7 April |  Dennis Smith

Establishing a Quality Management System

I am pleased to inform that we have successfully passed the ISO9001:2015 recertification audit and have been recommended for continued certification for the next 3 years. As this was our recertification audit it was a more in-depth audit than the normal surveillance audits and it went extremely well.

Working to quality standards is not new to Oxford Instruments. The company was originally certified to the standard in 1995. The requirements of the standard have changed during this time with the latest requirement for a quality management system being more customer-focused. The standard sets out the framework for constantly pursuing excellence to make sure our processes are fit for purpose, and we satisfy our customers.

Our success in achieving recertification gives customers the confidence that our business processes are being carried out as planned. This is due to our systematic approach to management that looks at individual processes to establish how each segment works. This is important to ensure the whole process meets our business objectives.

Maintaining and improving our quality processes

The role of the internal quality auditor has also changed, it’s no longer enough to check procedural conformance, auditors now need to be able to audit processes with an emphasis on risk. Auditors play a key role in the development and improvement of our working practices across our business.

We have an amazing team of internal auditors at Oxford Instruments, qualified to a highly interactive certified training program on the most important attributes of a modern and effective quality management system.

Our team of auditors never stop learning and improving, we are a curious bunch, we like to check information and share knowledge with others, this is the best way to continuously develop and improve our processes. For our auditors, it’s an opportunity to learn how other areas of the businesses operate. For the auditee, it’s a fresh pair of eyes looking for opportunities to improve.

How do we use ISO 9001 certificate?

Holding the ISO9001 standard certificate gives our customers the assurance that our processes consistently provide products and services that meet their needs and expectations, and the applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

It provides our employees with access to the company processes and procedures. It acts as a training aid for new starters to gain a better understanding of how their role fits within the business and the interaction between other departments.

At Oxford Instruments we are proud to have the certification in place and our commitment to an integrated Quality policy. It helps to promote a positive culture to drive our success in continuously improving our training and management systems. It is an integral part of our business strategy and performance.