After our annual audit by external provider IMSM, we are delighted to announce that we have maintained our quality standard, ISO 9001, our quality standard, ISO14001 and we have also successfully migrated from OHSAS18001 to ISO45001, the new standard for Occupational Health and Safety.
What is ISO45001 and why is it important?
ISO45001 is, in short, the confirmation of the commitment we have made to protect the safety and health of our staff and other interested parties such as customers and suppliers. In order for us to achieve the standard we have to demonstrate our commitment in an audit carried out by an external body.
Comprehensive audit
The audit involves providing an array of documentation, showing that we have implemented a robust internal management system. This includes the organisation of all health and safety aspects related to the company operations, demonstrating communication internally and externally, providing suitable training to our staff and displaying that we are adequately planning and assigning resources for health and safety within the business.
Both ACE and Cool & Heat were previously certified to the OHSAS18001 standard which is currently in the process of phasing out and being replaced by the new ISO45001 standard. The new standard expands upon the guidelines of the old standard allowing for a more detailed approach to health and safety management and more stringent criteria for audits.
Protect our employees
So why is it important to ACE and our customers? Working in line with the standard goes hand in hand with legislation compliance. It allows us to continue to protect our employees and other people we may come into contact with whilst carrying out work and aids us in preventing accidents through implementing effective policies and procedures. It helps in highlighting areas we need to focus on or where we might need to invest in further resources.
The internal audits we carry out as part of our management system assist in building a picture of our health and safety performance over the course of the year.
Customers benefit too
Our customers benefit from the assurance that we are working in line with our ISO standards and compliance obligations. We achieve our ISO standards year on year along with other accreditations such as Safecontractor and CHAS and maintain the high standards that have come to be expected of The ACE Group from our customers, suppliers and competitors alike.
You can view our current SHEQ certificates here.