[ Focus: Products and services ]
control their environmental impact and ensure legal compliance.
OHSAS 18001 – the International Occupational Health and Safety Management Standard OHSAS 18001 is the primary standard for the effective management of all aspects of health and safety in the workplace. It includes risk management and legal compliance.
Where’s the motivation? There are varying reasons why an ECA member may decide to seek certification to one, two or even all three of these standards. For both TClarke, the building services contractor based in London, and Gilks, the multi-disciplinary electrical engineering and contracting company based in Cheshire, the motivation behind certification is all about continuous improvement – striving to be the best through efficient working. For many businesses the original driving force
is often customers. Mark Ashley, SHEQ manager at Gilks, said when speaking about OHSAS 18001: ‘When we noticed that potential customers were asking for it in tender documentation, going for certification was a no-brainer.’ Similarly, Yogesh Patel, quality assurance and
environmental manager at TClarke, said: ‘The ISO standards are also increasingly important to our clients. They want to work with suppliers who have proper processes and procedures in place, and this is our way of proving that.’
The process The process of certification follows three simple steps: Apply to register at
www.nqa.com Undergo a two-stage assessment, which involves two mandatory audits carried out by NQA assessors
Certification is issued and maintained through an annual auditing programme.
What are the benefits? New business The team at Gilks strongly believe that if it wasn’t for having ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 the company would not be considered for inclusion on so many tender lists, especially when the major contractors are involved.
Saving money Patel said: ‘Having ISO 9001 and 14001 has enabled us to ensure our processes are as efficient as possible. Simple things like ensuring we only order what is required not only reduces waste on site, but also saves us money.’
Improving health and safety Gilks successfully managed to reduce health and
safety non-conformances spotted during site inspections by 85 per cent in only one year.
When we noticed that potential customers were asking for it in tender documentation, going for certification was a no-brainer
Reducing environmental impact TClarke’s ISO 14001 certification helped to significantly reduce the company’s impact on the environment. From 2009 to 2012 the London office of TClarke achieved an 11 per cent reduction in electricity usage from 202,139 kWh to 181,394 kWh. Fuel usage for the office’s commercial transport fleet has also been dramatically reduced, by 66 per cent, from 24,843 litres to 14,982 litres of diesel per annum.
Importance of electrical expertise NQA, the certification body that works with TClarke and Gilks, is the sister company of NICEIC and ELECSA – meaning the company has greater knowledge of the electrical sector than any other certification body. Patel added: ‘We work with NQA because of its
expertise and knowledge of the electrical sector and the relationship with NICEIC. Over the years, we have got on well with the NQA auditors. They understand our business, which helps with the auditing process; they know who we are, what we do and identify opportunities for improvement.’
Interested? If you would like to find out more about how certification could help your business, visit
www.nqa.com, call 08000 522424 or email
info@nqa.com. In the meantime visit the NQA movies YouTube channel and listen to ECA members, TClarke and Gilks, talk about their certification experience.
March 2014 ECA Today 31
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