Enhancing efficiency through streamlined systems

RVT group is committed to maintaining its robust approach to quality management. To that end, we have recently undergone a rigorous auditing process to ensure that each of our management systems – quality, health and safety, and Environmental – are kept right up to date.

Quality is king
In terms of the International Quality Management System accreditation (ISO 9001), RVT is proud that since first achieving this standard back in 2012, we have continued to have the quality of our management systems assessed on a yearly basis. This ISO certification was successfully renewed in 2014 and again in 2017, with the current certification now valid until the next renewal due in September 2020.

The ISO 9001 standard provides a basic framework for any organisation – large or small – that sets out the requirements for a high quality management system. Its purpose is to help businesses improve and maintain efficiency and customer satisfaction. Given these standards have been recognised by the Government-approved United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), this award is an invaluable means of helping RVT to optimise quality and efficiency, especially in a period of such expansion and growth.


Committed to sustainability
In terms of proving its green credentials, RVT first achieved ISO 14001 UKAS International Environmental Management System accreditation in 2011. Again, we have continued to undergo a strict auditing process to ensure we are adhering to environmentally sustainable practices every year since this date. With subsequent certification renewals having taken place in both 2014 and 2017, we are not due for renewal until September 2020.


Passionate about Health & Safety
Re-confirming our commitment to health and safety practices, we are also delighted to confirm that, having held OHSAS 18001 (the British Standard for occupational health and safety management systems) since 2013, we have now recently achieved the very latest health and safety industry standard: ISO 45001 – Occupational Health and Safety. This is now also valid until September 2020.


Streamlining for success
All of these industry awards were achieved on completion of a stringent three day audit in September 2018, conducted by Alcumus Safe Contractor – a respected and recognised national accreditation body. During this intense period of assessment activity, the annual audits for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and our very first accreditation for ISO 45001, were all simultaneously undertaken and given a seal of approval.

In addition to receiving certification for all of these standards, RVT's Health, Safety and Environment Manager, Ken Swain, also took the step to integrate the three systems in order to streamline and improve efficiency. To that effect, all of the information relating to each standard was amalgamated to create one single manual, and the number of internal audits necessary was reduced from thirty down to a more manageable twelve. As he explains:

"Our OHSAS 18001 certification was due to be renewed in September 2018. However, in light of the 2020 deadline, we decided to move across to the new ISO 45001 standard early. We didn't necessarily need to upgrade just yet, but it also provided us with the perfect opportunity to integrate our three management systems; quality, environmental, and health and safety, thus improving efficiency. It is important for us to maintain robust and reliable management systems, especially at a time when we are experiencing such tremendous growth; it also provides our customers with confirmation that RVT is a sustainable supply chain partner."

Huge thanks are extended to the staff members involved in working towards achieving these valuable quality standards, which help to ensure that RVT continues to maintain its high levels of operational quality and efficiency, and to all the team at RVT for adopting the management systems so efficiently.