QUALITY ASSURANCE
NVQA ’ s Paula Willoughby and Jason Hodgkinson of Cleveland Cable Company .
PICTURE : STUART BOULTON
HAT-TRICK HEROES
Triple ISO success seals firms ’ close relationship
A
business relationship that began 24 years ago has provided a hat-trick of ISO accreditation successes .
NVQA and Cleveland Cable Company first teamed up in 1998 when the cable firm ’ s management team was given an insight into the benefits of adopting ISO 9001 processes , as well as an understanding of the many advantages of achieving certification .
With help from NVQA , the company embarked on implementing an ISO 9001 Quality Management System ( QMS ) – and successful approval of the certification was achieved at the first attempt in 1999 .
This demonstrated to existing and potential clients not only that Cleveland Cable cared about providing high-quality products but also that it wanted to give customers the reassurance that its internal processes and procedures were independently verified by a UKAS-certified assessment body .
NVQA continued to support Cleveland Cable as an independent third party and , having an insight into the organisation ’ s operations , was a supportive resource when the standard evolved in 2008 and 2015 .
In time , the company became more conscious of its business decisions and their impact upon the environment . It therefore wanted to demonstrate to customers its approach to achieving its environmental objectives and strategic goals , its commitment to environmental outcomes across all aspects of the organisation and its view of long-term sustainability .
NVQA supported Cleveland Cable in the implementation of ISO 14001 into its existing management system – allowing the firm to combine unconnected practices into a streamlined structure , performing as one entity with common objectives .
In 2013 , the successful achievement of ISO 14001 at the first attempt acted as a seal of approval that the company was serious about its environmental performance .
In 2022 Cleveland Cable Company decided to extend its scope of activities and , again with help from NVQA , embarked upon a project to integrate operational health and safety controls and the requirements of ISO 45001 into its existing system , thus developing a fully streamlined QHSE management system .
This system integrated all of the organisation ’ s systems and processes into one complete framework , enabling their operations to work as a single unit with unified objectives , giving more room to focus on driving continual improvement across a whole range of crucial areas .
In July 2022 , Cleveland Cable successfully achieved its third ISO certification – again at the first attempt .
While the organisation has operated to a high level of business excellence since 1978 , having an integrated QHSE management system demonstrates that Cleveland Cable has a robustly-designed management system for keeping its employees healthy and safe and that it is promoting sustainable environmental practices .
It also shows that CCC is continually improving its internal processes , responding to and meeting the everchanging needs of customers , while demonstrating it operates to , and has been audited against , the very highest standards .
The approvals at the Middlesbrough branch have developed and the management system requirements have been adopted company-wide by its branches in Bristol , Newcastle , London , Warrington , Milton Keynes , Glasgow , Dublin and Dubai under the direction of EHS and operations manager Jason Hodgkinson .
Jason said : “ As a forward-thinking company , Cleveland Cable Company has always embraced innovation and NVQA has been a huge support to us over the years .
“ They understand that standards are applied differently in all organisations and over the last 20 years have provided us with a service which is second to none .
“ They understand regulatory compliance applicable to our industry , they understand best practices and unique business contexts , and they work with us to achieve our business objectives , thus improving our efficiency and performance .
“ The achievement of the three ISO accreditations marks the next phase of our evolution as a business .”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 45