Quality Assurance

Lichfield Planning is committed to the efficient delivery of high quality services to all its clients. We believe quality control is an integral part of all our operations.  It is not a separate element or function; each and every aspect of our day-to-day work is conducted in accordance with the highest possible quality standards. Our approach is summarised below.

Each project commission is subject to a structured approach to ensure high quality delivery.

As soon as a contract is awarded we shall confirm the name of the project manager who will be the primary client contact. She or he will be responsible for coordinating the inputs of other members of the team and for monitoring the progress of the work against the tasks schedule and milestones confirmed with our clients at the inception phase of the project.  Each new client is also allocated a client manager, a member of the Lichfield Planning team who is not involved directly in the project team but is a second point of contact to ensure that the client is happy with our work and performance during the course of the project.

• The project manager will agree a detailed project plan with the client. Normally this will build on the information provided in our tender or pre-contract proposal. It will be a more detailed statement of staff resources, responsibilities and roles and of project milestones, progress reporting procedures and, in order to enhance communication between Lichfield Planning and clients, intranet facilities specific to the project in hand.

The lead Partner on the project will take overall responsibility for monitoring the outputs of the project team to ensure that the firm’s quality standards are maintained in all its dealings with clients:

• Progress and compliance with quality standards will be standing items on the agenda for the weekly meetings of the project team. Any failures to meet deadlines or quality standards will be reported to the Partners’ Senior Management Group who will agree and implement any necessary remedial action.
• Reports will be subjected to quality assurance checks. Prior to dispatch all reports will be read and agreed for release by a senior member of the company.

Final drafts of plans and project reports will be scrutinised and approved by the lead Partner before submission to clients.        

Equal Opportunities

Lichfield Planning is made up of strong individuals with a wide range of skills and experience. What they all share is a deep commitment to good, integrated planning and an understanding of the benefits this brings to developers and communities alike. This is just as true of the youngest members of the practice as it is of the oldest and most experienced.

We also encourage all our people to use their skills and energies to further the cause of good planning and to help communities to safeguard and improve their physical, social and economic environments. Just as importantly, we strive to support the members of our own community - not just our Partners, Associates other staff, but also their partners and families.

We ensure that our staff keep well informed about the latest issues, thinking and techniques in planning. We support them in meeting their Continuing Professional Development requirements and we encourage them to go much further. In-house training and development sessions are a regular feature of our work programme.

Annual Personal Performance Plans ensure that everyone contributes to providing clients with excellent service today - building for tomorrow. All staff are expected to look to their future in Personal Professional Development Plans and we provide the support they need to achieve their plans. We also believe that work should be fun: interested, committed and happy staff provide the best service, keeping clients happy too! Our aim is for Lichfield Planning to offer the best and most enjoyable work environment.

Sexual or Racial Harassment

Introduction
Lichfield Planning finds unacceptable all forms of sexual or racial harassment and seeks to ensure that the working environment is sympathetic to its female and ethnic minority employees. The following procedure informs employees of the type of behaviour that is unacceptable and provides employees who are the victims of sexual or racial harassment with a means of redress. Implementation of the policy is the responsibility of the Partners. All employees are expected to comply. It is recognised that both women and men may suffer sexual harassment and action on behalf of all victims will follow the same procedure.

Procedure
Sexual harassment can reduce the effectiveness of the firm by undermining the confidence of employees, creating a threatening environment, and increasing sickness absence and labour turnover. Everyone has the right to work in an environment free from sexual intimidation.

Racial harassment at work is also unlawful and as with sexual harassment both the company and the harasser may be held liable. It also creates a threatening environment and all staff have the right to work in an atmosphere free from racial intimidation.

Examples
Sexual harassment takes many forms, from relatively mild sexual banter to actual physical violence. People may not always realise that their behaviour constitutes sexual harassment; they must recognise that what is acceptable to one employee may not be acceptable to another. [Sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature by one employee towards another.]

Examples of harassment include:
• insensitive jokes and pranks
• lewd comments about appearance
• unnecessary body contact
• displays of sexually offensive material, e.g. pin ups
• requests for sexual favours
• speculation about a person's private life and sexual activities
• threatened or actual sexual violence
• threat of dismissal, loss of promotion, etc for refusal of sexual favours

Sustainable Development and Green Office Policy

Lichfield Planning is committed to business procedures that are consistent with environmental good practice and comply with environmental legislation and codes of practice.

