The Marquee Hire Trade Organisation Ltd. is hereafter referred to as MHTO. The reason of the Code of Practice that we have in place is to standardise the quality of service as well as promote professionalism of conduct to Members (MHTO Members) and indeed the industry as a whole.
Quality of Service
A good standard of professional service and integrity are to be adhered to at all times by management, staff as well as sub-contractors.
Workmanship
A good standard of workmanship is to be adhered to at all times. Each contract is required to be checked by a competent person by way of filing-in and signing of the ‘Daily Check Sheet’ at the end of each shift.
At completion of installation of equipment the Client must sign the ‘Client Satisfaction Sheet’ If the Client or his representative is not present then a competent person must sign the form.
Quality of Equipment & Plant
The quality and maintenance of the equipment must be fit for the purpose of the intended use. All plant used on that contract must have the relevant safety checks and Maintenance Records available on site. The equipment must conform to the relevant BS criteria.
Health & Safety (Employees)
All employees must wear PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) according to the Method Statements in place and adhere to the Method Statements at all times.
If there is no Method Statement in place for a particular element of their work, that particular work cannot be started until a hard copy of the Method Statement and any applicable Risk Assessments are delivered to the site.
All employees must have available on site their own Health & Safety Manual for viewing by themselves or the HSE. New staff, as a minimum are required to have had completed with a competent person, the Health & Safety Policy Statement as well as all Risk Assessments.
The Method Statements are to be completed by or with a competent person, as and when the applicable elements of work are required of them.
Members and their staff must use the Health & Safety Manual as a working document and it must be updated as necessary to cover legislation and new equipment periodically to cover better and safer working practices or when an incident occurs.
Health & Safety (Public)
The equipment is to be installed in a safe fashion so as not to endanger the public during installation, drop-down or when the equipment is in use.
The Client must be made aware, by the Member, of the Client’s Information section of the Health & Safety Manual.
Sub-Constractors
Sub-contractors are to maintain a minimum of £1 million public liability, and you are required to obtain their Method Statements, Risk Assessments and COSHH analysis from them.
Insurance – Public & Employees
You are required to maintain a minimum of £1 million public liability and £10 million employees’ liability.
Forms
Forms to be used on each contract are:
– Daily Toolbox Talk
– Risk Assessment Form ‘A’ (Site Specific)
– Daily Recommended Marquee Checklist (end-of-shift) Form
– Client Checklist and Satisfaction Note Form
The use of these forms will greatly reduce the risks to staff and the public alike.
Advertising
All advertising, promotional and marketing material is required to comply with the British Code of Advertising Practice as well as the IBA Code of Advertising Standards & Practice, thus be legal, decent and truthful.
Descriptions of Product & Shedule
Descriptions of equipment on contracts should be clear as to not cause confusion and should be priced separately and individually. The timing schedule on contracts should be clear.
Law
All contracts must be carried out and completed to adhere to statutory and common law legislation, in particular the Sale of Goods Act 1979, regarding the quality of products and services must be fit for the purpose of the intended use.
Riddor
You are required to report to the HSE under ‘Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR)’ when a minor injury, defined as when the injury results in more than 3 days incapacity for work.
In addition to reporting this to the HSE you are also required to report this occurrence to MHTO. However, this should be without the personal details of the individual(s) involved due to data protection. You may give personal details only with their signed consent. Details should cover: date, time, details of incident, how many persons involved, description on persons involved (e.g. staff, client, public, contractors), Risk Assessments and Method Statements in place at that time and your, now, amended Risk Assessments and Method Statements.
You are required to report to MHTO any occurrences that involve anything supplied by you (the Marquee Contractor) for example tents, flooring, linings, lighting, electrics, heating, doors etc. relating to when the marquee or equipment was being installed, used or dismantled. This also includes in relation to anyone that comes into contact with the marquee or equipment whether they should be there or not. The details that you should submit are as the same as in the previous paragraph.
Your company information does not go to any third party without your prior permission and is only to compile facts and figures of industry occurrences so that we can all work together to form better working practices for our industry to minimise occurrences.
Complaints Procedure
Should an occasion arise to cause complaint against a member the following procedure should be followed:
In the event of any possible complaint, the Client must approach the Hirer as soon as possible while the equipment is still in place. The Member must investigate the complaint with expedience. If there is a valid complaint then the Member must resolve the matter quickly and efficiently, at all times in a professional manner. If the complaint does not appear valid, the Member must explain the situation in a professional manner.
If the Client’s complaint remains unresolved, then the Client can forward the matter to MHTO. The Organisation then has the power to impose penalties on the Member as MHTO sees as fit and fair to the parties involved. MHTO reserves the right to impose costs involved in the investigation from either or both the parties concerned.
The decision under consideration may result in the expulsion of membership of MHTO or special terms being applied to that Hirer, as MHTO sees fit. This Code cannot be considered to take precedence over any legal rights.
This in no way impairs the statutory or legal rights of either party.
Enforcement of the Code of Practice
It is a condition of Full Membership of MHTO that this Code of Practice is accepted in its entirety and any proven breach by a member of the Code of Practice, will result in instant revoke of that membership.
Affiliated Members
Affiliated Members are non-marquee hire companies not requiring Full Membership (i.e. Member types 2,3, and 4). The fives codes applicable only to Affiliated Members are Health & Safety (public), Sub-contractors, RIDDOR, Complaints Procedure and Enforcement of Codes as listed above.
Member Types
Member Types are:
MEMBER TYPE 1 – marquee hire contractor (FULL MEMBER)
MEMBER TYPE 2 – other contractor member – hire only (e.g. toilet hire, generator hire)
MEMBER TYPE 3 – sundry or equipment supplier – sales only (e.g. cable ties, generators, marquees)
MEMBER TYPE 4 – person/organisation/company etc. that hire in marquees as an end user