When working in our clients’ or suppliers’ premises (ie studios) we are covered by their health and safety policies and their public indemnity insurances. The validity of this status is always checked and verified before every project.

We are committed to the highest standards of excellence in our operations. This implicitly means accepting responsibility for health and safety during work in the field, including clients outside their own premises, colleagues and others who may be affected by our activities.

This health and safety policy will be signed, and a copy retained by every associate/colleague involved in a project.

This health and safety policy will be reviewed annually in December.

It will be invoked at the first and all appropriate subsequent planning/production meetings, to ensure health and safety considerations are integral to the project:

• Where we use clients’ premises or third-party facilities such as studios, conference rooms etc, we will require evidence of their own health and safety policies and provisions as well as proof of their public liability cover before commencing operations.
• Each associate/colleague involved in a project will be expected to identify and assess aspects of health and safety of that particular project and advise all other people involved, both on a strategic and immediate basis.
• As required by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations and other regulations, no work shall be undertaken outside of clients’ own premises unless suitable and sufficient assessment of risk has been carried out by the appropriate person, taking advice from any on-site specialists.
• All associates/colleagues will undertake to maintain work vehicles in a safe and legal operating manner, compliant with all relevant laws, with full respect for environmental considerations.
• All associates/colleagues will acquaint themselves with safest practice for lifting and operating heavy equipment (courtesy the A-Plant Site Safety pack).
• On location, all crew members will adopt a common sense approach to health and safety, including aspects such as covering up cabling, protecting hot lights etc. All required safety gear will be used (hard hats, high-res clothing).
• Where we involve guests or members of the public in productions, we will ensure their comfort as far as possible, including warmth, seating and refreshments.
• Every crew will carry at least one approved first aid kit.
• Before shooting, the location of the nearest A&E department will be advised to the crew director.
• We will maintain a regular liaison on matters of health and safety which have general impact or joint effect on both organizations.

Our policies are:

• Relevant to and in scale with our operations
• Practical and achievable
• Broadly measurable
• Capable of growth and development
• Supported with external expertise
• Economically neutral, advantageous or show ROI over time

We commit to the following policy and practice, in the belief that it is both socially responsible and economically advantageous:

Premises:
We work from home offices, 15 miles apart, in the northwest of England, reducing drive-to-work congestion.

We are installing a webcam and VOIP system to reduce the number of journeys for internal meetings.

We encourage clients to participate in conference calls with us to reduce the number of journeys for external meetings.

Waste management:
Reduce. Re-use. Recycle. Dispose responsibly.

We always separate and recycle paper, card, plastics, metals, batteries etc.

We look for innovative means of re-use, e.g.: using shredded office paper for agricultural bedding, which is later composted.

Conducting business:
All meetings and discussions (formal, informal; internal; external with clients/suppliers) will have an agenda item marked Responsible Trading.

Travel:
We acknowledge that we are highly transport dependent, but are seeking practical alternatives.

Public transport is always our default choice if available. We use bicycles for local journeys.

We commit to maintaining our cars for efficient performance. We commit to driving responsibly. We are reducing driving speeds.

We do not make unnecessary journeys; we reduce necessary ones by amalgamation.

We always car-share and assist our associates and film crews to do so.

When vehicles are renewed, we pledge to buy those with lower carbon emissions.

Good housekeeping:
We turn off all electrical goods overnight.
We are installing energy efficient light bulbs.

Procuring:
We ascertain suppliers’ responsible practices; we commit to encouraging and assisting them to improve, as appropriate. As our own practices improve, we will raise the standard requirement for suppliers.
We source FAIRTRADE produces wherever possible.
We source locally as far as we can.

Review:
This policy is reviewed every January.

We treat everyone with whom we come into contact, whether client, supplier, stakeholder or public, with equal respect and courtesy regardless of ability, race, religion, age, gender or sexual orientation.

We accommodate special requirements, cultural practices and sensitivities, without fuss or show, dedicating whatever practical additional resource may be necessary.

Identifying particular needs or sensitivities is built in to client briefings at the beginning, and during every project.

We actively seek to educate ourselves about the diversity of people with whom we work. At the end of projects, we audit the requirements of every individual involved in the project (whether client, supplier or associate) and assess how well we met those requirements.

We respect clients’ budgets and will always discuss those before developing and submitting proposals for a project.

We will always give best value and best advice, whatever the budget.

In a quality comparison, we aim to be the most competitively priced in our field. Our clients pay for superior expertise and practical counsel, not for posh offices or fancy marketing.

The quality of our service is critical to us. While we will always try to find creative ways around budgetary constraints, we will not compromise by giving you second best for the sake of economy. For example, we will not increase the class size of a training session if it results in a reduction of individual attention for the participants.

We never charge more than we say we will. Once a project has been agreed we will supply notice of confirmation. Where it is impossible to estimate a particular cost, we will quote on a ‘not more than’ basis; this is a guarantee of highest cost. Lower actual costs will always be reflected in the final invoice.

While we are happy to be flexible and adaptable within a project, major changes instigated by the client after notice of confirmation may require re-costing.

Particularly on large projects, expenses cannot always be determined in advance. In those cases we will advise clients of the unit cost of the expense and seek approval to spend as required.

Where substantial agreed expenses will be incurred, we may request advance or early payment to avoid charging clients interest.

We’re pleased to report that our complaints policy is currently theoretical because we have never received a complaint. Our aim is to keep it that way by:

• Constantly maintaining the foundation stone of our client satisfaction: excellent and thorough communication throughout a project. This enables both parties to correct issues before they can become a problem.
• Prevention is better than cure. We always ensure that our clients’ expectations are realistic, achievable and clearly understood by both parties, from the outset.
• Where appropriate, we invite clients to sign off their satisfaction at relevant stages, before progressing to the next stage of a project.
• If any elements of a project change for reasons beyond our control, we advise clients and discuss issues with them at the earliest opportunity, to the point of satisfaction.
• Where clients prefer a bespoke complaints procedure, we are happy to create one in co-operation with them.
• Before the start of a project, we and our clients may agree on an external arbitrator in the event that an irresolvable dispute arises.

We will strive at all times to exceed expectations, in the quality of our products and services and in our level of customer care.

We will always respect confidentiality before, during and after all projects.

We always ensure that our clients’ expectations are realistic, achievable and clearly understood by both parties, from the outset.

While we ultimately defer to clients’ wishes and objectives, as consultants we will offer best advice at all times, supporting and explaining our stance as necessary!

Sarah Perris and Merryn Myatt are the principals of Perris-Myatt and we personally deliver all client services. We do not pass clients’ accounts to office juniors. We do not seek the expertise of our associates without the full approval of our clients.

We are always available to clients around the clock on any day of the week, for any reason whatsoever.

We make every attempt to respond to voicemails, texts and e-mails as soon as we receive them.

Where appropriate we operate a system of ‘sign offs’ at regular stages. This ensures that there is no need for unexpected changes later in the process, keeping costs to a minimum.

While we always aim to provide a realistic schedule, we are not clock-watchers and will schedule our time to ensure that an agreed task is completed to an agreed time.

We aim to ensure that our clients fully understand what we may need from them in the way of support, information, material, or resources.

We always seek, and will act upon, client feedback during and after a project.