Pexhurst has recently completed a triennial audit for its re-certification to ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) and BS OHSAS 18001 (Health and Safety). The audit was passed successfully with no non-conformances, demonstrating that Pexhurst is maintaining the highest standards in all three areas.
The company started its ISO journey with the Quality Management System back in 2006. In the words of Hayley Bosacki, Management Systems Administrator, the original motivation was clear: “Initially we had to achieve the certificate because our clients were asking for it. However, as the company has grown, the value of having coherent systems in place throughout the business has proved to be immense.”
“Just having standard procedures that everyone understands saves a huge amount of time. A really significant benefit is for new staff members – it is very easy for them to get up to speed quickly with the Pexhurst way of working because it is consistent and logical.”
Given that Hayley has a degree in Environmental Science it is not particularly surprising that ISO 14001 was next on the list. The measurement systems put in place as part of the environmental management standard enabled the team to really concentrate on reducing energy consumption. The results speak for themselves: since 2008 the CO2 emissions from electricity usage and vehicle diesel have fallen by an impressive 41% despite the company growing steadily in size during that time.
And the third part of the triangle is the Health and Safety standard BS OHSAS 18001. Clearly, with site work at the heart of Pexhurst’s business, health and safety have always been a fundamental concern. Going for the standard allowed Pexhurst to bring the management of its health and safety procedures in-house where previously they had been overseen by consultants.
Annual external audits check on certain elements of the integrated management system, but every three years the audit examines every single aspect of all three standards. Pexhurst passed this process with no areas of non-compliance – a performance that even impressed the auditor.
Keith Adams, of Exemplars, Pexhurst’s retained management consultancy, regards this result as extremely impressive: “The confidence and interest that was evident in all the people involved were excellent.”
Hayley Bosacki concludes: “While we originally looked at certification because our clients are asking for it, I have to say that having implemented the systems we are able to offer a better, more efficient service.”
