Hire Association Europe and Event Hire Association (HAE EHA) has announced the official launch of its SafeHire Certification.
The aim of SafeHire is to “raise the standards across the industry and improve all areas of company operations from CSR policy, quality management, health and safety, environmental management and customer service standards”.
SafeHire is currently an option for existing members as part of HAE EHA membership but will become a prerequisite of membership as of 1st January 2018, meaning all members must successfully complete the certification process by that time. Several big players in the hire sector, including Hirebase, Travis Perkins, Hire Station and Speedy Hire, have already gone through the audit process.
Graham Arundell, HAE EHA Managing Director, said: “SafeHire has already had a hugely positive impact on businesses that have gone through certification voluntarily. Making SafeHire a requirement of membership is 100% the right step for the industry to create the level playing field that is much needed and to help improve practices and processes of hire businesses.
“There’s been a steady recognition, from the wider industry, of the need to work with partners who have the appropriate certifications; but there’s more that needs to be done to push the message. SafeHire has the potential to become the leading certification in the industry, and we hope that it will become the trusted mark of quality for the hire sector.”
A key element to reaching HAE EHA’s goal for SafeHire Certification will be inclusion as part of procurement tenders. This is something that is already gaining traction in the UK with a number of leading hire companies reporting that national clients, such as Network Rail, Balfour Beatty and Barratt Homes, are beginning to instruct that their hire partners must be SafeHire certified in order to be considered for inclusion on preferred supplier lists.
For more information on SafeHire Certification visit www.hae.org.uk
