Three hit quality grade on day one

They secured certification on the same day that the revised standard was published (23^rd September 2015).

The standard has been updated to keep it in line with best-practice in how to manage and monitor quality across operations. It is the first major revision since 2000.

The revised standard encourages a risk-based approach to encourage preventative action and ensure continuous improvement.

Overbury head of business improvement Neil Pike explained: “The new standard embraces leadership, risk and opportunities within the context of the operating environment of the business. By considering risks as well as opportunities, change can be managed more effectively at all levels. We started planning for this transition some 18 months ago, as this year’s revisions to the quality standard are much more significant than those in 2008.”

Costain business improvement director Tony Blanch said: “We’re a very customer-focused business and ISO 9001 allows us to reduce risk, improve customer relations and ensure we are meeting each customer’s needs – something we feel is unique in the market.

“The new high level structure is aligned with the direction of our business and is one we’re familiar with having certified to other standards such as ISO 27001 Information Security Management and ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management.”

BSI describes some of the key changes to ISO 9001 as:

• Greater emphasis on building a management system suited to each organization’s particular needs
• A requirement that those at the top of an organisation be involved and accountable, aligning quality with wider business strategy
• Risk-based thinking throughout the standard makes the whole management system a preventive tool and encourages continuous improvement
• Less prescriptive requirements for documentation: the organization can now decide what documented information it needs and what format it should be in
• Alignment with other key management system standards through the use of a common structure and core text.

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