’s general responsibility for observing the customer service principles and requirements set out in the Green Deal Code of Practice.

40. Questions?

41. Web Links www.stroma.com/certification Contacts Stroma Certification Ltd. 4 Pioneer Way, Castleford, WF10 5QU 0845 621 11 11 training@stroma.com