Our Accreditations

Merlin Environmental are full members of the British Pest Control Association (BPCA). The BPCA is the trade body for the pest management industry in the United Kingdom. In the often-challenging field of pest control, the British Pest Control Association represents competence and integrity, and fosters best practices throughout the industry.

It represents our industry where a common voice needs to be heard, such as when interacting with the government, regulators, and other trade associations such as the British Retail Consortium.

The BPCA promotes best practice in all aspects of running a pest control company and being a member of the organisation, provides further proof that we are committed to excellence in every part of our business.

Our BPCA membership is further recognition of our expertise and integrity as a pest control company. It shows we abide by a strict code of conduct and industry codes of best practice.

As a BPCA full member:

We carry out in-depth inspections and surveys and provide detailed advice on pest prevention measures. All our proposed management and treatment plans are evidence-based and highly focused.

We ensure our activities are safe and that we protect staff, customers, and members of the public through risk and COSHH assessments and robust safe systems of work.

All of our technicians exceed the industry standard qualifications. We use the RSPH Level 2 Certificate in Pest Management as our entry standard. This is a far more in-depth qualification than the RSPH Level 2 Award.

We maintain all staff as individual members of continuous professional development schemes. We use both BPCA registered and BASIS.

We are required to maintain appropriate levels of insurance for our business of £50m.

We are regularly audited by the BPCA to ensure our compliance.

In short, full BPCA membership is an independent assurance that our clients will be protected professionally and receive safe, environmentally sound, and efficient pest management.

BS EN 16636 is the British and European standard for pest management services. We at Merlin feel that as a pest management company it is very important to be certified against the British standard for pest management. The standard looks at a number of key competencies that we need to demonstrate to the auditors.

The standard applies directly and specifically to all pest control companies providing a service for domestic and/or commercial premises and local authorities dealing with pest control. Although this is not a new standard, having been launched in 2015, it is surprising how few pest controls companies have adopted it.

BS EN 16636 provides us with specific criteria and recommendations on how to ensure a professional pest control service is provided, that minimises the risk to human health and any possible negative environmental impacts.

It covers the competences required for various roles within our company. For example, administrative staff need a different skill set to sales and field technicians. The standard acknowledges this and helps contribute to the delivery of professional services in the field of pest management.

As a BS EN certified company, we follow a process-based approach to solving pest problems.

• Identify pests, finding the root cause of the infestation and conduct a risk assessment.
• Develop a plan for pest eradication with the client.
• Provide a reliable, efficient, and secure service, which minimises the hazard to customers and the general public.
• Ensure all actions do not cause damage or a negative impact on the environment.
• Safely use pesticides, giving due consideration to the effect on the health of animals, wildlife, and the environment.
• Provide plans and recommendations for the prevention of infestations in the future.
• Check the efficacy of the service and treatments and evaluate the results.

The standard also states that workers must be well-trained and professional with high levels of competency in technical skills. These skills must be kept up to date using an independent continual professional development scheme. This means that businesses remain up to date, with the latest research, techniques, regulations, and issues relating to health and safety.

The international standard for quality management systems is ISO 9001, which helps to assess whether the business is managed in an effective manner. It analyses every aspect of the company in minute detail. It demonstrates that all of our processes are audited regularly, from product creation, to ordering technical support distribution, to customer support, to ensure that we provide the best possible quality pest control service. The certification of ISO 9001 shows our ability to reach and surpass customer standards consistently. In order to reduce their risk of buying a poor product or service, many enterprise buyers and retailers require their suppliers to be ISO 9001 accredited.

The standard is based around 7 key principles, that guide the company.

