Dear Members and Observers,
ATTMA Lodgement will be mandatory for ALL MEMBERS as of 1st September 2015.
Lodgement has been introduced into the industry for a number of reasons:
- To support Building Control / Approved Inspectors to make informed decisions about the validity of tests. This is done by having a uniform test certificate that can only be accessed by through lodgement
- To gain statistical analyses on the entire industry and justify the hard work that goes into air testing to the respective governments, showing how much of a difference air testers make every day.
- To relieve the pressures from site personnel who try to force the testers to temporarily seal items that shouldn’t be, effectively ‘cheating’ the testing.
- Sealing & temporary sealing will now clearly be displayed on certificates for Building Control to see
- Mastic sealing status will also be clearly shown to stop the practice of mastic being removed after the tester leaves site. Building Control now have the ability to see that the test has been invalidated.
- To stop illegal testing which is knocking down the prices and reputation of air testing.
- To provide a fair way to finance membership to ATTMA
We’ve worked hard to make Lodgement as seamless as possible, whether you are a national operating test company or carry out a limited number of tests per year. There are 5 different ways to lodge your tests results.
FAQ’s
Below are some common questions and answers about lodgement.
What does this mean for me?
ATTMA require you to lodge all test data in order to receive ATTMA test certificates.
Can I still use my own certificates?
Using your own certificates will be strictly prohibited after 1st September 2015. ONLY ATTMA Lodgement certificates shall be used.
Do I still need to issue a full test report?
Whilst the ATTMA and EN standards say that you do need to send a full report, ATTMA actively encourage sending only the certificate. There are three caveats when doing this:
- You must inform the client at quote/contract stage that your deliverables will be a short form report in the format of a test certificate.
- You still take enough information from site to produce a full report
- You still retain the ability to write the report, when required by any client, BCO or ATTMA.
Not producing a full report for every test will save approximately 40 hours for every 250 tests – that’s 1 working week a year!
Do I need to lodge every test?
You are required to lodge every test that is done, including (especially) failed tests. You will not be charged per test, only per building/plot and therefore can test a plot as many times as required and only pay for a single lodgement.
Can I still give out results on-site?
Of course, provisional results from testing may still be given to site on the day but handing over any paperwork deemed to be a test certificate will result in disciplinary action being taken.
Can I lodge my tests at a later date?
Building Regulations require you to issue test results within 7 days. In order for these to be processed by Building Control, certificates must be lodged no later than 5 days after the date of the test.
How much will Lodgement cost?
Lodgement costs are fixed until 31st December 2015 at £2.00+VAT per dwelling and £10.00+VAT per non-dwelling. The fees after this date are currently under review.
Can the client see the certificates after they have been lodged?
Certificates can be lodged without anyone seeing the certificate unless the unique certificate reference number and postcode are shared. This means you can still lodge tests but still hold back on certificates until your terms of testing have been met, if you so require.
I need help setting up Lodgement!
Support documents for the different software methods are available from the ‘Scheme Administration’ section of ATTMA Lodgement. I can also guide you through the process on the phone and provide demonstrations if required.
If you have any further questions, or require support to set up Tectite, Fantestic or Lodgement itself, please don’t hesitate to call the ATTMA Scheme Manager.
