The British Board of Agrément (BBA) is a UK body issuing certificates for construction products and systems and providing inspection services in support of their designers and installers.

Agrément certificate

This is an authoritative document proving the fitness for the purpose of a construction product and its compliance or contribution to compliance with the various building regulations applying in the United Kingdom. It is commonly referred to as a 'BBA Agrément Certificate'.

History

The forerunner of the BBA, the Agrément Board, was modelled on an arrangement operating in France, hence the French word ''

agrément Agrément, in international affairs, is the agreement by a state to receive members of a diplomatic mission from a foreign country. In this procedure, the posting state formally requests consent, via a ''demande d'agréation'', from the receivin ...

'', which translates literally as 'approval'. The British Board of Agrément (BBA) is a

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

industry approvals body, originally set up in by government and offering product and installer approval. Agrément certificates cover 200 different product sectors and the largest of these are insulation and roofing. In the former the BBA has run an Approved Installer Scheme for more than 30 years, linking installations of injected

cavity wall insulation A cavity wall is a type of wall that has an airspace between the outer face and the inner, usually structural, construction. The skins typically are masonry, such as brick or Concrete masonry unit, cinder block. Masonry is an Absorption (chemistr ...

to BBA approval of the systems and dealing with both the system supplier and installer. BBA approvals show compliance with Building Regulations and other requirements, including installation quality. The BBA also inspects for the Fenestration Self Assessment Scheme (FENSA), the Federation of Master Builders and for some certificate holders to check that installers demonstrate good practice on site. The BBA also run the Highways Authorities Product Approval Scheme (HAPAS) for Highways England, County Surveyors Society and other agencies in the UK. This is similar to the Agrément Certificate process but applied to highways products. Some of these have Approved Installer schemes linked to them and the BBA also inspects those.BBA company website
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Structure and ownership

The BBA consists of three main operations, Product Approval and Certification, Inspection and Test Services. Ownership of the BBA is held by its Governing Board, consisting of three executive and four non-executive directors. Inspection activities are a key element of the planned business growth and recent restructuring of the BBA's Technical operation has been undertaken to focus effort and attention on it. Hardy Giesler is the BBA's CEO. The BBA employs approximately 185 people, most of whom are based at their offices and testing facilities near

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, and the remainder are inspectors geographically located around the UK with access to the BBA's electronic systems allowing them to work remotely. The BBA is a

company limited by guarantee A company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of company where the liability of members in the event the company is wound up is limited to a (typically very small) amount listed in the company's articles or constitution. Most have no share ca ...

- equivalent to a non-profit status used in other countries, any profits made by BBA used for the benefit of the construction industry or the public good.

Coverage

The organisation has inspectors based around the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

capable of returning completed reports within 24 hours of receipt.

Environmental policy

The BBA is accredited by

UKAS The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the sole national accreditation body recognised by the British government to assess the competence of organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services. It ...

to provide

Environmental Certification Environmental certification is a form of environmental regulation and Environmental Development, development where a company can voluntarily choose to comply with predefined processes or objectives set forth by the certification service.Nebel. G, Q ...

to the

ISO 14000 The ISO 14000 family is a set of international standards for environment management systems. It was developed in March 1996 by International Organization for Standardization. The goal of these standards is to help organizations (a) minimize how t ...

series and operates appropriate internal controls.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:British Board of Agrement Government agencies established in 1966 Product-testing organizations Certification marks Government buildings in England Government buildings in Wales Government buildings in Scotland Organisations based in Hertfordshire St Albans 1966 establishments in the United Kingdom