1. Customer centric service: Merlin ensures that we recognise the current and potential needs of our customers, that we regularly fulfil all customer requirements, and that we aim to exceed customer standards.
2. Management: Our leadership team meets regularly to ensure that they strengthen the organisation’s mission and course. They have built an atmosphere in which our employees are actively engaged in achieving the goals of the company and guiding future growth.
3. Engagement: Our people are the core of the company at all levels and are actively interested in allowing their talents to be used and nurtured, in order to improve and expand Merlin’s pest control services.
4. A Process approach: Consistent and reliable outcomes are best achieved via a process that controls the steps along the way. This includes how new enquiries are handled, how work is scheduled, how service is delivered and how quality is controlled.
5. Continuous Improvement: Every aspect of our operation is viewed with a goal of making everything we do a little better, every time we do it. This is achieved through regular testing of our processes and feedback from service delivery staff and clients, to highlight areas we can improve.
6. Evidence-based decision making: Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information. All of our processes and practices are driven by in-depth data analysis.
7. Relationship management: Merlin and its external providers such as suppliers, contractors and service providers are interdependent so we need to build mutually beneficial relationships to ensure they meet standards and requirements.

In short we chose ISO 9001 certification to show that we have taken due care to maintain high standards. This reduces the chance of service faults and recalls and ensures that our customers can buy with confidence.

ISO 14001 sets out a set of rules effective for an environmental management system. It maps out a framework that we follow to set up and run an effective environmental management system.

At Merlin Environmental we use it to demonstrate that the environmental impact is being measured and improved. Many companies use the term environmentally friendly pest control, however the fact of the matter is that all pest control activity has an environmental impact. ISO 14001 gives us a framework and formalises the processes we use to ensure we minimise the effects and continually look to further reduce our environmental impact.

Merlin Environmental are certified against the third edition known as ISO 14001:2015. This version marked a shift from the previous versions that were based on BS7750. This version of ISO 14001 focuses on improving our environmental performance rather than focusing on the improvement of the management system itself, which is a marked departure from its predecessor. It also extended the requirements to the companies supply chain by aiming to make environmental management more comprehensive and relevant. This makes us look at the complete environmental impact of our pest control services.

There are 4 key steps towards the overriding principle of continual improvement.

Establish objectives

To help define all elements of the current operation, and future operations that could interact with the environment, an initial gap review of our processes and products was carried out. Environmental aspects included direct aspects, such as those used during our work, as well as indirect aspects, such as raw materials and the supply chain. This analysis allowed us to set our environmental targets, priorities, and objectives.

Implement the processes

During this stage, we identified the resources required and worked out who is best skilled to implement each process. We developed procedures and processes specifically related to operational control. We also formalised procedures to cover emergency preparedness and disaster recovery, and the education of employees.

Measure and monitor the processes

During this stage, our performance is monitored and measured to ensure that our environmental targets and objectives are being met. We undertake internal periodic audits to verify this. In addition, external auditors conduct annual inspections.

Take action to improve environmental performance

We review the results of periodic monitoring to ensure that the objectives of the environmental management system are being met, and the extent to which they are being met. During this review, we also look at changes affecting our activities, such as legal requirements.

Continual improvement process

• For us at Merlin Environmental, this is the most important aspect of the process.
• It allows us to question the systems we employ.
• It forces us to challenge the status quo.
• It pushes us to develop better eco-friendly pest control solutions.
• It drives us to minimise the environmental impact of our activities and ultimately strive towards a more strategic approach on how to manage environmental challenges.

The international standard for Occupational Health and Safety is ISO 45001.

The goal of ISO 45001 is to reduce injuries and diseases in the workplace and to promote and protect the physical and mental health of our staff. The standard sets out the criteria that we fulfil to ensure a safe and secure workplace and to avoid accidents and ill-health associated with our work. It also provides us with processes that enable us to meet our responsibilities in the area of health and safety. It is the measure of the company and demonstrates that we provide safe pest control.

ISO 45001 considers our business and where we fit into the greater market and how we may be affected by internal and external factors. It pushes us to be flexible in order to accommodate various types of change, whether they be cultural, political, legal, financial, technological, environmental, or market driven. When Covid-19 changed the world, it was the processes built in the certification process that enabled us to continue our services throughout the pandemic without interruption.

