Title: Quidos QA Standards for DEAs

Ref: 11.2
Issue: v.6.2
Issued By: David Jones Date: 27/01/2021
Approved By: Billy Say Date: 27/01/2021

Revision History
Issue Issued Approved Reviewed
1.0 01/04/2011 01/04/2011
2.0 17/08/2011 17/08/2011
3.0 29/03/2012 29/03/2012 17/10/2012
4.0 07/03/2014 07/03/2014 09/02/2015
5.0 04/02/2016 04/02/2016 22/03/2016
5.1 04/04/2016 04/04/2016 04/04/2017
28/04/2018 DJ
6.0 17/07/2018 17/07/2018
6.1 31/07/2019 31/07/2019
6.2 27/01/2021 27/01/2021

This document shall apply to all accredited Domestic Energy Assessors, regardless of National
registration, and supersede any previous copies.

These Standards shall be read in conjunction with the Quidos Code of Conduct for Energy Assessors.
Domestic EPC Quality Assurance
1. Overview
As an Accreditation Scheme, we are responsible for ensuring that the quality of work carried
out by our members is of a consistently high standard. In an evolving sector, such as that of
Energy Performance Certificates, it is important that high standards are established and
maintained throughout every strand of the industry. This will help maintain the credibility of
the EPC as an important document for both cutting carbon emissions, and reducing energy
consumption in households and businesses within the UK. It is vital that these high
standards are implemented; both by us as an Accreditation Scheme, and you as an Energy
Assessor.

2. Surveillance Audit Requirements

Requests for audit should not be seen as a burden, or be perceived as a punishment. For
those Energy Assessors who maintain high standards in their work, QA can be an opportunity
to demonstrate this, or even to develop better practice. By periodic auditing of our members,
we aim to ensure that all Energy Assessors can prove themselves capable of providing the
best service to the customer and the industry.

As a general rule, the following minimum surveillance requirements are in place:

• At least 2% of all EPCs lodged through the Scheme are audited;

• Energy Assessors are randomly audited on at least 0.5% of their lodged reports, with
a minimum of 1 random audit per year;
• Each new Energy Assessor will have their first lodged EPC, or RBAS-triggered EPC,
audited;
• Audits which trigger risk-based selection criteria.

There are other circumstances which would require surveillance checks:

• Customer complaints.

In addition to these requirements, we also undertake auditing on those certificates that have
been re-lodged following a surveillance auditing failure.

3. Risk-Based Auditing Selections

In addition to random periodic auditing, Quidos also utilises risk-based audit selections, in
an attempt to focus our auditing efforts on areas of higher risk. This should help promote
greater quality within the Scheme and industry as a whole. Other Schemes refer to these as

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‘smart audits’ but this gives an impression that they are audited differently; the rules allow
us to select audits based on risk, so that’s what we’ve called them.

RBAS audits are considered separately to a DEA’s minimum random audit requirement.
Therefore, an Energy Assessor may receive many more audits than their 1% if they are found
to be meeting these trigger criteria.

Quidos will not call more than three RBAS audits in any given month, and these will be based
on a priority ordering of the rules.

The RBAS trigger rules are available for DEAs to view within iQ-Energy, and will be noted on
auditing feedback.

4. Surveillance Audit Evidence

As a practicing member of the Quidos Accreditation Scheme, you are required to keep
detailed records from all assessments undertaken.

Whilst on-site, you should be asking yourself one question:

“Would another assessor be able to recreate the EPC fully

from this evidence without question?”

If you wouldn’t be able to, the auditor almost certainly wouldn’t either.

In this respect, the most important evidence that you can collect are your site notes. These
are different to your data collection sheets, which record the individual RdSAP data inputs,
and give you an opportunity to record your thought process, reasoning for assumptions, and
highlight any limitations or issues whilst carrying out an assessment.

Coupled with your site notes, a thorough and detailed floor plan can also give much more
detail than a couple of photos. Floor plans can identify lighting fixtures, the locations of
heating emitters and controls, as well as isolate extensions and habitable rooms. DEAs
should not believe that a very small box with some measurements on it is an acceptable
floorplan to provide.

The full details of the suggested evidence which can be provided for surveillance auditing
can be found in Appendix B of this document.

