Lloyds Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) recently attended our premises as part of a 29 day audit across the whole business. Following this assessment, British Steel was recommended for approval to the updated ISO 9001:2015 standard.
We were presented with the International Standard ISO 9001:2015 certificate on 1 March 2017 after a rigorous audit by LRQA. This updated accreditation is the best-practice management framework, supporting the company commitment to provide high levels of customer satisfaction.
Chris Kent, LRQA Lead Assessor, said: “I acknowledge the significant effort that’s had to be demonstrated across the organisation to achieve this.
“The leadership commitment and awareness shown was among the best any of the assessment team has come across. The help, attitude, cooperation and enthusiasm from the employees is a credit to the business.”
In order to satisfy audit requirements, the company was required to demonstrate having an effective quality management system, compliant with all sections of the updated standard. British Steel is in the first 6% of LRQA’s 5,500 UK customers to achieve this certification.
When asked what the ISO 9001:2015 accreditation means for the overall business, Paul Martin, Managing Director, said: “Only a small percentage of companies have been recommended for this approval – and without this, we can’t be world class.
“Having international standards means our products are safe, reliable and of good quality as well as enabling us to continue competing globally. It gives assurances to our customers and helps us keep costs low.”
The Construction team is enthusiastic about the confidence that this will provide to their customers. Matt Stockwell, Supply, Demand and Technical Manager, explained: “We’ve had 11 days of external audits in recent months from several external bodies which have approved our development of controls in achieving this new standard.
"The advanced product control systems we use have been further developed following training and communication of the new standard throughout the organisation. The philosophy we have followed for the new standard roll out has been to improve the external focus of our quality culture, which has been especially well received by each of these visiting teams.
“The ISO 9001:2015 accreditation is our promise to our customers and suppliers that they can trust in our products. We’re committed to always putting the needs of our stakeholders first to ensure their success.”
Paul Martin echoed this sentiment. He said: “We must make sure quality becomes part of our DNA as an organisation. We acknowledge that although we’ve received this recommendation, there’s no room for complacency and we must continue to improve what we offer to our customers – however this is a fantastic result.
“The standard is important for our future and long-term sustainability. I’d like to thank everyone involved in the 29-day audit by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) across our business. The feedback has been very encouraging.”