NEWS
Teamwork – Proudly displaying their ISO accreditation certificate are members of the Caterpillar Skinningrove team , including managing director Neil Anderson , far right , business management consultant Paula Willoughby , fifth right , and , holding the certificate , quality engineer Steve Blackett .
Track shoe maker gains ISO certification with help from Tees consultancy
PICTURE : WANDER FILMS
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
76 | Tees Business
A
global firm which produces track shoes for construction and mining equipment says it achieved valuable ISO accreditation thanks to help from management consultancy NVQA .
Caterpillar Skinningrove Limited ( CSL ) – part of the giant international company Caterpillar – began operations in 1997 when a global project team , with a goal of creating a state-of-the art track shoe line , selected a site at Carlin How .
The site , perfectly situated next door to British Steel , the supplier of Caterpillar ’ s feedstock and covering more than 5,000 sq m , seamlessly links the Caterpillar facility with its neighbours .
Despite being one of the leanest divisions in the Caterpillar family , the facility - part of the PSLD Division - produces steel track shoes for customers worldwide through its steel cutting , heat treatment and painting operations .
When mounted on a track link assembly , track shoes form the “ Cat track ” found on hydraulic excavators , track type loaders and track type tractors – key products , critical to the Caterpillar supply chain . Although the Skinningrove plant adheres to its own internal corporate Caterpillar Production System ( CPS ), developed to enable a common enterprise-wide order-to-delivery process , in 2021 it was decided that the achievement of ISO 9001:2015 – the global standard for quality management systems – would add another layer of business excellence .
And with more than 60 years of experience providing certification services , Caterpillar selected familyrun , Middlesbrough-based business management consultancy NVQA to guide it through the ISO process .
CSL managing director Neil Anderson said : “ In today ’ s competitive business market , reassurance is needed to maintain trading confidence . As such , we welcomed NVQA ’ s independent evaluation of our facility ’ s needs and we strongly believe ISO certification , and supporting compliance with established standards of business excellence , is a key source of this reassurance .”
Under guidance from NVQA , the facility conducted a “ gap analysis ” of its existing operations and a full overhaul of key elements was conducted . New operations were introduced to enable more effective performance , supporting the improvement of quality , safety , cost management and velocity , while adding more capacity .
Caterpillar currently has a high level of performance on customer-related focus , both internally and externally . This is underpinned by a healthy quality management system using a continuous improvement and risk-based ethos .
In December 2022 , following a 12-month project , Caterpillar successfully achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification , with zero non-conformances , via UKAS-certified assessment body ( LRQA ).
Neil said : “ This is a testament to the hard work of every single employee within the facility . Caterpillar Skinningrove has a multigenerational workforce , with some employees approaching 25 years of service . We have a great team , with an amazing ‘ can-do ’ attitude .
“ It is critical we continue to mature our quality management system for our business health and any interested parties , which includes our direct customer base .
“ As a facility , we are strongly committed to supporting the programme utilising our team willingness , engagement , compliance , and departmental objectives to maintain our certification , and drive value-added process improvements . The enhancement of customer satisfaction is critical for business health and the organisation as a whole .”
He said Caterpillar Skinningrove had “ embraced ISO 9001 ” by integrating its requirements into internal business processes .
He added : “ We shall continue to grow , to meet ever-changing customer demands , with our ultimate goal of being the global leader for track shoe production .
“ We have worked with NVQA to achieve previous internal certifications . Their knowledge and understanding of our facility idiosyncrasies , coupled with previous working relationships with our management team , was the catalyst in our decision to utilise their services to support our achievement of ISO 9001 .
“ NVQA are a great asset to any organisation .”
Established in 1994 , NVQA has more than 60 years ’ experience providing certification services . It implements and maintain certifications and management systems for companies of all sizes and industries , ranging from small , officebased businesses , to larger organisations covering multi-site locations and employing more than 400 staff .