MCS registration is something I have been looking into, even paid the £649 for Easy MCS pack and worked through half of it before realising (Duh!) that the hidden costs in time and training etc were going to cost the company between £5000 and £8000 EACH YEAR to remain registered!
It simply isn't possible for us (small firm with 13 employees) to justify this kind of outlay on the hope that we may be able to recoup it over the year with a few renewables jobs.
A) there simply are not enough renewables jobs out there
B) There is too much to claw back in time, money and effort to make it worthwhile
c) The recent U-turn by the government on feed in tarifs has made the industry very nervous and doesn't instil confidence that there is any kind of stable foundation upon which to base such an investment. When will the next renewables rug be pulled out from under our feet?
As a costing example:
One off costs:
Easy MCS or other training to get you through the assessment (YOU WILL NEED THIS) £650
Time for one person to dedicate to putting the several hundred documents in order in excess of 100 hours (@ min wage £608.00)
Files, paper, printing ink etc £150
Annual fees:
Membership of REAL £190 to £500 depending on size of small firm (way more for larger firms
MCS annual fee - £110 + £10 per installation
MCS inspection £854 + one day lost work
MCS paper consultation - £300 plus one day lost work
Specific indemnity insurance for each renewable £700+ each
Fee for specific reneable registered £350+ each
Annual calibration of equipment £140 to £300 depending on equipment each
Regular costs but 2+ years etc
H&S refresher courses on Manual Handling, COSHH and Working at Heights for each employee involved in renewables (this includes sales and office staff!) example for 8 would be 1.5 day training @ £1095 including certification plus lost revenue at say £2500.
Renewing other specific renewables training - Solar Thermal £350 and 3 days off
Unvented Cylinders £280 + day off
Energy Efficiency certificate £300 + day off
Heat Pumps £450 + 2 days off
etc etc.
As well as all the above, you MUST keep on top of the paper work which is incredibly burdensome. Monthly internal revew meetings, documented on two documents, non conformity logs, dealing with customer complaints, keeping a purchase order log to ensure that what you quote for is what you actually supply and complies with MCS approved equipment.
Who wants or needs an annual inspection of their office? None of this is really necessary or workable for the few renewables jobs which are out there.
The government really need to try running a small business themselves before exacting such burdensome, beaureacratic pronouncements on industry. Although MCS is a good business model for larger businesses who need to keep an eye on quality control, for the small business (which most of the plumbing and renewables market consists of in terms of knowledge and ability) it is a time and money pit which none can afford to slip into.
I can see MCS being the major stumbling block upon which the renewables marked falls and will end up with the UK NOT meeting the Kyoto protocol agreement which will then cost us millions in fines! Guess who will pay for that?
Some quango has spent 2 years justifying their own jobs creating this MCS registration money-go-round and I for one can't afford to play. The trouble is, it just puts the price of the renewable technology up for the public too so everyone looses!
Very disappointed in the whole scheme.
More info:
http://forum.downsizer.net/archive/the-cost-of-mcs-membership__o_t__t_52230.html
Napit’s fees:
http://www.napit.org.uk/downloads/MCS Scheme Fees SCH0020 v4.1 (09.11).pdf
http://www.navitron.org.uk/page.php?id=137&catId=65