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 4.1 Uploading your Evidence
All evidence MUST be uploaded through iQ-Energy, and cannot be submitted by email or
Dropbox to the QA Team. This preserves the integrity of the evidence between Energy
Assessors and auditors, and makes the EA solely responsible for management of their data.

Your audit RRN will appear in your Control Panel in iQ-Energy with a link to upload.
Alternatively, evidence may be uploaded manually using the Upload Files button in the
Control Panel menu. Just search for the requested RRN and upload your files. Using the
Upload Files option is also handy if you need to add further evidence to your evidence pack
after your initial confirmation.

It’s really important that DEAs double- and triple-check all files before pressing the Confirm
QA Upload button. Once you press this button, you are confirming that all of the evidence
you have uploaded are sufficient for the auditor to compete the survey. If this is not the case,
it is likely that your audit will fail.

If you need to upload missed evidence prior to the report being audited, you should not email
this to the QA team – instead, used the information above to access the Evidence section for
the audited report and upload any additional files.

Photographic evidence is of particular importance; ensuring that they are clear and in
context for the purposes required. We request that photographic evidence be uploaded as
separate files or within a compressed folder, and not pasted into a single document. This
enables the surveillance auditors to check each image thoroughly.

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All photographic evidence must include a date-stamp within the image or retain the
associated metadata created by the camera when taking the photograph. You should ensure
that, if using an image resizing program to aid in image uploading for audit, the metadata
(EXIF) is maintained.

If the photographic evidence is deemed to be of underwhelming quality, the Energy Assessor

will be advised that more care is required in future. If it is deemed that the evidence provided
is not of sufficient quality to allow accurate auditing, the report cannot be audited, resulting
in an audit failure, with the DEA requiring further follow-on auditing.

As detailed in the Quidos Code of Conduct, it is essential that Energy Assessors keep the
records of each EPC assessment both secure and readily accessible. We will not accept
excuses related to missing QA information.

5. Surveillance Auditing Process

Once the evidence has been submitted, it will be audited by a member of our Surveillance
Auditing team. The Surveillance Auditor will review the work and establish whether or not the
EPC is acceptable, providing the Energy Assessor with a feedback report for the audit upon
completion.

5.1 How the report gets audited

 The SA works through the supplied evidence and data entries;
 Using a SA-generated copy of the report, each data input will be reviewed and
amended if necessary to reflect the correct Convention or supplied evidence;
 Where evidence for a data input is omitted or insufficient to back up the assumption,
the appropriate worst-case scenario will be input;
 At each data entry change, the report is recalculated and the change in SAP rating is
recorded, as well as any changes to the recommendations or description of the EPC
itself;
 This is repeated until all RdSAP data inputs have been checked and amended (if
necessary);
 Once completed, the cumulative SAP rating variation is calculated – absolute
variance is the total number of points changed, irrespective of positive or negative
direction;
 Any changes to the recommendations or description of the EPC are also noted;
 Finally, any areas of insufficient evidence are considered.

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 5.2 The Audit Result
If the absolute variance in SAP rating is zero or less than five, with no changes to the
recommendations or description of the EPC, the audit will be considered as a Pass –
congratulations! This is a validation of the standards that you set for yourself against the
rest of the industry.

With RBAS auditing, if you pass an audit for a triggered rule, you will not be assessed again
for that rule for three months.

An EPC will be considered defective if it fulfils any of the following four criteria:

1. The sum of the absolute errors between the energy assessor’s and QA assessor’s
SAP score is more than 5 SAP points. This does not allow for ‘self-corrective errors’;
2. If errors in the building’s description would result in a change in the recommendations
made;
3. If the building’s description is insufficiently accurate such that it brings into question
the accuracy of the rating. This is taken to mean information on the EPC which is
demonstrably incorrect subject to an ability to change the description in the software
to account for what the assessor has seen.
4. Insufficient evidence for the audit to be completed; the EPC will be deemed defective
until the necessary information is provided to confirm your data inputs. An EPC can
then be considered correct, but the audit status will remain as a fail.

6. Audit Appeals
If you genuinely believe that an EPC has been incorrectly audited against the evidence
supplied, RdSAP Methodology or Conventions, you have the opportunity of lodging an appeal
against the decision. Within the Evidence section for the report, you will see an Appeal button.

