Privacy

ThisIsManufacturing.co.uk (“ThisIsManufacturing”) is operated by Junction YK Ltd and sponsored by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) (collectively "us", "we"). Junction YK Ltd is a business communications agency dedicated to helping the public sector and other organisations communicate key information and messages to the business community. The NWDA leads the economic development and regeneration of England's Northwest. As a business-led organisation, the NWDA provides a link between the needs of business and Government policies. One of NWDA's responsibilities is to create an environment in which businesses in the region can flourish through offering business support, encouraging new start-ups, matching skills provision to employer needs and bringing business investment into the region.

Junction YK Ltd and the NWDA value the privacy of the users to this website and we use any personal information that you provide to us strictly in accordance with this Privacy Policy. In using the website, you agree to us using any personal information that you provide to us (both intentionally and inadvertently) in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you are a registered user of this website, we will notify you of any changes to the Privacy Policy by email. If you are not a registered user then you will need to check back here from time to time if you wish to continue using ThisIsManufacturing.

What information does this Privacy Policy cover?

This Privacy Policy covers all information collected through ThisIsManufacturing. It does not cover any information that you may give on other websites that either link to, or link from ThisIsManufacturing. It is recommended that you review the privacy policies of all websites you visit.

What is personal information?

Personal information means information that can either alone, or together with other information that is likely to come into our possession, identify you as an individual. Personal information does not include anonymised information.

What is the law governing this?

At the most basic level, the law in England and Wales requires that we adhere to eight principles. We have to make sure that all personal information you provide to us is:

• Fairly and lawfully processed
• Processed for limited purposes
• Adequate, relevant and not excessive
• Accurate and up to date
• Not kept for longer than is necessary
• Processed in line with your rights
• Secure
• Not transferred to other countries without adequate protection

How is information collected?

Different information is required depending upon the services that users sign up for.

When users register as a full member of the website, certain personal information is requested during this process. We require this information so that businesses can build full profiles of themselves on the site, make comments, post videos and make contacts with others. We only ask for the minimum amount that we need to ensure our service works. Businesses are encouraged however to include as much information as they feel appropriate to gain the maximum benefit from the site. If you do not wish to provide the limited amount of information that we require then unfortunately you will be unable to become a registered user and will not have complete access to the website.

If users only wish to sign up for our e-newsletter, then this can be done via our home page by entering your email address only. We do not ask for any additional information; however subscribers for the e-newsletter only will not have full access to the website.

Why do we need your information?

Information is collected from users so that we can monitor usage for statistical purposes to ensure that the website is providing the forum which businesses can benefit from. The website is intended to maximise visibility and access for businesses in the Northwest of England and in monitoring the usage, we can ascertain whether this is being achieved.

What information do we ask for?

We explicitly ask you when we need information that personally identifies you and your business. When you register with us, we will ask you for your name, e-mail name and business details, such as your company name, registered and trading addresses. We use this personal information to better understand the requirements of your membership and we may occasionally inform you of new features, services and products unless you opt-out of such notices. If you decide to subscribe for our e-newsletter only, we ask you for your email address and not any of the additional information required for registration.

Like most web sites, ThisIsManufacturing uses cookies to track site usage. A cookie is a tiny data file which resides on your computer which allows us to recognise you as a user when you return to our site using the same computer and web browser. Unfortunately, if your browser settings do not allow cookies, you will not be able to use our website. Like the information you enter at registration, cookie and log file data is used to customise your experience on the web site. One type of cookie, known as a “persistent” cookie, is set once you have logged in to your This is Manufacturing account. The next time you visit the website, the persistent cookie will allow us to recognise you as an existing user so you will not need to log in before using the service. In order to access or change any of your personal information however, you must log in securely again with your password even if your computer contains your persistent cookie. Additionally, if you log out of the ThisIsManufacturing site you will need to re-enter your password the next time you visit in order to log in to your account.

When you enter the website, we collect your browser type and IP address. This information is gathered for all of our users, whether you are a registered user or someone who wants to know more about ThisIsManufacturing. We gather this information so that we can see how users are accessing the website and where they are accessing it from. Although this information is largely non-personal in nature, please note that we never share this information with third-parties without your permission or except when required by law.

Users post content on the site at their own risk. Although we allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your profiles, please be aware that no security measures are perfect. ThisIsManufacturing cannot control the actions of other users with whom you may choose to share your profiles and information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that the content you post on the site will not be viewed by unauthorised persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the site.

Do we disclose information to other members?

As the website is a medium by which business professional people seek to make contact with each other, other registered users will have full access to the online network. This will mean that all registered users can view personal and company information posted by other users, take part in online forums, upload content to the site and share their views and add comments on existing content on the site. Registered users may also contact other registered users via the website forums or the messaging system. You can choose to stop all messages sent via the mass mail tools at anytime.

Do we disclose your information to third parties who are not members?

We will only share your information with the NWDA and this is only for statistical purposes. These organisations will not use this information for any other purpose except to monitor the number of businesses that have joined the website and are part of the community. The NWDA may want to contact users directly from time to time to collect their opinion about the website. We will provide them contact information to be able to do this.

Use of your information

Your personal information may be used by us to promote Junction YK Ltd and NWDA events, services and products that are available now or may choose to introduce in the future. By signing up for membership with us, you are opting into receiving announcements and newsletters - you can opt-out of these at any time through your account. Subscribers to the e-newsletter can unsubscribe via a link on the newsletter.

How long do we keep your personal information?

We keep records of all registered users to the site only as long as strictly necessary, either for the purpose of allowing you to retain your membership or because we are under a legal obligation to do so. On occasion this might require that we keep information regarding members after they cease to be members of the website.

Amending or terminating information

You can review the personal information you have provided to us and make any desired changes to the information, or to the settings for your account, at any time by logging in to your account on the website and editing the information on your profile page. You can also close your account through the website. If you close your account, we will remove your name and other personally identifiable information from our publicly viewable data. Any posts that you may make may remain on the website. You are responsible for ensuring that such posts do not contain any personal information. We may retain certain data contributed by you if it may be necessary to prevent fraud or future abuse, or for legitimate business purposes, such as account recovery, or if required by law. All retained data will continue to be subject to the terms of this privacy policy.

Additionally, you understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other users have copied or stored your content. Please note that certain information relating to current news/bulletins that are posted on the website will remain on the site and will not be deleted by virtue of the termination of the membership. This information is retained in order to ensure continuity in the services provided on the website.

Sharing your information

If you choose to share our site with a friend, please use our ‘Send to a friend’ service to do this. When using this service, we will ask you for information needed to send the invitation, such as your friend's email address. We will automatically send your friend a one-time email or instant message inviting him or her to visit the site. ThisIsManufacturing stores this information to send this one-time invitation, to register a friend if your invitation is accepted, and to track the success of our referral program. Your friend may contact us at ThisIsManufacturing, at any time, to request that we remove this information from our database.


What steps do we take to protect your information?

We have strict security procedures covering the storage and disclosure of your information in order to prevent unauthorised access and to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and take all appropriate measures to protect users' information. Your information will be protected on a secured server behind a firewall and will be encrypted by means of secure socket layer technology. Sometimes we may ask you for proof of identity before disclosing any personal information to you.

What if you have a complaint?

If at any time you believe that Junction K or the NWDA has not adhered to these principles, please notify us by email to info@thisismanufacturing.co.uk.