Complaints to SCCS should be addressed to the Director of Certificaton at sccs@steelconstruction.org. All complaints (written and oral) will be received by the Director of Certification and logged.
The Director of Certification will acknowledge receipt of all complaints within 5 working days and provide a date for the next contact.
Investigation of complaints:
- All complaints are validated, investigated and followed through to a conclusion by the Director of Certification, whilst observing the requirements for confidentiality.
- The Director of Certification will ensure that a complainant is kept informed of progress on their complaint. The progress of the investigation into the complaint is recorded, including tracking actions undertaken and the effectiveness of the actions. These are recorded on individual reports.
- Where the complaint involves activity undertaken by an Assessor or a sub-contract organisation the form and relevant correspondence will be forwarded, without identifying the source, to the organisation for a response without delay.
- Where the complaint is about a company certified by SCCS, then the complaint will be forwarded, without identifying the source, to the company in question for investigation and response back to SCCS. The Director of Certification will also perform an independent review of the complaint to assess any impact to the certified management system.
- On completion of the investigation into a complaint, the Director of Certification will inform the complainant of the outcome and the required correction and corrective action where necessary, and if the action has been or is being taken.
- The Director of Certification will ensure that appropriate correction and corrective action is taken and will record these actions and outcomes.
- The decision to be communicated to the complainant will be reviewed and approved by the Certification Board Chairman and reviewed for impartiality by the Impartiality Panel.
- The Director of Certification will, with the client and complainant, decide on the extent of information relating to the complaint or resolution to be made public.
- For serious unresolved complaints, the complainant can request an independent review of the complaint. This request must be made in writing to the Director of Certification who will then advise the Certification Board Chairman. Otherwise the complaint is considered as closed and the complainant is informed accordingly.
Review of complaints:
The Director of Certification shall review the Register of Complaints at the end of each year to analyse the causes, and identify trends that may require appropriate management action to be taken by the Scheme.
Any complaints received and the appropriate action taken will be presented at the Management Review.