WestPort
WEST PORT PUTS FIRE SAFETY FIRST WITH
HELP FROM CERTIFICATION EXPERTS BLUESKY
When fast-growing West Port’s
full-time head of certification left
the business, the company had a
problem.
Always priding itself on an
uncompromising commitment to
excellence across the board, the
firm was suddenly left without
someone to oversee a crucial aspect
of its business at a time when
fenestration firms were under the
spotlight more than ever before.
West Port quickly set about
finding a replacement. But before
long, thoughts turned to a more
convenient and cost-competitive
solution.
Enter up-and-coming third-party
certification providers Bluesky.
Bluesky offer a comprehensive
certification service which
independently verifies that a
company’s windows and doors
are manufactured in line with the
desired specification.
By focusing on the manufacturing
process, rather than purely on
paperwork, Bluesky requires its
customers to achieve a high level
of consistency in the quality of the
manufactured product.
West Port Operations Director
Andy Tyas takes up the story on
why his firm is now adopting
Bluesky’s fire door scheme.
“The Grenfell disaster was a much-
needed wake-up call for everyone
in UK construction. For years, we’ve
been warning about the shockingly
poor fire safety standards we’ve
repeatedly seen across fenestration
and other related sectors - but,
tragically, it’s only now that many in
our sector are starting to take the
issue seriously.
“At West Port, fire safety has always
been one of our highest priorities
-subjected to rigorous testing by
both Cambridge Fire Research
24
and BRE, our FD30
door managed
to withstand
temperatures in
excess of 900
degrees Celsius
for 42 minutes, or
40% longer than
the required BS
Standards.
“But now we’ve
decided to take
that commitment
even further. When
it comes to saving
people’s lives, compromise isn’t
an option. We need to know that
every door we ship is going to meet
our exacting quality standards,
not just for the first six months of
production, or the first year, but for
the entire time that the product is
produced.
“That’s meant that Bluesky’s
approach is the perfect fit for
our business. Having a credible
certification body checking the
performance of our windows and
doors and our manufacturing
process helps us to ensure that
every product we manufacture is of
the highest quality possible – and
they’ve actually saved us money
too.”
“Thanks to the technical
information that we now have
access to, and because of
the way Bluesky manage our
certification, we haven’t needed
to recruit a replacement for our
internal manager. The burden of
administrating certification has
largely passed to Bluesky.
“At the same time, sufficient
separation exists between us
and Bluesky to ensure that their
certification process remains
independent and rigorous. This
means that West Port can have
confidence that the product
warranty it passes onto its customer
really means something.”
Phil Jones of Bluesky comments:
“West Port’s primary business is
fenestration, not certification. But
certification is a key part of the
offering to the purchaser.
“With this in mind, we used our
expertise to create a managed
service for West Port. This means
that we now hold West Port’s
certification records and are able to
notify them of updates and respond
to technical questions regarding
certification requirements.
“We’re delighted to be working
with one of the UK’s leading timber
manufacturers and look forward to
continuing to build our relationship
with them in the future!”
Combining time-honoured
craftsmanship with cutting-
edge manufacturing technology,
Cumbria’s West Port offers
something unique in UK glazing.
Today, the firm employs more than
180 craftsmen and technicians and
operates from a 175,000-square
foot factory kitted out with state-
of-the-art equipment, the result of
a far-sighted attitude that’s seen
it invest extensively in boosting
efficiency, improving quality and
helping it continue to stand out
from the crowd.
For more information contact West
Port on 01900 814225 or visit
www.west-port.co.uk