29th November 2013, Sunday
By Bryan T. Smyth
news@TheCork.ie
Cork companies Milestone Solutions, MMD Construction, Prenco Manufacturing Ltd, WiseTek Soultions Ltd, Whitegate Power Station and TAL were among 38 private and public sector organisations to receive awards recently from the Minister of State for Small Business, Mr John Perry T.D. The leading Cork organisations joined the likes of G4S Secure Solutions, Iarnród Éireann, The Community Foundation Ireland and Glanbia Agri Business in achieving world class levels of excellence under a range of headings including Environmental Management, Quality Management, Fire Detection and Alarm Systems for buildings and Excellence Through People which are the most recent additions to NSAI’s impressive certification schemes.
The Minister joined Maurice Buckley, Chief Executive of NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland) to present the awards, and to recognise the importance of standards in the current economy.
“In this tough economic climate standards are a vital element for every business. Implementing them in business enables companies to improve their efficiency and competitiveness, minimise waste and reduce costs. There is a return on investment – certification to standards helps businesses to be innovative, allowing SMEs to compete with much larger companies, attract new customers, and access global markets,”said the Minister of State for Small Business, Mr John Perry T.D.
The Cork based companies received certification to the following standards:
- Milestone Solutions – Quality Management Systems (ISO9001)
- MMD Construction – Environmental Management Systems (ISO14001)
- MMD Construction – Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSAS18001)
- MMD Construction – Quality Management Systems (ISO9001)
- Prenco Manufacturing Ltd – Environmental Management Systems (ISO14001)
- TAL – Quality Management Systems (ISO9001)
- WiseTek Solutions – Environmental Management Systems (ISO14001)
- WiseTek Solutions – Quality Management Systems (ISO9001)
- Whitegate Power Station – Environmental Management Systems (ISO14001)
Speaking at the presentations, Maurice Buckley, NSAI Chief Executive highlighted the real business value of adopting standards:
“The decision to embrace and implement standards is a brave and commendable one, particularly for SMEs in a time when resources are tight. However, the commitment made by SMEs to standards has the potential to contribute to the wider economy. The companies present today are leading companies from various industries and sectors, and they would not be spending time and resources on achieving these standards unless they knew they had real value in the market. We are seeing a growing trend of European and international customers who expect such certified standards as entry level for doing business with them.”
The standards awarded were:
- ISO 14001 – Environmental Management Systems;
- OHSAS 18001 – Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems;
- ETP – Excellence Through People;
- I.S 3218 – Fire Detection and Alarm Systems for buildings
- ISO 9001 – Quality Management Systems
- ISO 13485- Medical Devices – Quality Management Systems
- ISO 22000 – Food Safety Management Systems
In 2012, NSAI published more than 1,600 standards and sold over 12,000 publications across a broad range of sectors, bringing their library to in excess of 23,000. NSAI invites members of the business community and the general public to get involved in the development of standards by visiting Your Standards, Your Say on www.nsai.ie.
