When the health of your staff depends on your extraction system, how do you know who to choose?
In an ideal world, all companies would provide a system fit for purpose, but unfortunately, this isn’t the case and the following 5 tips can provide some pointers to help you to ensure that you’re getting a good ventilation system

1. Qualifications – different companies seem to boast a bewildering array of different qualifications (some of which seem to be from many years ago), but which should you be looking for? If you want to look for a company that really knows its stuff then look out for the BOHS Certificate of Competency in Control – which is the highest qualification currently offered. This requires the engineer to hold P601, P602, P603, P604 & W201 plus to have five years of relevant experience in the industry.
   The Institute of LEV engineers (ILEVE) does not quite go as far to suggest this (possibly as there are few companies who have yet achieved the CoC), but instead currently suggests that you should be looking for companies with BOHS qualifications P601, P602 and P604 plus relevant experience.
2. Performance guarantees – a good extraction company will not only design and install a system but will also guarantee its performance to a percentage of the WEL level laid down by the HSE (e.g. Vent-Tech guarantees most of its systems to 1/10 of the WEL Level to ensure everyone’s protection).
3. Designed with your needs in mind – If an LEV system is to be used consistently and effectively within a company, then it needs to not only meet HSE requirements but also your needs as a company. This is why an ‘off the shelf’ system rarely works as although the system may officially ‘work’ if it has been bolted on the wall in a way that makes it difficult to access, too noisy etc then your employees won’t want to use it. If the company pitching for your business doesn’t take your requirements and way of working into account before quoting for your business, then take that as a warning sign that the system they deliver may not meet those needs.
4. Inclusion of commissioning and documents within the quote – in order to be able to use the installed system it must be commissioned and you will need commissioning documents, user manuals, logbooks etc…but it is amazing how many quotes don’t include these or they are on there as an ‘optional extra’. You wouldnt buy a new car without a log book or a user manual so why a LEV system?
5. User training – if the system is going to be operated correctly then your team will need training on it, so ensure this is included in your quote.

If you follow these tips then while we can’t guarantee you will get a good system (we can only guarantee our systems!), you have a much better chance of getting one.

Needless to say Vent-Tech offers all of the above as standard, and we also offer a quote comparison service where we are happy to look at other quotes (you’re welcome to remove the company branding and costs) to confirm that you are getting what you should be included. We also offer a quote breakdown of our quote as standard so you can see what we are including and compare that to other quotes you may have.

For more details give us a call or drop us an e mail here