Welcome to the RSAP+ Technical Bulletin April 2014

Transcription

1 DATE: 14/04/2014 v1.1 CONTENTS EPC Audit Requirements Frequently Asked Questions: Changing your Details Cancelling Incorrect EPCs Scheme News: ECO Update Park Homes Landmark Fee Reduction RdSAP Update (October 2014) Software News: RSAP+ Desktop Update GDTracker Release SurveyManager+ Release Welcome to the RSAP+ Technical Bulletin April 2014 This technical bulletin has been written for all Stroma Certification members who use our RSAP+ software package. This includes Domestic Energy Assessors (DEAs) and Green Deal Advisors (GDAs). (To aid members in identifying which information within this document is relevant to them, a colour code has been adopted for the title bars please see Key below.) A key point of focus for this bulletin is the auditing requirements for DEAs, why they are important and how to comply with them. The bulletin also includes news on new software features, scheme updates, and advice on some frequently asked questions being raised through Technical Support. Key Sections titled in orange are relevant to both DEA and GDA activity Sections titled in green are relevant to GDA activity only Sections titled in grey are relevant to DEA activity only

2 EPC Audit Requirements and How to Pass In this section, we will be addressing the topic of EPC audits: What an audit is; When are they requested; and What is required from each scheme member upon receiving an audit request. What is an audit and what is its purpose? An audit is a Quality Assurance Assessment (QAA) check of an assessor s EPC result, i.e. the EPC that they have produced. These are requested at certain times of a year and under certain conditions on a certain percentage of all EPCs lodged. There are two types of audit Random and Targeted which are discussed later in this bulletin. An audit is often considered to be a way of the scheme to catch out the assessor, but Stroma Certification has always considered the audit process as a fantastic learning tool, which can help each member understand where they are making mistakes and how to avoid making those mistakes in the future. However, failure to supply evidence for an EPC survey could result in suspension until such evidence is provided. It is therefore very important that you always respond to an audit request within the timescales set. DCLG have asked that all Schemes shall require their members to provide sufficient material to their Scheme so that the EPC can be recreated by an independent Quality Assurance Auditor without the need for access to the Energy Assessor s RdSAP input data file. Evidence provided by an Energy Assessor shall be such that an independent assessor can be reasonably certain it relates to a particular EPC. For further guidance on Audits, please download the DEA Monitoring Procedure: - EA Monitoring Procedure - DEA v1.14.pdf Frequency of Requests Random Audits Audits can be called for a number of reasons, as displayed in the table below for our Scheme Operating Requirements. As part of an ongoing process of quality assurance, Stroma Certification is required to carry out desk-based audits for a minimum of 2% of all lodged EPCs. Assessor Group New members (< 6 months) Either new to the scheme, new to the qualification or rejoining the scheme after a break in membership Members who are inactive for 2 years will automatically revert to this status Existing members (> 6 months) Have been with the scheme for more than 6 months Members returning from suspension Minimum No. of Audits 1 audit in the first 30 days of membership; or First available certificate lodged. Minimum of 1 audit per quarter Minimum of 1 audit per quarter 5 audits in a 6 month period % of Member s Lodged EPCs 5% 1% 10% (for 6 months following return)

3 EPC Audit Requirements and How to Pass [Continued] Clarification of the Calendar Year, Half Year and Quarter Periods For the purposes of the QAA Policy: The Calendar Year: 1st January to December 31st Half Year (2 periods in a calendar year): 1st January to June 30th; and 1st July to December 31st Quarter (4 periods in a calendar year): 1st January to 31st March; 1st April to June 30th; 1st July to September 30th; and 1st October to 31 st December Targeted Audits If a scheme member is found during the random auditing process to have produced an EPC that is outside the acceptance bands as detailed in Section 4.0 of the Monitoring Procedure, Stroma Certification will provide feedback to the scheme member, and the following steps will be taken. The audited EPC will be cancelled from the Landmark register by Stroma Certification and an amended certificate must be created by the assessor, which must be provided to Stroma Certification for checking. It must then be reissued to the client and lodged on the register by the energy assessor within 10 working days of the audit fail notification. Stroma Certification will then carry out additional audits of two further EPCs lodged by the scheme member. Where possible, this will include one EPC from the 30 day period before the date on which feedback was given on the failed audit, and one from the 30 day period after this date. If that is not possible, both EPCs will be taken from the 30 day period following feedback, or if that is not possible, the next two lodged EPCs will be audited. Minimum Requirements The minimum requirements for audit are defined in the opposite column. The requirements can change, but Stroma Certification will give you plenty of notice in the event of this happening. The table of minimum requirements is from Appendix 5, Table 1: Minimum Evidence Requirements on Page 46 of the latest Scheme Operating Requirements, which are available from: - Scheme Operating Requirements - DEA.pdf A floor plan should be included. The minimum requirements for the floor plan are it should cover all levels, and should contain annotations with measurement, areas and HLP shown. Site notes: Paper or electronic file. Within these site notes, you must record anything you use to support a decision you have made, a reflective thought, or amending recommendations. Anything which can t be proven through evidence must be noted here. Minimum photographic requirements: Front Elevation Rear Elevation Side Elevation (if property is detached/semidetached) Cavity Wall Insulation evidence Roof construction Openings windows/chimneys (if these aren t clear on previous photographs) Primary Heating System (showing key features also) Secondary Heating System Loft insulation showing depth of insulation Evidence of wall thickness Conservatory photographic evidence of separation Required where relevant: Heating System controls Hot water cylinder and stat Electricity and gas meters LPG Cylinder Fixed low energy light fittings

