Issue 101 - Marine Edition
Hat trick of standards boosts business
A long-standing industrial and marine instrumentation company which boasts three ISO standards says the certifications have helped the business hook bigger clients. Inmar Automation, based in Southampton, is a family-owned business of some forty years standing, which inspects, repairs, tests and certifies industrial and marine instrumentation. Among its clients are BP, Carnival Cruises and Red Funnel Ferries. Until a few years ago, its longevity alone was sufficient evidence of its credentials, but increasingly the company was being asked whether it had any ISO standards, when pitching for new business. John Waters, Inmar’s instrument technician, said the firm first achieved ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems in 2009. He said: “We had been going for forty years, and we wouldn’t have achieved that without knowing a thing or two about what we were doing. But we noticed that we were increasingly being asked about ISO, so we decided to go ahead. “IMSM happened to approach us at the right time, and we have been delighted with the service they have provided.” John said the ISO 9001 process helped the company sharpen up its practices. “We were already doing what we needed to but there were areas where the ISO helped us to improve. For example, if an instrument came in for inspection and we found it needed a repair we went ahead and did so, but omitted to tell the customer until the part was ready. Small changes like that have helped us to improve our operations.” In 2010, Inmar then asked IMSM to help it to achieve two further standards. It attained BS OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety, then went on to gain ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.
John said:
“We were a little daunted at first with the health and safety standard, as so much is said about health and safety but, when it came to it, everything went smoothly and the worse we had to do was sign up to the HSE’s monthly news bulletin! We take the issue very seriously, and we were pleased to find we were doing all the right things. Following ISO, we now have a process in place to make sure, for example, that all our training is up-to-date.” ISO 14001 made Inmar look more closely at its environmental responsibilities. “We changed our vehicle – we needed to anyway – to a much newer, greener model. We also looked at the way we dispose of waste. If we are working on site, we now look at whether or not we need to take waste away – often we can dispose of it there, if the facilities are available - and we look at ways we can recycle materials.” Inmar has found all three ISO standards have helped it to gain contracts; the ISO is short-hand for quality. John said: “Sometimes business will need more information about certain areas of what we do, but often simply sending across a pdf of our ISO certificate has been sufficient. I’ve had calls from potential customers who have asked about ISO, and when we say we’ve got them we’ve won the business.” John added that IMSM’s service was a huge help during the process. “Our auditor has been brilliant. She looked really carefully about what parts of each ISO applied to us, and which bits were irrelevant, so it was tailored to our business and not the other way around.”
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Issue 101- Marine Edition
ISO helps company corner the offshore windfarm service UK leading market MAN Dealer Sales, Service & Support
PME Group •Poole 01202 622346 and Plymouth 01752 337526 Web: www.mandiesel.co.uk • Email: info@mandiesel.co.uk
A huge increase in business from the offshore windfarm service market was a direct result of ISO certification for a Poole-based company.
PME Power Systems Group is the main UK support and service centre for MAN diesel engines, catering for clients in the marine and shipping industry, notably luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker International and Princess Yachts, and in the commercial sector Guardline and MPI Group. It also has a number of clients in the farming sector, servicing and providing diesels engines for combine harvesters. Seven years ago, PME decided to go through the ISO 9001 Quality Management System process in order to secure a refurbishment contract with the MOD, which led it to a way of improving its processes and demonstrating quality to its clients and potential clients. The impact has been a big upturn in business, in particular from the offshore windfarm service vessels sector. “One hundred per cent, the ISO has helped us to get more businesses,” Paul Vincent, PME’s Project Development Manager, explained. “When we started we had one client in the windfarm service vessels market. Now we have 70 per cent of that market – the ISO has really opened doors for us.” PME, which employs more than 20 people, has offices in Plymouth and Cumbria as well as Poole, with plans to open another office. PME Power Systems Group was formed in 2013, but has been operating for far longer under a different identity. When the company decided to go for ISO 9001, IMSM was recommended to it by the Federation of Small Businesses.
