Do you hold ISO certification?
It’s a question that’s being asked more and more frequently in PreQualifying Questionnaires, especially for public sector contracts. Even
if most of your business comes from the private sector, having that
tick in the box goes a long way towards elevating your organisation to
‘preferred supplier’ status. Above all, achievement of the ISO Standards
demonstrates your commitment to Best Practice. For the Construction
Industry nothing could have a higher level of importance.
The Construction Industry, in all its forms and facets, has become Equas
SmartPro’s biggest single business sector, so much so that the company
took a stand at the recent ‘INTERBUILD’ exhibition in order to talk to
representative from the industry.
They also sponsored the Best Design Award at the Off-Site Construction
annual lunch, held during the exhibition.
Mike Dowd, Sales and Marketing Director with Equas SmartPro,
says “We don’t believe that our clients should have to change their
processes to fit their new Management Systems – but we do believe
that their systems should be built to fit their organisation. So the first
thing we do is listen to our clients and identify what they need their
system to deliver. We then build it to do just that. We will make
recommendations of course – but that’s part of our remit to ensure
clients get the optimum Quality, Environmental and Health & Safety
Management Systems, tailor-made specifically for their business.”
The ISO Standards that are primarily being asked for are 9001:2008 and
14001:2004, and there is also OHSAS18001, so what are they about?
THE STANDARDS
ISO9001 is an internationally recognised Quality Management Standard
for all types or organisations. The emphasis is on managing your
processes and continually improving the way you do things. It doesn’t
require you to change any of your operating procedures or do anything
that isn’t good practice. It simply asks you to “Say what you do, and do
what you say”
Having ISO9001 demonstrates that your organisation is well managed,
knows where it is going and has a plan to get there. Also, having a plan
means you are far more likely to succeed.
ISO14001 is the internationally recognised Environmental Management
Standard and is recognised globally as being the most important of its
type. It actively controls the way businesses manage their ‘footprint’ to
protect the environment, prevent pollution and improve environmental
performance. It extends to the specifying and use of environmentally
friendly materials as well as to the disposal of waste.
Learn more on iso 9001 certification