6 October 2015

Costain is one of three companies in the UK to gain independent third-party certification for the new Quality Management Systems Standard ISO 9001:2015 from BSI, the business standards company, ensuring Costain is up to date with how to proactively manage quality across its operations.

Globally, there are over one million companies and organisations in over 170 countries certified to ISO 9001, and all will need to transfer to this new standard over the next three years.

Costain is one of the first companies in the UK to get certified under the new management systems standard, which was published recently. It is the first major revision of ISO 9001 since 2000 and incorporates many changes that were suggested by users and experts from around the globe.

Some of the key changes to ISO 9001 include:

• Greater emphasis on building a management system standard suited to each organisation’s particular needs
• A requirement that those at the top of an organisation be involved and accountable, aligning the management system standard with wider business strategy
• Risk-based thinking throughout the standard makes the whole management system standard a preventive tool and encourages continuous improvement
• Less prescriptive requirements for documentation: the organisation can now decide what documented information it needs and what format it should be in

Costain was certified by BSI, which helps clients to drive performance, manage risk and grow sustainably through the adoption of international management systems standards, many of which BSI originated. BSI is the UK National Standards Body and a founding member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Maureen Sumner Smith, UK & Ireland Managing Director at BSI, said: “The importance of achieving, maintaining and improving quality is vital for businesses, and the new 2015 version of ISO 9001 ensures that with higher expectations on organisations and more complex supply chains, businesses can be assured that their products and services remain competitive globally.”

The revised standard promotes a risk-based approach, encouraging preventative action and ensuring continuous improvement through sharing best practice, which is a key component of Costain’s ‘Engineering Tomorrow’ strategy.

Costain’s strategy recognises that to address the UK’s national infrastructure needs, the Company needs to invest in technology, formulate innovative solutions, devise new ways of working and pass on crucial knowledge to its partners and customers.

Achieving customer satisfaction was an important aspect for Costain, as well as the revised standard’s alignment with other key management system standards.

Tony Blanch, Costain’s Business Improvement Director, said: “We are a very customer-focused business and certification to ISO 9001 allows us to not only demonstrate to our customers and stakeholders that we are effective in reducing risk, but we are also seeking to understand and then meet our customer’s needs – something we feel differentiates Costain in the market. The new high level structure for all management system standards is aligned with the direction of our business and is one we’re familiar with having certified to other standards such as ISO 27001 Information Security Management and ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management.”

For more information about ISO 9001:2015, please click here.

Caption: Tony Blanch (left), Business Improvement Director at Costain, receives Costain's ISO 9001:2015 certificate from Nigel McGimpsey, UK Sales Director, BSI.

Ends

 

Media Enquiries 
Costain Communications Department 
01628 842585
[email protected]