4 EPC Audit Requirements and How to Pass [Continued] Any other feature of the building or limitation whose presence or absence may be reasonably considered likely to affect the SAP rating Any other feature which supports a claim in the report that could be queried or be the subject of a complaint Where you cannot practically achieve photographic evidence of a specific element, but it is present, this should be recorded in your site notes along with an explanation as to why it was not achievable. Schemes reserve the right to investigate misuse of this option, should this occur. All photographic evidence should be datestamped to prove that the photo relates to the property being assessed and enable the assessment date to be verified. If this is not possible, electronic files (e.g. JPG) are acceptable as long as we can securely ascertain the dates from the file properties. Photographs embedded in files (e.g. Word, PDF) should be date-stamped within the image, and the master images must be retained by you in case Stroma Certification or the CLG wishes to inspect them. If inspection is possible but it is not possible to obtain evidence of a particular element, this must be noted in the site notes. Schemes reserve the right to investigate misuse of this, should this occur. If any other evidence is available to justify the inclusion or suppression of recommendations, such as guarantees or building control notices, then evidence of this should also be supplied. Documentary Evidence Documentary evidence is defined in convention 9.02 as follows: Acceptable documentary evidence includes certificates, warranties, guarantees, building regulation submissions and official letters from the applicable Registered Social Landlord (RSL). The assessor must be confident, and able to demonstrate, that any documentation relates to the actual property being assessed and that there is no physical evidence to the contrary. Documentary evidence is required to overwrite any U-values, and to enter loft insulation/wall insulation/floor insulation if these cannot be visually inspected. If documentary evidence does not meet the above requirements, then it cannot be accepted. Responding to a Request You will receive all requests by , no matter what system you lodge on. If you lodge with Etech, we will automatically retrieve your uploaded evidence from their servers. If you wish to submit extra information pertaining to the survey, you should reply to the request with the extra evidence. Similarly, if you lodge on any other system, we will check on OSA 15 to see if you have uploaded the information for audit onto that system. For both of the above, we allow a cooling off period to ensure that you get an opportunity to submit any extra information you haven t uploaded, or have missed off your upload to OSA 15. After this cooling off period, we will attempt to retrieve the information from OSA 15. If there is anything missing from the submission from OSA 15 or Etech, we will let you know as soon as we realise this. We will always check OSA 15 or Etech for uploaded documents before we make our calls and s to you to request the submission of the audit. If you don t use either of the above systems, then you should either reply to the audit request attaching all the documents, or you can post the audit to us. One point to bear in mind for posting audits, is that your photographs must be date stamped to prove that they relate to the property being assessed, on the date of assessment. The audit should be submitted within fifteen working days; otherwise a suspension could be imposed onto your account.

