ALFA - Agency Operatives
To support the quality of agency labour for member licensed asbestos removal contractors and provide the contractors with a better understanding of the competency of an agency operative, ARCA developed ALFA, a unique performance rating app.
The ALFA Agency Operatives system enables ARCA member licensed asbestos removal contractors to rate the performance and behaviour of operatives supplied by ARCA labour supply members.
Having an overall performance rating for an operative, as well as certificate information, will provide the contractor with added reassurance of the competency of an agency operative before they arrive on site.
Stats (21 June 2022)
- Number of Operatives registered in ALFA is now over 1,400
- Over 6,000 operative placements have been made in ALFA for licensed work undertaken over the last 12 months
ALFA, a web-based application, has been developed by ARCA to provide a number of benefits for all parties, including:
- Reassurance of labour competence – being able to view an overall performance rating provides ARCA Member Contractors with added reassurance of the competency (knowledge, skills and behaviour) of an operative.
- Performance feedback – an ARCA Member Contractor can rate an operatives’ performance across nine categories for licensed work and eight categories for non-licensed work, with ratings used to calculate an overall performance rating.
- NEW - In-depth rating descriptors - ALFA now provides an in-depth rating category descriptor, together with a descriptor for each star rating for each individual category, to support consistency across those making the ratings. Also, ratings have been simplified to be across 4 stars.
- Identifies training needs – feedback from contractors can identify areas where an operative can improve, therefore supporting the operative’s development and future selection.
- Automated system – ALFA provides labour supply agencies with an online system for the selection and assignment of short-term operatives to asbestos removal jobs. Once operatives are assigned the member contractor can log into ALFA to view overall rating and certificates for those operatives.
- Certificate management – certificate information is easy for an agency to input and actual certificates can be uploaded, so all information is immediately available within ALFA, to be viewed by the Operative, their Agency and the LARC they are assigned to work for. Also, certificates due to expire within 30 days are highlighted within ALFA, so supporting renewal management.
- Operative overall rating information – once an operative is assigned to a job the relevant LARC can view and also print (download pdf) the operatives overall rating information (as can the operative) for both licensed and non-licensed work (if available). Also, the pdf will include information on the operative’s certificates, including expiry dates. Useful for a LARC to have in the site file as proof of a competency check.
How does the ALFA Agency Operatives system work?
After receiving a request for short-term labour for a specific job, an ARCA Labour Agency uses ALFA to set up the job (who for, where and when), and then finds and selects suitable operatives to send to the contractor. They can search for operatives by various criteria, including location, specific training (e.g. confirmed space) and CSCS Card.
Then when an operative is working for an ARCA Member Licensed Asbestos Removal Contractor, the contractor’s site supervisor will receive an email from ALFA requesting a performance rating for the operative.
Ratings cover categories from decontamination to time keeping, with nine categories for licensed work and eight for non-licensed work. Ratings are requested on the last day of an assignment or every two or four weeks where applicable.
Once rating information is provided, ALFA will automatically update the operative’s overall performance rating. The operative’s overall performance rating for licensed and non-licensed work are calculated and shown within ALFA separately.
Ratings, which can be from a number of contractors across a number of assignments, are used to calculate the overall performance rating for an operative, which is displayed by stars. An operative’s overall performance ratings, and average rating per category, is then available to an ARCA Member Contractor if/when that operative is selected for their asbestos removal job by an Agency within ALFA.
Asbestos Training Providers
To ensure that the licensed asbestos training the operatives receive meets the required standard, ARCA has an approved list of licensed asbestos training providers who have been assessed as meeting the requirements. The current list is available here.
Terms of Use and Privacy
All users can view the privacy policy and there are Terms of Use to accept prior to activating an account.