Hydroscand UK demonstrate their commitment to safety and the environment by achieving ISO accreditation.
It’s an all-familiar post. A company has a new or recently renewed accreditation.
Wherever you walk into the reception area of a metal or engineering business, you’ll usually be greeted by the accreditation wall. But, for many companies, they can be a bit of a paper exercise given that so few of their staff have a direct impact on the environment or work in a dangerous location.
Around half of Hydroscand UK’s 70-strong workforce are employed as mobile hose technicians. The job is time-critical and they operate in constantly changing environments, where adverse weather or light conditions can make the job even more challenging.
The HoseExpress mobile hose technicians repair a huge variety of complex equipment, 24 hours a day, in environments that are often dangerous by their nature.
Repairing equipment that they may be unfamiliar with, in challenging environments, when time is of the essence, means health and safety is critically important.
In tandem with this, the technicians also work with substances that are harmful to the environment. So, the Hydroscand workforce are the very definition of the kinds of employees that health and safety and environmental policies were written for.
With this being said, Hydroscand UK are proud to announce that they have achieved dual ISO accreditation in the form of ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018. These internationally recognised standards set the benchmark for environmental and health & safety management systems, respectively.
The achievement of these certifications marks the culmination of months of hard work and preparation, and demonstrates Hydroscand UK’s commitment to environmental and health & safety management to their team and customers.
For several years, Hydroscand UK has held ISO 9001:2015 certification, and the management team recognised the importance of working towards the standards set by ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018, particularly because of the dangerous and environmentally sensitive conditions in which Hydroscand UK operates.
There are several reasons why achieving these standards is important:
Firstly, there is increasing demand from customers for companies to demonstrate their commitment to environmental and health & safety management.
Secondly, as a company, Hydroscand UK want to demonstrate to their teams that they take their health & safety seriously and are committed to conducting their business in a responsible and sustainable way.
Lastly, the team believe that it’s the right thing to do! Having these management systems in place will benefit the company, their customers and society for years to come.
A lot of hard work has been done to get Hydroscand UK ready for certification audits. The internal teams worked with expert partners at JBES Engineering Services and JAMES Learning & Development to formalise existing processes and, where necessary, develop and implement new ways of working to meet the standards. The whole company is now involved in making changes that benefit everyone.
One example of this is Oliver Roberts, Senior Hose Technician, who said: “The van has been rearranged because when you cut a hose, you get the fumes of the rubber cutting and the metal. But now the equipment has been placed in a specific place where the extraction for it will go straight out of the door instead of up into the van.”
This change not only improves the safety of the team, but also the environment in which they operate.
Assistant Manager, Deb Wardle said, “There’s a lot more awareness amongst the team now. Everybody seems to be more aware and is actually reporting things back to us now. There’s an awareness of things that potentially could be an issue or perhaps we could do this in a different way. We believe that achieving this certification will reinforce our core business value to be trustworthy and create a safe working environment and secure and sustainable future for society, our customers, and our employees. It will also give our teams and our customers confidence in us.”
Hydroscand UK’s achievement of ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 accreditation demonstrates their commitment to environmental and health & safety management and sets a standard for other companies to follow.
If you work for an organisation that you think could benefit from seeking accreditation, take a look at our exclusive series of articles by quality expert Andrew Milner, where he discusses how and why SME businesses should seek accreditation, with tips for successfully implementing new systems and overcoming the challenges associated with accreditation.
Find out more about Hydroscand UK’s range of products, services and certifications by visiting their website: www.hydroscand.co.uk