Paul said:
“We wanted to go for an ISO, and 9001 was the best fit for us and it still is. Going through the process was a steep learning curve but it was very helpful, and once everything was in place it became a lot more logical and has become straight-forward to maintain. As we make additions to what we do, we can make them fit with ISO requirements.” PME made some changes to its systems and processes as a result of ISO. For example, it now has a formal booking-in procedure. Paul said: “The system did work before, don’t get me wrong, but now we have processes which are clear and which make tracking and cross-referencing easier.” Paul ensures PME remains compliant, and each month carries out an internal audit on at least one area of the ISO. This makes the annual, external audit more straight-forward. PME now plans to take steps towards ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, which will be the perfect fit for a new area of the business which is currently being developed.
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Issue 101 - Marine Edition
ISO was plain sailing for marine engineering consultants
Working with the world’s top offshore contracting companies meant demonstration of quality through ISO certification was a must for marine engineering company MAATS Tech. And the flexibility of the ISO meant the company was able to adapt it to fit its different sites.
MAATS Tech, which is based in Winchester and also has offices in Gloucester and Sunderland, is a naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy serving oil and gas offshore contractors. Established in 1989, it employs more than 35 people and counts among its clients world-leading offshore companies such as Technip, Subsea 7 and Aker. The company has also developed close relationships with a number of world renowned shipyards including IHC in The Netherlands; Bergen, Vard and Kleven in Norway; and also HHI and DSME in South Korea. Harry Gardner, Principal Marine Systems Engineer with MAATS Tech, explained that ISO was essential for developing the business and winning those bigger clients. He said:
or four months we produced two manuals, one for quality and one for procedures. “In the past I have worked in a shipyard with a major client being the Ministry of Defence with its fleet of auxiliary vessels. The shipyard had to be able to demonstrate a high standard and in those days this standard was BS5750, which was later replaced by ISO 9001. The BS standard wasn’t very flexible, so when we started down the ISO route at MAATS Tech I was pleased to find how adaptable it was. “We have different functions at our Gloucester and Sunderland offices, and were able to have different manuals for each office to suit those functions – for example, for the Sunderland office we were able to exclude purchasing, as we don’t do that there. “ Harry said IMSM’s service was particularly helpful “IMSM were very helpful in being able to guide us through the ISO process in both our Gloucester and Sunderland offices. They were prepared and able to adapt the standard to fit our system, rather than the other way around. IMSM makes the whole process very straightforward.”
“To be able to get in with these major players in the oil industry, we had to show we had quality systems. With the ISO, we can say ‘look, we’ve got that mark of quality’.” Some seven years ago, MAATS Tech went through the process to gain ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems certification, and has maintained its ISO ever since. Harry explained: “We already had systems and processes in place, so ISO didn’t lead to any dramatic changes in the way we were working although we were able to make refinements. However, it did make us document everything, so over a period of about three
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Issue 101- Marine Edition
ISO 9001 Quality Management ISO 9001 is the ultimate global benchmark for quality management. It is a critical tool for boosting your company’s success, profitability and market potential. ISO 9001 details the steps necessary to adopt a Quality Management System (QMS), designed to help organisations ensure they meet the needs and expectations of both customers and other interested parties. ISO 9001 will better equip your business to meet every client requirement, improve client focus throughout and a host of other benefits. ISO 14001 Environmental Management ISO 14001 involves implementing a fully integrated and effective Environmental Management System (EMS). An EMS is designed to address the delicate balance between maintaining profitability and reducing your environmental impact. ISO 14001 will help your company to reduce its carbon footprint and lower costs. This standard will allow your company to set up a fully integrated and effective EMS that will help to streamline operations. BS OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health & Safety Management BS OHSAS 18001, the Occupational Health and Safety Standard, is good for your organisations well-being and provides a framework for managing Health and Safety responsibilities. Demonstrating rigorous occupational health and safety performance to employees, shareholders and clients is of increasing concern to organisations of all types. Stringent legislation and developing economic and social policies result in a requirement to demonstrate compliance. BS OHSAS 18001 employs a framework to enable a thorough assessment of the risks involved in order to address the protection of employees and the general public.
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Why choose IMSM? Our approach to ISO certification is based on a key set of principles in order to create balanced and sustained results for our clients. Offering full guidance and assistance, IMSM ensure a client focused and satisfied experience.
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Email: enquiries@imsm.com Web: www.imsm.com