RCS Accreditation Programme - Terms and Conditions

- as at April 2024

These Terms and Conditions outline the expectations between the RCS Accreditation Programme (including +IMPAC Services Ltd and Auditor) and any Engineered Stone Fabricator participating in the RCS Accreditation Programme.

Definition of Participation: Engineered Stone Fabricators who have completed a registration of interest form online - are deemed to have 'registered'. This 'Registration' does not imply or confirm participation or achievement within the RCS Accreditation Programme.

For real-time information on Engineered Stone Fabricators who are Accredited or working towards full Accreditation (Provisional Accreditation), please visit Find a Participating Fabricator.

Rights and Responsibilities:

1. For a 'registration' to progress and an invoice to be generated the Fabricator must confirm:

a) Their primary cutter is water suppressed.

b) Provide evidence of compliant Respiratory Protective Equipment fit testing for all workers working with RCS and this will be checked for compliance and application at the audit.

2. At time of audit, Fit test records presented to the Auditor must be valid within the preceding 12-month period.

3. The invoiced cost includes the onsite audit, air monitoring and assessment report.

4. Support materials and HSMS resource, will be supplied to Participating Fabricators.

5. Onsite Audit:

a) Audit costs must be paid before the Audit is undertaken.

b) Engineered Stone fabricators must complete the Programme Audit within 6 months from invoice payment. If the Audit has not been carried out by this time, 80% of the Audit payment will be refunded (balance to be retained by the RCS Accreditation Programme to cover administration costs). Any additional expenses incurred by +IMPAC or the Auditor will not be refunded.

c) Travel costs to site Audit will be confirmed and invoiced separately by the Occupational Hygienist conducting the audit. All travel invoices are to be paid prior to the Audit report being released.

d) An employee familiar with the Engineered Stone Fabricator's Health + Safety practices and policies, and actively involved with the fabrication process, is required be present for the duration of the Audit (approximately four hours). This employee must also have a reasonable standard of spoken English or a translator must be present for the duration of the Audit (at Engineered Stone fabricator’s expense).

6. Once the onsite Audit has been completed, the Engineered Stone Fabricator will be listed online at Find a Participating Fabricator - IMPAC as a Programme participant, status - AWAITING AUDIT RESULTS.

a) Possible levels of achievement are: Level 1: Audited, Not Accredited; Level 2: Provisional Accreditation (for first audit only); Level 3: Accredited Fabricator.

b) Accreditation level is valid for 12 months.

7. The RCS Accreditation Programme will make best efforts to provide the final Audit report and air monitoring results within three weeks of the Audit date.

a) At this time the Engineered Stone Fabricator will be updated online at Find a Participating Fabricator - IMPAC with their relevant Audit results.

b) A Level 1: Audited, Not Accredited result indicates the Engineered Stone Fabricator has not met key accreditation requirements and as such will not be displayed on the RCS Accreditation database.

8. To obtain Accredited Fabricator status, Engineered Stone Fabricators must comply with the requirements set out in the Good Practice Guide. This is checked by an audit of the Fabricator’s manufacturing facility, and their processes to identify and manage RCS exposure risk.

a) The RCS Accreditation Programme aims to bring Engineered Stone fabricators up to Best Practice standards for protecting workers from the risks of RCS and as such, requires continual improvement and maintenance of Health + Safety systems. For a Provisionally Accredited fabricator to remain in the Programme, or for Accredited Fabricators to retain their Accreditation, they must carry out the actions detailed in their audit report. Failure to do so may result in Engineered Stone Fabricators being removed from the Programme or Accreditation being revoked at the next Audit.

9. Annual Renewals:

a) Accreditation status is valid for 12 months.

b) Engineered Stone Fabricators should endeavour to commence the renewal process prior to their status lapsing.

c) Once an Engineered Stone Fabricator's Accreditation status has expired the business will be removed from the Find a Participating Fabricator - IMPAC online database.

d) If an Engineered Stone Fabricator has paid their renewal invoice and they currently have Accredited Fabricator status, they will remain displayed on the online database as Awaiting Audit Results until their audit renewal has been completed. i.e the Renewal Audit Result is known.

e) An Engineered Stone Fabricator can book a renewal Audit at any time prior to their 12-month renewal date, although this will incur a cost.

10. Reassessment of Audit findings:

a) The Fabricator can request reassessment of specific elements of the Audit including air monitoring.

b) The request must be lodged at RCSAccreditation@impac.co.nz and accepted (following the Provisions below) within 1 month of the Audit report being sent to the Engineered Stone fabricator.

c) The reassessment will be completed within 2 months of the acceptance of the request, meaning the total time frame for a reassessment is 3 months from the initial report being sent to Engineered Stone Fabricator.

d) The following provisions apply. For review of documentation and/or records:

i) this must be received by the Auditor no later than 1 month from reassessment acceptance.

e) For observation of practices:

i) Evidence must be provided to the Auditor no later than 1 month from reassessment acceptance.

ii) If the Auditor accepts evidence remotely (photographic/video) then the Fabricator must allow the Auditor to visit the site unannounced to confirm ongoing application over the period to the next audit.

iii) Should this visit not confirm the required practice then the reassessed audit result will be downgraded.

iv) Air Monitoring: This must be completed within 1 month of reassessment acceptance.

f) The Engineered Stone Fabricator will be required to cover all costs associated with the reassessment. Cost indications are as follows:

i) Document and or observation reviews will be charged at an hourly rate with a minimum charge of 1 hour.

ii) An estimate will be provided prior to proceeding with the review.

iii) Follow up observation on site as described in point 2 above will be at no cost, this will be done whilst the auditor is carrying out other work.

iv) Air Monitoring:

(1) This will typically require a day to complete

(2) Plus laboratory costs, travel, time at site, and reissuing Audit report.

(3) Estimates will be provided prior to carrying this out.

11. Use of Accreditation Certification and Marques:

a) Final Audit report will provide the relevant achievement level - for Level 2: Provisional Accreditation or Level 3: Accredited Fabricator - a relevant certificate and graphic marque is supplied for display in the workshop and online.

b) Certification provided is valid only for the dates displayed e.g. 12 months from issue of Audit Report

c) The marque is dated with the year of Audit completion and may be used for 12 months from issue of the Audit Report.

d) Upon expiry of Accreditation level, Engineered Stone Fabricators or their agencies must cease displaying the marque or promoting Participation in the RCS Programme. Upon receiving a new, current Audit report they are then eligible to display the new marque and certification supplied to them if they achieve Level 3: Accredited Fabricator.

e) Use of an expired Accreditation level marque may result in a fabricator being removed from the Programme.