The project at a glance
The starting point: Visietech wanted to keep BRL 9500 certification under its own management. The Compliance Tool helped bring tasks, audit planning, documents and follow-up together.
Visietech: contributed practical expertise in energy performance advice and its own ways of working. Martin Westerlaken tested the configuration alongside his daily work and reported what was missing or needed changing.
DCA: provides the Compliance Tool and carries out internal audits of quality system processes. Energy performance calculations and technical project checks fall outside this DCA service; substantive energy performance assessments remain with Visietech and the appropriately authorised specialists.
In practice: the software described supports audit planning and notifications, document storage, incident recording and linking follow-up tasks to findings. In the interview, Martin describes greater clarity and documents that are easier to find during audits.
Read more about our BRL 9500 software and internal quality system audits.
A small obligation with major implications for energy performance advice
Visietech is a building services engineering consultancy advising on sustainable installations and energy matters in buildings, such as heating, ventilation, cooling and energy performance. Within Visietech's work, BRL 9500 applies only when preparing energy labels for a building application or at completion. “It is only a small part of our work,” says Martin Westerlaken, a consultant at VisieTech and one of the people managing its BRL 9500 certification. “But keeping that certification means working on it almost every day.”
VisieTech began working with BRL 9500 early on. The guideline came into focus when the BENG calculation requirements for nearly energy-neutral buildings were introduced. From then on, consultancies preparing and registering energy labels also had to account for how they did so. They could join an umbrella organisation or become BRL 9500-certified themselves. Martin explains: “We had already read up on it and could see the impact on our work, so the decision was made fairly quickly.” For VisieTech, the lower costs of an umbrella organisation simply did not outweigh the freedom and speed of obtaining its own certification. “If we had to register through an umbrella organisation and wait a week, for example... Well, that would not suit us,” Martin laughs. “Now we have it in our own hands.”
From the BRL 9500 standard to a practical system
De Compliance Afdeling came into the picture through one of Martin's business contacts. The two companies quickly found common ground: VisieTech brought practical energy performance expertise and had already studied BRL 9500 thoroughly. De Compliance Afdeling added compliance management expertise and a useful tool. There was something in it for both: VisieTech gained a software system tailored to its needs, while the Compliance Tool could be refined for the new guideline.
Maarten van Veen of De Compliance Afdeling explains how the project was organised: “BRL 9500 is a guideline in a field we do not work in every day. So we explored it together: with VisieTech, we reviewed the requirements and translated all relevant parts into tasks and structures in the Compliance Tool.”
Martin then tested this in practice. “I simply put the Tool alongside everything we normally have to do for certification,” he says. “Then I checked: is this included? Is it correct? I reported anything that was missing or wrong.” De Compliance Afdeling takes that feedback seriously. “We always check whether it is technically feasible,” says Maarten. “Then you get an answer: we will consider this, we will schedule this, or we have implemented this. That ultimately improves the software for all users.”
Compliance software that adapts to BRL 9500
Several features were added based on VisieTech's practical experience. Incidents can now be recorded, and audit reports uploaded and linked within the environment. Follow-up tasks can also be linked directly to incidents or findings so nothing falls through the gaps. Navigation has been developed further, with more logical button destinations.
For VisieTech, the combination of notifications, task management and document storage is a particular advantage. “You get a reminder when internal audits are due. You can carry them out, record the outcome and upload your documents in the same place,” Martin explains. “Previously, it was scattered across our server. Now you enter it in the Compliance Tool and have everything together.” This streamlines the process, something that was clear during the latest external audit. “They always ask questions,” Martin laughs, “but now they are things we can resolve quickly. And we can simply show them: it is all here.”
In the original interview, Martin and Maarten also discuss how they handle changes. At that time, a new BRL 9500 version had been announced, and they had planned a session to review the changes together and translate them into the Tool. “The foundation stays the same,” says Martin, “but some of the measures needed are slightly different. It is helpful to work through that with someone and have it updated in the Compliance Tool too.”
That announcement relates to the situation at the time of the original interview. For your current quality management, we agree the configuration and support needed based on the applicable guideline and your processes. Our current service is described on our BRL 9500 page.
BRL 9500 certification: what are the benefits?
In the interview, Visietech describes greater control of the work surrounding its certification. De Compliance Afdeling receives practical feedback to develop the Compliance Tool further. Maarten: “It matters to me that we take work off our customers' hands, so if we can help them see how to improve things, we are happy to do so.” Martin adds: “Being BRL 9500-certified yourselves certainly asks something of the organisation, but it allows us to give our customers the speed they are used to. With the right tools, it is perfectly manageable.”