We would strongly advise assessors to make appeals within 10-working days of the audit
feedback. This is within the window required for EPC re-lodgement and ensures that you are
not unduly suspended and subject to unwarranted follow-on audits. Appeals made after this
time will not necessarily remove an account suspension.

Where an appeal is made following a suspension for failing to relodge a report appropriately,
or because of a follow-on failure (see below), the appeal will not lift the suspension, but will
be completed as a priority.

By giving your reasons for appeal, we can review the auditor’s decision and make a
judgement. Audit appeals are never considered by the Surveillance Auditor that completed

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the audit. A member of the QA team who was not involved in the audit will consider the
appeal.

When considering an appeal, we will always look at the audit as a whole and review all
evidence and data inputs. This moderates the work of the Surveillance Auditor, and ensures
that the Energy Assessor is provided with the best possible feedback. This can mean that
errors which were not initially noted by the Surveillance Auditor would contribute to a
possible failure.

Once your appeal has been submitted, we will aim to resolve the appeal within 5 working
days, however we will always prioritise appeals following the failure of follow-on audits.

The appeal feedback is the final and binding decision of the QA Team and will not be reconsidered
unless compelling additional evidence is provided. Auditing appeals will not be taken further once
a response has been given.

7. Failure Consequences
7.1 Resolving an audit failure
There are two ways an auditing failure can be resolved: relodgement, or providing additional
evidence to prove the EPC as correct.

7.1.1 Relodgement
In the event that the report is declared defective, it will need to be cancelled and re-lodged
with the correct information in place within 10-working days. The onus is on the assessor
themselves to do this, using the audit feedback summary as guidance.

Defective EPCs shall always be cancelled by the Energy Assessor. Although lodging a new
report makes the latest version most accessible to download from the Register, it does not
‘overwrite’ or remove the incorrect report.

Cancellations shall be processed through iQ-Energy, giving the RRN to be cancelled, the RRN
of the replacement report, and the reason for cancellation. The QA team will occasionally
process cancellations following audit failure, but the expectation shall always be on the
Energy Assessor to cancel.

Relodged reports will be assigned to the original auditor for re-audit to ensure the required
actions have been completed. In the vast majority of cases, this will be marked as a Pass,
however, in limited cases, a DEA may not have followed all of the required actions.

Where a relodgement audit fails, the Scheme will take the action to immediately suspend the
DEA and require an immediate replacement of the defective report. This is to ensure that the
client is provided as quickly as possible with a corrected report.

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7.1.2 Additional Evidence
If you provide further evidence which would prove the EPC correct, you will not have to re-
lodge the report, however it would still be classified as an audit failure.

If you are able to provide additional evidence, this should be uploaded to the report in
question. You must also appeal to ensure the additional evidence is reviewed. The appeal
will be rejected but may prevent the need for relodgement.

Although this might seem harsh, we expect DEAs to be professional in their operation,
particularly in ensuring the collection of sufficient evidence to prove the EPC is an accurate
reflection of the dwelling. If this is not the case, we cannot turn a blind eye and are obliged
to use a follow-on audit as a sanction.

7.2 Follow-on Auditing

Where a randomly-selected or RBAS audit fails, the DEA will be required to complete a single
follow-on audit. This will either be based on the next triggering of the failed RBAS rule, or
another random audit.

Follow-on audits will be selected from the next available month’s lodgement data.

An RBAS follow-on audit will remain pending for six months until triggered. If the rule has not
been triggered after that time, it will be wiped as pending, and subsequent triggers assessed
in the normal manner.

Where the follow-on audit also fails, the Energy Assessor will be immediately suspended,
pending the completion of appropriate corrective action. Energy Assessors should be aware
of this condition when submitting a follow-on audit as this will prevent further lodgements
until the matter has been resolved.

Where a DEA fails three RBAS audits in succession for the same RBAS trigger, Schemes are
able to impose the ultimate sanction of striking off the DEA from the Central Register. This
action would only be taken in the most extreme circumstance.

In addition, where three random audits in succession fail for the same technical reasons, the
Scheme may also decide to strike-off the Energy Assessor.

