In January 2018 SCHADE Lagertechnik GmbH, Germany, achieved re-accreditation under the international quality management system ISO 9001, as well as under the environmental standard ISO 14001 and the occupational health and safety standard OHSAS 18001. The audit was carried out by TÜV Hessen and completes SCHADE’s transition to the newly-recognised 2015 standard for quality and environmental management.

“Successful and comprehensive accreditation under the most recent national and international ISO standards is a significant achievement for SCHADE, because international customers expect and respect impeccable management systems for quality control, environmental protection, health and safety”, explains Guido Stratenhoff, Quality Management Officer at SCHADE.

From the left: Dr Christoph Seifert (Managing Director Sales), Guido Stratenhoff (Quality Management Officer) and Klaus Paul (Technical Managing Director) of SCHADE Lagertechnik, proud of their new TÜV certificate, received in several languages (photo SCHADE)

The ISO 9001 Quality Management Standard is the most prevalent and significant standard in quality management (QM) in Germany and abroad. Companies and organisations of all sizes and in all sectors can be accredited under ISO 9001, and this is the basis for continuous improvement of internal quality management system processes (QMS).

ISO 9001 stipulates the minimum requirements for a quality management system that a company must implement in order to fulfil the requirements of its customers and the quality of its products and services. By implementing a QMS, companies can increase transparency of internal processes, enhance customer satisfaction and reduce the frequency of errors, thus lowering costs.

ISO 14001 focuses on a continuous improvement process as a means of attaining a company’s objectives with respect to its ecological performance, which means that the company must define its environmental protection strategy and prepare a management system to achieve these aims.

OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health- and Safety Assessment Series) is currently standard only in Great Britain and Poland. However, in many other countries, including Germany, it is recognised and used as the basis for accreditation in management systems relating to occupational safety (OS). The structure of OHSAS 18001 is closely related to that of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. With these standards, customers can rely on the integrity of their suppliers’ social responsibility.