"These certification awards mean a great deal to us," says Barclay Dakers, who leads the integrated management team at Black Light. "They prove that we have the systems in place to deliver internationally-recognised levels of management in the areas covered by the standards."
"I never thought we would need to have ISO accreditation within Black Light and actually thought it would hurt us. Well I was wrong," says Black Light's managing director, Gavin Stewart. "Without it we would not be able to offer the same quality and personal service we used to provide when we were smaller. It has allowed us to keep what is the essence of Black Light yet grow and diversify at the same time. I am really proud of all the time and effort the staff has invested in this and look forward to us all reaping the rewards."
To get the three certification awards, Barclay and his team worked across the whole of Black Light's organisation to put in place and document the management systems that are required under the ISO and OHSAS standards. The certification process was overseen by isoassured - an independent certification body.
"Our success means that any company looking at their supply chain can choose us as an approved supplier and be confident that this will help them achieve their own compliance goals," says Barclay, who explains that going through the certification process has helped improve Black Light's professionalism and the way it does business. "Having these certifications also means that the quality we achieve under the three standards is repeatable," Barclay adds. "We will be using the same systems for all future jobs, no matter how big or small."
Unlike many organisations that get certification for the three standards one by one, Black Light decided to get them all at the same time. "We made the decision to go for them all because the standards are so intertwined," says Barclay. "By approaching them as a whole we have achieved a much more integrated approach to our company management."
Black Light has had a long-standing commitment to quality, environmental sustainability and health and safety. This is shown by the company's investment in the latest energy-efficient LED technology and by its on-going staff training programme.
According to isoassured, the ISO 9000 range of standards relate to quality management systems. The ISO 14001 Environmental management standard covers how organisations can control and minimise how their operations negatively affect the environment, while the BS OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Standard provides a framework for managing Health & Safety responsibilities in an organisation.