5 EPC Audit Requirements and How to Pass [Continued] Feedback and Next Steps Fifteen working days after you submit audit information, the auditing work will be completed. Usually, feedback will be issued to you on the day of auditing (requirements state this can be up to five working days). If you pass, you will receive an telling you so, and feedback will be present should you have made any minor errors. If you fail, you will receive an telling you so, with structured feedback explaining why the failure has occurred, and detailing any minor errors in addition. When you receive an notifying you that you have failed, you should relodge the certificate within ten working days of the feedback being issued. In the event of you wishing to appeal, you also have ten working days to submit this. In an appeal, you can present further evidence or extenuating circumstances. If the appeal is successful, then you will not need to re-lodge the certificate. If the appeal fails, you will need to relodge the certificate. Changes to Contact Details Stroma Certification would like to remind all Scheme Members that they have a responsibility to keep their membership up to date; specifically with regard to their contact details. The audit administration team has faced repeated issues when attempting to contact assessors after they have failed to respond to an audit request. This has often resulted in a suspension being imposed, which has prevented the assessor lodging on other schemes. Avoiding this situation is favourable for all involved. For a reminder of how to change your details, please see the FAQs section of this Technical Bulletin. Hints and Tips The overriding guidance for passing any audit is that too much evidence is never a bad thing. You can never have too many photos or notes made on site. If you are making a judgement call on an aspect of an assessment, then extra photos and notes can allow an auditor to understand your thought process. Relodging an EPC following an Audit Failure We have created a guide that covers the relodgement process following a failed audit. This process also applies to relodging an EPC that was lodged in error. The document covers relodging an EPC using the Stroma RSAP+ (Desktop) software. The process is very similar on the Stroma ipad software; however the screenshot will look slightly different. Please follow this link to view the relodgement document: nts/relodgingafailedaudit.pdf It is also available to download via the Stroma Members Area.

6 FAQs Changes to Contact Details Stroma Certification would like to remind all Scheme Members that they have a responsibility to keep their membership up to date; specifically with regard to their contact details. The procedure for doing so is as follows: When changing phone number/ address: Please certification@stroma.com and include STRO number When changing address: Please visit: Procedure for Cancelling Incorrect EPCs Please note that Stroma requires the following information in order to successfully cancel an EPC: Name of the assessor and Stroma number EPC data RRN, Address, Postcode Reason for cancelation The RRN for the updated EPC if replacing a defective EPC All cancellations must be made in writing to domestic@stroma.com When moving jobs: You must set up a new account using the relevant application form. Please visit: If you wish to close an account, please certification@stroma.com and include your STRO number

7 Scheme News ECO Update: DECC and Ofgem Consultation The following link will take you to the most up-todate information from Ofgem regarding the proposed changes to ECO. Park Homes Calculation Methodology for RdSAP 9.91 EPCs are not required for park homes. Nevertheless from 3 February 2014 it is permissible to lodge data for a park home on the register, provided that the RdSAP assessor has selected Addendum 13 before submitting the data for lodgement. Addendum 13 adds the text This dwelling is a Park Home at the end of the EPC and is the means by which the register can classify it as a park home. RdSAP does not contain specific provisions for assessing park homes. However the underlying calculation methodology in RdSAP is suitable, provided that appropriate data is used. Where an insulation measure is being assessed, the U- values for the existing element and for the improved element are needed for entry into RdSAP software. The rules on documentary evidence in the RdSAP conventions apply. Methodology The existing park home is surveyed following the procedures and conventions for RdSAP except that the following applies: a. Dwelling type: Bungalow b. Wall and floor areas: As normal for RdSAP using internal dimensions c. Walls: Enter as system built, as built, known U-value wall thickness unknown d. Floor: Enter as suspended timber, retrofitted, known U-value e. Roof: Enter as pitched or flat (as appropriate), known U-value f. Window areas: Measure the areas of all windows. g. Window U-values. Enter U-value if known, otherwise select one of the RdSAP options. h. Other items: As normal for RdSAP For U-values for existing park homes, obtain documentation from the manufacturer. As previously noted, it is permissible to lodge data for a park home on the register, provided that the RdSAP assessor has selected Addendum 13. For further information on this subject please follow this link to view the full document: Assessments for Park Homes - Feb 2014 (3).pdf Landmark Fee Reduction Landmark Issued a Letter to all schemes on 2 nd April informing them of a reduction in the fees for lodging documents on the Energy Performance of Buildings Registers. Fees will be amended from 1.67 to 1.30 for a domestic lodgement (and from to 9.73 for a non-domestic lodgement). These new fees came into effect on 6 th April 2014 when an amendment to the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 came into force. DCLG s letter can be read in full at: - Fee changes letter notification to schemes- Final.pdf Stroma members will therefore receive 2 invoices in the month of April 2014, to reflect the change in Landmark fee. RdSAP (SAP 2012) Update (October 2014) Please be aware that RdSAP is set to change in October Further information will follow from Stroma Certification in the coming months via the Members Area and upcoming technical bulletin.