We actively promote and develop a safety culture. This is done through consultation and the implementation of systems geared to minimising hazards and risks, while promoting a culture of continual improvement.

As a company we identify the hazards in our activities. We look to eliminate these and make sure we address them in compliance with legal requirements and our cultural and ethical goals.

We provide all our staff with all the resources required to minimise risks to themselves and those around them. We also provide training and materials to highlight hazard identification and risk avoidance. This includes resources and services to improve their mental health and general wellbeing.

As part of our internal auditing process we evaluate the performance of our safety management systems and measure our progress towards achieving our health and wellbeing objectives.

We continually look for opportunities to improve our health and safety performance and the wider wellbeing of our staff.

Merlin Environmental Solutions Ltd have obtained CEPA Certified® status.

It shows that we have been independently evaluated by specialist auditors, with an in-depth working knowledge of the industry. The European quality standard for pest control services was issued in March 2015. The standard BS EN 16636, was developed by BSI in collaboration with the Pest Management Alliance. Merlin Environmental were representatives of the industry in this process. This standard was subsequently adopted by the Confederation of European Pest Management Associations (CEPA), as the basis of their new certification.

CEPA Certification acts as an assurance to our customers that we only use trained and qualified field and back office staff to carry out pest management activities. We practice true integrated pest management, with procedures for proper waste management and reduced use of biocides. We offer the best available advice and demonstrate best practice in all aspects of our services including risk analysis, root cause analysis and eradication of pest infestations.

Our training is verified to ensure we are competent to sell and deliver pest management services and meet the specified minimum standards of knowledge, skill and practical awareness of legislation, EU directives and regulations. The CEPA auditors assess our service performance and quality levels by auditing sites and speaking with clients.

We fulfil the eleven key measures of this certification:

• We have an experienced and permanent member of staff on the management team who is both theoretically and practically competent, qualified as a Pest Manager, and is accountable for supervising the maintenance and verification of professional skills and qualifications.
• All our service technicians are adequately fluent in the English language and have adequate literacy and numeracy to fulfil their duties, including reading, writing, measuring and verbally communicating with customers to identify their requirements and the technical requirements set out in labels, MSDS sheets and service protocols.
• All of our employees who have direct contact with customers at their sites have been qualified and certified as competent to sell and deliver the services they provide by complying with nationally defined minimum standards of expertise, qualifications and practical competence.
• All potential risk factors specific to the site or sector of a client, along with the potential implications of an infestation, are systematically identified. Before proposing a course of action, we discuss these with the client in order to determine their requirements, priorities and expectations, and then we begin work having gained formal approval. We log every visit to the site and maintain records of the extent and nature of any infestation. Local environmental factors can sustain or facilitate the presence of pests. The details of such factors and any treatment carried out (including location and use of any biocides etc.) will all be logged.
• We routinely assess the outcomes of any advice or treatment carried out at a clients sites. This assessment drives our future plans for the long term management of pest species.
• Any member of our team who has direct customer contact, understands and can explain what laws can apply to different customer situations, but also which eradication techniques are legal and can be used in specific situations.
• We regularly carry out a systematic process in which we analyse, identify and document any hazards that are at the location of the customer, that could pose a danger to our operators, other stakeholders or occur as a result of the proposed interventions. As part of our service strategy, we will routinely consider, consult and take steps to minimise these risks.
• We always create a tailored plan for each customer. We consider and discuss habitat management, biological methods, physical methods and finally chemical methods, selecting the treatment with the least environmental impact to satisfy the requirements of the customer.
• Using both the BASIS prompt and BPCA we ensure all of our team complies with and surpasses the accepted requirements within our industry.
• We regularly collect the waste that occurs from the operation of our services (e.g. animal carcasses, bird excrement, spent baits, traps, pesticide containers, packaging and light bulbs, etc.) and can show that it is disposed of safely and in compliance with the applicable legislation and codes of practice.