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Integrated Management System Implementation at Delta Elevator

Every February, for the past eleven years, Delta Elevator has been visited by quality assurance systems auditors who comb the building, interview people and search through databases looking for the slightest hint of things that might cause problems with the quality of our product. They tell us where we need to improve so we can remedy what needs to be fixed, and they present us with an internationally recognized certificate of registration, confirming that our quality management system complies with the stringent ISO 9001 standard. This annual exercise has helped Delta and many other companies continuously improve the quality of products and services.

Because of the worldwide success of their quality assurance standard, but also having recognized that progressive and socially responsible businesses want to manage other aspects of their business in similar ways, the International Standards Organization (ISO) recently re-wrote their quality assurance, environmental, and occupational health & safety standards so as to have a common structure. These three business aspects (quality, environment and OH&S) can now be more easily combined into one Integrated Management System (IMS). Delta Elevator has committed to implementing such an integrated ISO system as part of our current five year strategic plan.

Each of the individual ISO standards still has some of its own, unique requirements (e.g., calibration for quality assurance; emergency preparedness for health and safety, etc.) that need to be addressed in particular ways, but there is a considerable amount of overlap in how each of these and even other management system standards are administered (e.g., risk assessments, design considerations, procurement procedures, record keeping, corrective action processes, annual audits, etc.). Employing common systems can be considerably more cost and performance effective.

In the coming years, Delta Elevator looks forward to demonstrating to ourselves and to our customers that, not only can we provide exceptional quality, but we can do so in a manner that conforms to world class standards for occupational health & safety and environmental sustainability.