8 Software News RSAP+ (Desktop) Update On Thursday 27th March at 2pm there was a new release of RSAP+ for Desktop (Version ), which includes a number of validation improvements and fixes for reported bugs. Bug fixes: EPC Recommendations on OA Draft fix Minor issue affecting a few OAs which didn t display EPC recommendations on the Occupancy Assessment Report has been resolved. Room in Roof fix Room in roof was not defaulting to Extensions when main building wasn't present; Room in Roof screen now defaults to the first extension on the user interface. Enhanced validation (OA): The Fuel Bill Information field must be completed for both Gas and Electricity before the OA can be completed and lodged. At least one Main Heating Pattern must be entered to calculate if a heating system is present. At least one Alternative Heating Pattern is required if a Number of Alternative Days has been entered. For Number of Alternative Days, a value of 4 or more will no longer be accepted (as these would then be considered Main Patterns). Enhanced validation (EPC): If Alternative Wall is checked, a Wall Area greater than 0 must be entered before the EPC can be completed and lodged. Alternative Wall now automatically calculates the Wall Area if Sheltered Wall information has been entered. The Alternative Wall Area can no longer be greater than the area of the building part it resides in. Alternative Wall Settings Not Preserved fix Wall Insulation options for Alternative Wall are no longer affected by the main Wall Construction type. Heating Recommendations in Properties without Heating fix Heating improvements are now showing as recommendations when a property has no heating. Online Search Causing Forced Closure fix An error causing some random RSAP+ crashes when searching for online surveys has been resolved. Extension Alternative Wall Changing Wall Thickness fix Alternate Wall settings for Extensions will no longer affect the Wall Thickness value. Green Deal Application Title fix RSAP+ now displays the Title correctly on the signature screen. "LPG subject to special condition" now reads "LPG subject to special condition 18" This option name now includes the phrase condition 18 to reflect the discount for LPG gas. RSAP+ automatically checks for new versions every time it is launched; to download and install the update, simply follow the onscreen prompts.

9 Software News [Continued] GDTracker: Important Update for SAMS Users In order to request more information or organise a demo, please feel free to contact Stroma Certification via your account manager. We look forward to hearing from you. Survey Manager+: A Workflow and CRM Tool for Green Deal and ECO Delivery Stroma Certification would like to advise you of an upgrade to the current version of your Stroma Account Management Software (SAMS). We have now launched GD Tracker, the replacement to SAMS. GD Tracker has additional functionality above and beyond that of SAMS, such as, scheduling and tracking of assessment appointments and assessment data. GD Tracker interacts with Assessor accounts on both the ipad and Windows software, to allow appointment bookings. All the functionality that was previously provided free of charge in SAMS will still be offered in the same way; however Stroma now offer additional services as well, with no set up fee or usage fee. Charges do apply for diary scheduling at 1.50 per appointment. Please note that data storage is free of charge whilst you maintain membership with Stroma. Additionally, Stroma Certification is also offering you the option to build your own data collection forms, using which you can collect any data set you require on site (via the ipad) and return this to your office via your GD Tracker account. This tool supports a wide range of data types including photos and video. This functionality means you can build absolutely any data collection form you desire (based on volume and agreed fee) such as a property Inventory or ECO evidential documentation etc. Stroma Certification is providing face-to-face training to ensure a smooth transition to this software upgrade. We propose scheduling an appointment with you to run a demonstration and outline the key features and benefits, with a view to integrating GD Tracker into your business. We would like to announce the release of our new workflow and customer relationship management tool from Stroma Certification and Fulgent Technologies: Survey Manager+. Survey Manager+ provides a holistic Green Deal and ECO software solution for the GDAOs and Assessment Companies managing Stromacertified assessors - from lead generation through to report lodgement and ongoing data management. It achieves this through seamless integration with Stroma Certification s calculation software, RSAP+, and our Green Deal Pre- Qualification Tool. Survey Manager+ is a flexible and affordable, high-quality solution with advanced functionality: the CRM system is derived from Fulgent Technology s award-winning, web-based system which was designed specifically to manage, CERT and CESP schemes; Survey Manager+ is therefore perfectly placed to migrate into managing the ECO funding streams, of HHCRO, CCRO, and CERO, via Stroma Certification s Ofgem-approved ECO Scoring calculation tool. The software is free of charge to procure, with core usage charges of just 3 per property.

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