Hire Association Europe Limited Main Board has announced a major restructuring of its business operation to capitalise on the success of its SafeHire Certification scheme, optimise revenue and improve the efficiency of its training and recruitment services for the specialist tools, plant hire and event hire sector.
Membership and Certification Services will become separate divisions within Hire Association Europe (HAE) from June 1 2019, a move designed to benefit members by targeting resources more effectively, says Graham Arundell, who will step down as Managing Director to take up a part-time role as CEO to oversee implementation of the new set-up and achieve UKAS accredited status.
As part of the reorganisation, Rupert Douglas-Jones is promoted to Executive Director Member Services, responsible for management, personnel and running the Trade Association division. To head up the SafeHire Certification Services, Carl Bartlett, who has 30 years’ experience in the hire industry along with significant auditing knowledge and experience in the industry, has been appointed Executive Director.
It is now four years ago that SafeHire became an integral part of the HAE membership package and there has been a huge take-up by businesses keen to demonstrate safety credentials. SafeHire provides an ongoing business improvement programme and for those firms who have successfully passed the audit, additional credibility in the supply chain for the building, construction and event industries.
To tap into the potential for further revenue growth in this area, which will be reinvested for the benefit of the Hire Industry, the Board decided that SafeHire and other HAE certification schemes will be split from Membership Services, which can now focus on developing programmes for recruitment, training and career development.
HAE will initially focus on further developing the SafeHire process and income through collaboration with other trade bodies and schemes. The eventual aim is to achieve UKAS accreditation within 18 months, offering a number of ISO certifications to members and non-members alike.
Another catalyst leading to the change is the concern over the future of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the potential negative effect on training that the loss of its grant may have.
This is due to the fact that hire companies will potentially no longer have access to comparable sources of training revenue and is specifically why HAE, as the industry’s representative body, saw it as imperative to take action and address these concerns.
By providing services that help to retain revenue within the industry, and as a not for profit organisation, HAE is in a unique position to help members reduce overhead costs associated with certification, redirecting any surplus generated back to the sector for its future benefit. HAE intends to do this through the Certification Service for the benefit of all members.
MD Graham Arundell said: “Splitting the Membership and Certification Services into separate divisions allows HAE membership to receive an even more focused provision. This, coupled with additional senior employee appointments, means that we have the employees and structure in place to drive the organisation forward in the years ahead.”
One of the key changes for SafeHire is its alignment to PAS91, which is a prerequisite standard for those involved in the construction industry. HAE’s overall objective in making this change is to help members save time and money through having to complete fewer Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs) for customer projects.
However, HAE’s restructuring is not only designed to further develop and refine the SafeHire Certification process, but also to give a training provision to equip people with the skills needed for a sector supplying the operational resources and equipment to fulfil vital infrastructure contracts.
For more information on how to become a member of HAE EHA and details of the SafeHire Certification scheme go to www.hae.org.uk