Appendix C of this document shows a flowchart of how the auditing process works.

8. Moving forward
In applying these Quality Assurance requirements, we are helping to ensure that quality is
considered paramount in the Energy Performance industry. Energy Assessors should take
pride in the quality of their work, and know that the higher the quality of Certificates they

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produce, the more they are contributing to helping cut the UK’s carbon emissions and
domestic energy usage. The better the standard of product that is produced, the more
respectable and professional our industry will become.

We understand that this extra level of administration will add to the workload of a DEA, but
we are confident that all energy assessors will appreciate the benefits of a quality product.

9. Audit/EPC Help and Advice

The QA and Tech Support team is always available to aid EAs with any queries they might
have about the auditing process.

The best way to contact the QA team is through the Quidos Support Log. This can be found
by logging onto http://support.quidos.co.uk; alternatively, you can send an email which will
log a support ticket to support@quidos.co.uk.

The telephone helpdesk service should only be used for URGENT telephone queries, such as
an assessor on-site with a complex query which requires resolving.

The overuse of support channels may lead us to question your competency as a DEA,
requiring additional auditing.

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 Glossary of Terms
Absolute Error SAP score errors are based on the total number of errors. E.g.
+4, -2, +1 has an absolute variance of 7 SAP points, not 3.
Audit appeal A request to have an audit decision reviewed. This is never
completed by the original auditor.
The appeal feedback is the final and binding decision of the QA
Team and will not be reconsidered unless compelling additional
evidence is provided.
Audit Failure There are FOUR reasons for an audit failure:
- More than 5 SAP variance;
- Error in recommendations;
- Insufficiently accurate EPC description;
- Insufficient evidence for the audit to be completed.
Cancellation Process of removing a defective certificate from the EPC
Register. This must always be done to ensure incorrect data is
removed from the Register.
EASOB Energy Assessor Scheme Operating Board – responsible for
management of Level 2 SOR document.
EPB Register Location of all lodgements to England & Wales, and Northern
Ireland. Managed by MHCLG.
EPC Energy Performance Certificate.
EST (Energy Savings Trust) Company in charge of the management of the Scottish EPC
Register.
Insufficiently Accurate EPC In terms of the wording on an EPC, if a mistake by a DEA leads
Description to changes in the written description, or wording, of the report,
this can lead to the accuracy of the SAP score being
questioned.
iQ-Energy Quidos RdSAP software.
Metadata Information stored by an image file when the image is taken.
Includes date, time, and possible GPS location.
MHCLG Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.
QAA Quality Assurance Auditor.
RdSAP Reduced Standard Assessment Procedure – Used to create
existing building domestic EPCs; makes many assumptions
about the property and occupation to produce the report.
Re-lodgement Cancelling a failed report and re-completing it with the changes
outlined by the QAA.

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Risk-Based Audit Selection A process where domestic audits a chosen based on the
(RBAS) triggering of a risk-based selection rule, such as a particular
age band or combination of data inputs
SAP Standard Assessment Procedure – The methodology that
underpins the creation of EPCs.
Self-correcting Error Difference in SAP scores is 0, but, for example, there has been
one variance of +3, and another of -3. Total variance of 6.
SOR Scheme Operating Requirements – An agreement between
Government & Accreditation Schemes, act as minimum level for
Scheme processes.
Stock image Generic or previously-taken images submitted in place of
evidence which should have been collected on-site. These
images are generally not taken at the property being assessed.
Strike-off This is a type of status applied to someone’s accreditation and
updated to the EPC Register, as well as broadcast to Schemes.
The status means that you will no longer be able to practice as
a DEA. In severe cases, such as use of stock images or non-
attendance to a dwelling, it will be permanently applied by all
Schemes.
Suspension Your accreditation is temporarily suspended. You will not be
able to lodge whilst suspended, but still able to upload to QA, or
inputting data for new EPCs.
Underwhelming Quality Photographic evidence is of a poor quality. This could be due to
blurred images, lack of context, or unfit for purpose.

