Why a blind job needs the same checks as any other trade
Blinds look like a light job. Two fitters, a van and a few hours. But they drill into ceilings, reveals and curtain walling, work at height with ladders, towers or powered access, and often do it in a building full of staff, pupils, patients or residents.
So the checks you would run on an electrician or a decorator apply here too. This is the list we would want to see if we were the facilities manager, with our own answers alongside as the worked example. Use it on anyone, including us.
1. Insurance, with the numbers on it
Ask for the certificates, not a line on a website. You want to see the cover level, the insurer and the expiry date.
Public and products liability covers damage to your building and injury to people in it. Employers’ liability is a legal requirement for anyone employing staff, and covers the fitters themselves.
Ours: £5,000,000 public and products liability and £10,000,000 employers’ liability for any one claim, with Aviva Insurance Limited, valid to 5 February 2027. The certificates come with the quote or on request.
2. A RAMS written for your building
A risk assessment and method statement should describe your job: which rooms, what access equipment, how the fitters get materials in, where they work while the building is occupied, and what happens to waste. A generic document with your name typed at the top is not the same thing.
Ask for it before the start date, so you have time to read it and push back.
Ours: a project specific RAMS comes to you before works begin, on every commercial job. A redacted example is on our compliance page.
3. The asbestos register, before anyone drills
Blinds are fixed into exactly the places older buildings hide asbestos: ceiling tiles, soffits, window reveals, boxing around pipes. Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations, the duty holder for a non-domestic building has to know where asbestos is and share that with anyone who might disturb it.
So the fitters need to see the register at induction, and they need to know what to do when they meet a material the register does not cover.
Ours: we ask to see the asbestos register at induction before anyone drills, and we stop and check rather than guess on any material it does not cover. The team is Asbestos Awareness trained.
4. Dust and fixings
Drilling masonry makes dust, and in an occupied office, classroom or ward that dust lands on desks, keyboards and people. Ask how it is controlled.
Ask too what the blinds will be fixed into. Aluminium window frames, plasterboard, concrete and old plaster all need different fixings, and the wrong one is how a blind ends up on the floor a year later.
Ours: masonry drilling uses on-tool HEPA extraction, with face fit tested P3 masks. Self-drilling fixings into aluminium frames, rated cavity anchors in plasterboard, or hardened screws where a stud is confirmed.
5. Vetting for the people who turn up
Schools, nurseries, care homes and healthcare sites need to know who is coming in. Ask what level of DBS check the fitters hold, and whether it covers everyone on the job, not just the company director.
Ours: Enhanced DBS across the fitting team.
6. Site cards and supervision
On a construction site or a fit-out, the main contractor will want CSCS cards and someone qualified to supervise. On an occupied building, it is still a good sign.
Ours: CSCS carded, with our own SSSTS qualified supervision. Laura Pinder, who runs the office, holds IOSH Managing Safely.
7. Working at height
Most blinds are fitted from a ladder or platform steps. Tall windows, atriums, sports halls and stairwells need towers or powered access. Ask what equipment they bring, who is trained to use it, and how the area below is kept clear.
Ours: IPAF and PASMA carded for powered access and towers, and trained in Working at Height. EN 131 professional access equipment, inspected and tagged before use. Two fitters on a job at height: one working, one at ground level watching the area below.
8. Child safety devices
Any blind with a cord or chain has to be fitted with the right safety device and set at the right height. It is the installer’s job to fit them, not something the building can sign away.
Ours: BS EN 13120 devices fitted and adjusted on every unit, with chains and cords secured at the correct height. Our schools and nurseries guide goes into the detail.
9. The fire certificate for your fabric
Ask for the certificate for the fabric you are actually buying, and check the name on it matches the order. Our fire certificate guide explains what the paper should say and why a certificate covers one fabric, not a range.
10. Accreditations you can file
If your organisation keeps an approved supplier list, ask which accreditations the contractor holds and whether you can check them yourself.
Ours: Constructionline Gold, BBSA accredited, and Yewdale Kestrel certified installers for anti-ligature work.
11. How long, and how they fit around you
Ask for a realistic lead time and how the fitters will work around the building: out of hours, in holidays, floor by floor, or room by room.
Ours: typically 7 to 10 days from survey to installation, working around your hours. Purchase orders are welcome, and the PO follows the job through to the invoice. For larger buildings, our phasing guide covers how to split the work without the later floors ending up a different shade.
Put it in the enquiry
If you already know what you need, add it to the enquiry: the PO number, the induction arrangements, the access hours and the documents you want back. It saves a round of emails, and a contractor who reads it properly will send the lot.
