Accreditations
Our philosophy is to 'do things right'. As a result, we have a variety of accreditations. But you can be assured that throughout our business we are driven by the principles of quality, health and safety and customer care.
Product Accreditiations
Our retractable seating systems comply with BS EN 13200 in the UK and ICC 300 in the USA. We also have extensive international experience, and can manufacture retractable systems to most international standards.
Our most popular chair, (Espace, Accolade, Zenith, Scholar and Recital) are certified to the highest level (level 4) of the UK/European standard for retractable seating EN 12727. Testing for this standard is very rigorous, serves as a mark of reassurance for our customers, and is required by the UK Department for Education in school design. You can read more about this test here.
Supplier Accreditation Schemes
Audience Systems are certified under the Acclaim and SafeContractor SSIP schemes, meaning we are deemed to satisfy CHAS, Achilles, and many other accreditations. For a full list of SSIP schemes, click here. We're also accredited by Builder's Profile.
We have also completed assessments and training suitable to achieve silver level at the Supply Chain Sustainability School, used by all leading UK main contractors to engage their supply chain on sustainability issues.
Purchasing Frameworks
We are an approved member of the Northeastern Universities Purchasing Consotrium's Sustainable Furniture Framework. This allows member institutions of nine educational purchasing consortia across the UK to buy from us, knowing we have undergone a rigorous pre-qualification process, particularly regarding our approach to sustainability. Other consortia signed up to the framework include NWUPC, SUPC, LUPC, HEPCW, APUC and CPC.
Memberships
We are members of the British Association of Seating Equipment Suppliers (BASES) and the British Safety Council.
Sponsorship and Support
We support the work of the Theatres Trust. The Theatres Trust champions the future of live performance in the UK, by protecting and supporting excellent theatre buildings which meet the needs of their communities. Find out more about the Theatres Trust here.
Quality Management System
Although Audience Systems does not have external certification for our Quality Management System, we do have a robust Quality Management System in place. The system is similar to ISO 9001, but more agile and adapted to the needs of our business.
The system covers all aspects of our business from sales to manufacturing, installation and servicing. It includes rigorous inspection and testing procedures for within the factory and on site.
We'll be happy to provide more information about our Quality Management System; please just get in touch.
Health and Safety
We take a thorough and systematic approach to health and safety, both on site and in our Westbury factory.
Each project we undertake is overseen by a dedicated, specialist Project Manager. They will ensure that a full site survey is carried out, as well as completing a comprehensive, project-specific risk assessment and method statement for the installation.
During installation, our well-trained Site Supervisors will work with the Project Manager to oversee site safety.
Installer Training and Certification
Staff training is comprehensively instigated, monitored and reviewed by our HR department in line with changing regulations and market requirements. Training for site crew includes, but is not limited to:
- All our site staff complete NVQ L2 Diploma Mechanical Manufacturing for Public Seating Installers, as required by the UK CSCS scheme. We set up this scheme in line with our specific operational needs, so you can be sure that our staff have received very tailored and safe training.
- Passport to Safety and SSSTS training for all site supervisors
- A wide variety of other training suitable for job roles including CDM training, manual handling, banksman, first aid, NEBOSH/CIEH, working at height, scissor lift, access tower, risk assessment.
Information and Documentation
If you require copies of any documentation relating to the above, please contact our customer services team.
If you would like more detailed information on any of these aspects of our business, please contact our Director of Improvement, Paul Rigby.