Our commitment to the environment is achieved by promoting energy efficiency in all our offices. We pursue green policies wherever possible, and our paper and other materials, such as toner cartridges, are recycled.

Account is taken of the environmental consequences of manufacture and supply when choosing items such as office furniture and equipment and we seek to select the most environment-friendly items available at the time of purchase or hire.

In undertaking our work, we aim to travel by public transport whenever possible.

Health and Safety

Safety policy statement
The Partnership recognises that the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees whether on the company premise or carrying out company business elsewhere, is primarily the management's responsibility; and that further, a duty of care extends to other persons while they are on company premises.

Responsibilities
The management responsibility includes:
a) The provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that (so far as is reasonably practicable) are safe and without risks to health.
b) Arrangements for ensuring (so far as is reasonably practicable) safety and absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage, and transport of articles and substances.
c) Supervision that is necessary to ensure (so far as is reasonably practicable) the health and safety at work of employees.
d) The provision and maintenance (so far as is reasonably practicable) of a safe place of
     work, and proper access to that place of work.
e) The provision and maintenance of a working environment that is (so far as is reasonably practicable) safe, without risks to health and adequate as regards facilities and arrangements for welfare at work.
f)   The employment of persons who are competent in the work for which they are engaged.
g) Compliance with the statutory requirements for safety, health and welfare.

Notwithstanding the former, it is recognised that all employees have a responsibility for their personal safety and also a duty of care to their fellow employees.

Employees’ Responsibilities
The employees' responsibilities include:
a) The duty to comply with the safety instructions and
     directions laid down by the management.
b) The duty to use properly the means and facilities provided
     for health and safety at work.
c) The duty to refrain from the wilful misuse or interference
     with anything provided in the interests of health and safety
     welfare, and any action that might endanger himself or others.
c) The duty of all employees in authority to ensure that the necessary safety precautions are taken and that the necessary safety instructions are given.

Safety Policy - Organisation and Arrangements
The effective implementation of the company safety policy requires the participation of all levels of management and other employees in the following manner: The Senior Partner shall:

• be responsible for the effective implementation of partnership safety policy;
• keep informed of the incidents or accidents occurring on the company premises or to company employees;
•  keep under review the necessity for further safety measures, instructions and training to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all employees;
•  keep reasonable time available to receive safety delegates and attend safety meetings.

The Safety Manager (nominated Partner)
a) Shall be responsible for the effective implementation of company safety policy within his/her section or area of control.
b) Shall investigate all accidents and potentially hazardous incidents in the area under his/her control reported to him/her either formally or informally, and shall institute or report to senior partner action taken or required to be taken to make safe and/or to prevent a recurrence of the incident. c) Shall inspect the partnership working environment under his/her control to check that the safety measures are being maintained and that safety instructions and safe practices are being followed in the method of work, place of work and by workers.
d) Shall instruct those under his/her control, precisely and clearly on their duties with regard to the safety of themselves and all others within the department, or work area.
e) Shall institute or initiate as appropriate, additional safety measures, repairs or remedial measures deemed to be necessary from his/her investigation, inspection or information that is obtained in the course of the above duties.
f)   Shall inform employees of any hazards to health and safety encountered in the course of their work and the precautions to be taken and of the duties to safeguard their health and well being.
g) Shall make himself / herself reasonably available to receive and discuss safety queries raised by employees under his control.

All Other Persons on Office Premises
a) Shall enforce the firm's safety rules and instructions given by personnel enforcing the firm's safety policy.
b) Shall not work on the premises until the relevant safety rules are read, understood and accepted.

Detailed Arrangements
a) All accidents will be reported to your manager who will arrange for you to received first aid or treatment by a doctor if required. The accident will be reported in the Accident Register.
b) Where absence from work results from an accident at work, you are required to send a medical certificate to your manager within 24 hours of ceasing work and, if not already reported as an industrial injury, details of what happened, where, when and how, along with the names of any witnesses must be provided.
c) All accidents resulting in loss of time must be reported to the manager who may subsequently report the incident to the Health and Safety Inspectorate.
d) All employees will receive instruction and training in health and safety in the workplace