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APPENDIX A: Auditing Time Limits

Max. Time
From: To: Exceptions Sanctions
Limit

Scheme first Evidence 5 working day Suspension if

15 Working
requests audit uploaded to extension for failure to
Days
evidence iQ-Energy illness, hols, etc upload 1
Circumstances
Evidence Auditing 15 Working
beyond our
received completed Days
control
Lodgement of Appeals received
Audit feedback 10 Working Suspension if
replacement within 10 working
(failure) Days not re-lodged
EPC days

We request all audit appeals to be

Audit feedback 10 Working
Appeal deadline submitted within 10 working days
(failure) Days
from the date of feedback receipt

Follow on Evidence 5 working day Suspension if

5 Working
(random) uploaded to iQ- extension for failure to
Days
request2 Energy illness, hols, etc upload 4

Follow on Evidence 5 working day Suspension if

5 Working
(RBAS) uploaded to iQ- extension for failure to
Days
request3 Energy illness, hols, etc upload 4

Follow-on audit Where a follow-on audit fails, the Energy Assessor shall be suspended
feedback immediately pending the completion of remedial action.
(failure) Any appeals for follow-on audits are fast-tracked.

1
Where a surveillance audit is uploaded after the specified timescale without extension or a ‘reasonable or compelling’ reason for late
upload, the surveillance audit will be reviewed as normal for errors, but will fail automatically for insufficient evidence.

2
Follow-on audits from random failures will be selected from the next month’s audit selections.

3
Follow-on RBAS audits are called on the next instance of the rule being triggered by the assessor.

4
Follow-on audits are requested for upload within 5 working days in order to quickly follow up on a previous auditing failure.

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 APPENDIX B: Evidence Collection Guidance
For audit, DEAs are required to supply sufficient evidence for the auditor to be able to
replicate the lodged report without question. The provision of insufficient evidence will lead
to the failure of an audit.

The following list is suggested guidance for what DEAs should be collecting whilst on-site
undertaking an assessment. The provision of a detailed floorplan and detailed set of site
notes and data collection forms can give more detail than a single photo out of context.

Evidence for Upload Notes

EPC A copy of the lodged EPC to be provided
On-site data collection sheets Raw collected assessment data indicating the data inputs to be made;
iQMobile acts as data collection sheet
Detailed floor plan & calculations E.g. sketch showing all levels, measurements, extensions, heated rooms,
HLP/party walls, calculations; may also include LELs, location of heating
controls etc.
Detailed site notes Written description of anything that would support your decision-
NOT SAME AS DATA COLLECTION SHEETS making, thoughts, or amendments to recommendations (property age,
(site notes shall be supplementary to field construction, heating system notes, etc.)
sheets, but not in place of)

Photographic Evidence: Photos must be date-stamped within image or have the

photographic metadata retained for checking
Elevations, Openings & Construction All dwelling elevations; wall, loft and floor construction; open fires,
doors, windows, whole-house ventilation, conservatory.
Glazing details Multiple glazing, glazing manufacturing date, glazing gap,
Wall Insulation Clear evidence of insulation (i.e. drill pattern); certification
Floor Insulation
Loft Insulation Full loft space covered; measured in context (solid ruler against
thickness)
Space Heating System Boiler identification plate, all heating controls, fuel tank (LPG/Oil)
Secondary Heating Open fire, fixed room heaters; solid fuel options
Water Heating System Cylinder size, insulation thickness, presence of cylinderstat
Multi-rate electricity meter Taken to confirm tariff
Additional features Other feature of the building whose presence or absence may be
reasonably considered likely to affect the SAP rating (e.g. showers,
renewables, FGHRS)
Limitations Evidence that inspection of a particular element is impractical; either
photographic or written in site notes
Documentary Evidence Any other evidence collected as part of the assessment, including such
evidence as required by Conventions (insulation certificates, MCS,
FENSA, building control sign-off, u-value calculations)

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 APPENDIX C: Audit Process
Audit

Yes
Pass? OK

No

Feedback Re-lodge
If appropriate

Follow-on Audit Follow-on audits will be selected for the next

(same reason) occurrence of the failed RBAS rule, or random

Yes
Pass? OK

No

Feedback & Re-lodge

Suspend If appropriate

Corrective
Action

No
Pass?

Yes
Follow-on Audit Follow-on audits will be selected for the next
(same reason)
occurrence of the failed RBAS rule, or random

Yes
Pass? OK

Assessor struck-off No Re-lodge

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