BDA Audit Accreditation & CSCS Test Introduction

April 14, 2021

The British Drilling Association (BDA) is delighted to announce that the third-party accreditation of the BDA Audit has now been successfully achieved via the Minerals Product Qualification Council (MPQC). Accreditation of BDA Audit has been a BDA aim for some time and was achieved at the end of March 2021 and from start of May 2021 will be officially launched.

Official accreditation by MPQC means the assessment and quality assurance of the audit is now externally verified by an industry-recognised training and assessment body, bringing the audit fully in line with BS22475-2&3. This ensures that there is a high level of compliance with all required Standards and legislation, and that consistency is maintained throughout the undertaking of all audits.

The accreditation application, including all internal policies and procedures for compliance with MPQC requirements, was thoroughly evaluated by the awarding body to ensure that the BDA Audit met and continues to meet its stated objectives. During this application, the BDA Audit’s management and internal verification processes were examined closely, along with random sampling of completed audits to ensure compliance with expectations. This random sampling was coupled with close inspection of the data management processes and checking of qualifications of all audit staff.

The BDA and audit team are committed to the continuing improvement of the audit to better meet the client and auditee’s expectations and is constantly in discussions to evolve the audit process and content to best serve the BDA membership. An improvement that will be introduced following the accreditation is the ability to combine the audit and CSCS card assessments.

As MPQC is an official awarding body and holds CSCS accreditation, from 1^st May 2021 all BDA Audit cards can serve the dual purpose of being both an Audit card, as well as a CSCS card. When operatives undertake a BDA Audit, they will now also be able to complete a CSCS approved touch-screen test and receive a CSCS branded BDA Audit card. The touch screen test will also be tailored towards safety aspects of the land drilling industry, rather than more generic construction questions. This eliminates the need for a separate CSCS card and is an additional, free-of-charge benefit of undertaking an annual BDA Audit.

Pat Bowles, Industry Schemes Manager at MPQC, commented “MPQC is pleased to be associated with the accreditation of the BDA Audit. It has worked very closely with the audit team and is satisfied that everything has been put into place to ensure that it is a successful venture.”

The BDA management would like to thank the entire audit team for its efforts in ensuring a successful accreditation application.

To find out more about the BDA Audit or to register an operative, please get in touch. Full Terms and Conditions, along with registration forms and the Audit Handbook can be found on the BDA website BDA Audit | British Drilling Association | Competence | CSCS, NVQ

Alternatively, for any further information, please use the dedicated BDA Audit contact details Phone 0800 0385 969 or e-mail audit@britishdrillingassociation.co.uk.