RAISING THE BAR WITH WPA BENCHMARK ACCREDITATION

The Summer of 2022 may be remembered for record-breaking temperatures and a number of tenants at 10 and 11 Downing Street, but the Wood Protection Association (WPA) also congratulated a record number of new certifications to the WPA Benchmark Treated Wood Scheme.

To align with the Timber Development UK (TDUK) Preservative Treatment Action Plan, timber treaters from the UK and overseas have demonstrated their commitment to quality treated wood products and been rewarded with WPA Benchmark certification.

The TDUK scheme requires members who supply treated wood, should ensure:

• Treated wood products are accurately identified, at all points in the supply chain, as fit for the intended purpose.
• Adequate information and training materials are provided to enable customers to use and install products safely and effectively.
• Treated wood products are produced by treaters whose operation has been assessed and approved under an independent accreditation scheme, such as WPA Benchmark.

WPA Benchmark certification is awarded to those treatment operators who have demonstrated that their documented quality systems and treatment operations are reliable and robust. Incoming wood quality and moisture content, preservative management, treatment cycles and measurement of results are all assessed during the WPA Benchmark audit and treated wood analysis may be required to demonstrate compliance.

In the UK, WPA auditors can help treaters to progress through the certification process which culminates in an onsite audit. For overseas audits and in particular the Baltic States, we have partnered with BM Certification who will also guide operators through the process to full certification.

A complete list of all WPABenchmark members is available at the WPA website under ‘Find a Supplier’ www.thewpa.org.uk

For further information on WPA Benchmark and how to add your company to this growing list, please contact the WPA office at contact@thewpa.org.uk.