Production
and customer processes at a leading steel fencing systems manufacturer have
been through the mill of audits in recent weeks – by customers, the security
ratings standards body and an international certification agency.
Firstly,
Zaun’s processes have been re-certified to the 2015 standard of ISO9001 by
Bureau Veritas. The 2015 standard puts more emphasis than its 2008
predecessor on stakeholder impacts and requires greater awareness of risks by
the manufacturer.
Conversely,
the scrutiny by the Loss Prevention Certification Board at the Buildings
Research Establishment is entirely on the security performance of products in
their actual installed state. Zaun’s SR product range has been
re-accredited to SR4 to SR1 ratings.
But the
acid test surely is when a customer with the need for Critical Protection of
National Infrastructure (CPNI) gives you a ringing endorsement – which is
exactly what one of Zaun’s largest and longest-standing CPNI clients has just
done.
Quality
control and health & safety manager Dave Sayers, who has driven continuous
improvement at Zaun, has a raft of developments to put in place for the new
standard, with the emphasis more on people, training and the environment.
He says:
“This has to be driven from the top, so senior management have to be on board
to ensure we embed a passion for people, training and the environment and a
focus on quality and excellence throughout the organisation.
“The first
thing any auditor does is to interview a director to ensure there is senior
management buy-in.”
Just last
month, Bureau Veritas gave Zaun a ‘flying colours’ re-certification of its
ISO9001 standard with only a couple of observations for improvement.
Zaun has
undertaken extensive work through its continuous improvement plan to understand
its processes and how they interact and impact on each other.
It is now
monitoring that all deliveries arrive right first time, which includes them
being on time, in the right quantity and of optimum quality. It has also
introduced KPIs for complaints handling and is so far performing pretty
favourably.
Sayers says the drive is never 'for the sake' of getting
the certification but is rather driven by customer demands.
