An initiative by the Structural Timber Association

Accreditation that matters

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STA Assure Accreditation

There are many different accreditation schemes in the manufacturing sector of construction materials, many of which would be described as generic.  STA initiated the STA quality assurance programme, STA Assure,  in response to the desire to have a QA programme specific to the design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of structural timber systems. The STA Assure scheme provides evidence to the construction industry that members of the STA meet or exceed current legislation and regulatory requirements. Recognised by warranty providers and insurers, STA Assure ensures that we remain at the forefront of evolving changes to quality and standards.

The purpose of the Audit, by an independent organisation, is to qualify manufacturing members into three levels of competency and to ensure that their businesses are well organised and managed.

The accreditation process ensures that all aspects of the design, manufacturing and installation processes are quality controlled, providing confidence to the construction sector, that products and services are robust.  As part of the accreditation, the STA assess the following: 

  • Manufacturing production control systems to ensure design links accurately to finished product through quality plans, clarity of roles and responsibility and regular management reviews are undertaken.
  • Control of documented information to reflect revisions and control of external documentation.
  • Resource planning to ensure training records and competency records are maintained and a culture of quality if evident.
  • Control processes that reflects inventory is handled, stored in accordance with suppliers instructions.  All measuring equipment is calibrated and a routine is embedded in day to day production
  • Design, engineering and development to demonstrate good production disciplines are maintained at all time, for example engineering sign of at each stage of design by a competent and qualified engineer.  Designs are verified and changes recorded, ensuing the highest quality products off the production line
  • Control of non-conformance so that inventory that fails to meet the specification is taken off line and quarantined ready for return to supplier and recorded accordingly
  • Purchasing to recognise that subcontractors are evaluated before contracts issued and there is evidence of a robust purchase process.
  • Production and service to demonstrate good controls are in place with element identification and traceability.
  • Measurement, analysis and improvement to ensure that there is a culture of improvement based on corrective and preventative action plans
  • Control of installation and site processes to ensure they align with regulations and meet the standards of STA membership; this included only using installer erectors that have untaken the STA Installer Training Programme, lifting and RAM plans are in place and installation guidelines are included in site packs
  • Health and safety procedures to assess the rigour and adherence to regulations and the HSE
  • An audit of Site Safe processes to assess adherence to STA requirements for safe site installation and management and to validate CDM compliance and Health & Safety Executive requirements for the protection and registration of timber structures during construction.

All this adds up to a membership that hold quality and competency to a high level of regard to give you the confidence to use Structural Timber.