Health and safety management specialist Right Directions, which already delivers Quest on behalf of Sport England, has been awarded the contract to deliver the Fitness Industry Association's (FIA) Code of Practice.

Right Direction's two-year agreement with the FIA will bring two leading industry awards closer together, allowing operators to save both time and money by achieving their FIA Code of Practice (CoP) as part of their Quest assessment.

Quest, which was launched by Sport England in 1999, is a tool for continuous improvement. It defines industry standards and good practice and encourages their ongoing development and delivery within a customer focused management framework. To date, 900 sites across the UK hold the Quest mark.

The FIA's Code of Practice is an assessment for health clubs and leisure centres covering statutory health and safety legislation, which communicates commitment to standards, quality and customer welfare. It assesses operators on a number of criteria and provides a full written report on how the site performed. Non-compliant sites are provided with a detailed action plan to help with re-evaluation.

Caroline Constantine, Director of Right Directions and Quest Operations Director, explains: "Under the new Quest 2011 model, operators can pick and choose some of the modules they are assessed on. Of these, some will link with the FIA's Code of Practice, for instance health and safety and fitness, meaning that FIA member operators passing their Quest assessment will automatically achieve their FIA CoP too."

It is hoped the link will attract more private operators to look at Sport England's Quest award, currently seen by many as a tool public sector leisure sites, as well as encouraging current Quest members to sign up to the FIA and its Code of Practice.

"Our management of the FIA's Code of Practice and the natural link with Quest will be a great added benefit for everyone involved," continues Constantine. "It will ensure that these two industry awards are more compatible and, in doing so, will save operators around £400 on a separate FIA CoP audit every other year."

Right Directions will also work with the FIA to further develop its Code of Practice, establishing the mark as a health and safety tool with a web based support platform and, in turn, growing the FIA CoP for a wider audience.

Dave Stalker, CEO of the FIA said: "The Code of Practice is an important statement to Government and other regulatory bodies that the physical activity sector is a professional industry, which takes its operation and duty of care seriously. Drawing on its specialist knowledge of the industry, Right Directions is ideally placed to be the assessor of the FIA Code of Practice and will offer extensive support and guidance throughout the process to ensure FIA members have the best possible chance of meeting the set criteria."

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