How to achieve ISO Accreditation success

The past 18 months have had severe impacts on the Australian construction industry, but AJ Grant Group, a respected residential and commercial building company, was determined to push on with their certification effort.

The safety experts at Recovery Partners helped AJ Grant Group achieve the trifecta: triple certification for their Integrated Management System (IMS), including ISO14001 Environmental Management, ISO45001 Safety Management Systems and ISO9001 Quality Management.

Why AJ Grant Group wanted ISO Accreditation

“ISO Accreditation was the formalised stamp of approval we needed,” says CEO Brad Honeyman.

“The ISO Accreditation achieves several things,” he continues.

“It demonstrates the level of commitment from management and the whole business to keeping everyone safe. It allows us to lead by example, ensuring that our teams are safety conscious and actively prioritising safety, and it gives us a distinct competitive advantage when tendering for major contracts against other companies that are not certified.”

Certification preparation

To achieve the certification, Recovery Partners guided the AJ Grant Group team through an extensive IMS development process over several months.

You can’t buy a product off the shelf for an IMS. It has to be customised and it has to be excellent. While the IMS is being developed, it’s also being implemented. Once the safety policies and processes are developed, the IMS needs to be trialled and introduced to key stakeholders. They give feedback and Recovery Partners continuously fine-tune it. At the same time, Recovery Partners gather evidence that the audit team requires.

Sustainable Accreditation

When everyone was satisfied with the IMS, it was time to contact the accrediting body, Sustainable Accreditation.

“Sustainable provided a Lead Auditor and Recovery Partners project-managed, coordinating with them and with our internal team,” Brad explains.

While the auditing process would typically involve a lot of site visits to verify that subcontractors and AJ Grant team members were adhering to the safe processes and practices of the IMS, restrictions made this impossible.

So, Sustainable relied more on spot checks over the phone, where they would call and interview site supervisors or ask for certain documentation to be provided within the next half-hour.

“AJ Grant Group has a lot of tradespeople as subcontractors,” Recovery Partners says.

“Therefore, an integral part of the audit was checking that this labour force meets the standard it needs to. To guarantee the quality of the workmanship and end product for the client, the subcontractors have to meet the criteria for performance and safety systems.”

Benefits of accreditation

Benefits of ISO accreditation include:

• Enhance workplace safety
• Reduce costs and lower insurance premiums
• Increase revenue and Return On Investment (ROI)
• Enhance company image and provide competitive edge
• Improve productivity

Return On Investment

Brad says the AJ Grant Group team have already started to see ROI.

“It’s been a great morale booster for staff. When we notified everyone, the feedback was fantastic. It was frustrating for everyone when we missed out on jobs or tenders due to our lack of certification, because we knew we could do those projects, and do them well. We’ve got the experience. Now, there’s nothing holding us back. Our team are feeling positive and excited about the prospect of new business, and this helps them commit to our safety systems. This commitment then helps our business grow.”

Brad continues, “We worked hard on this because we knew the benefit would be there. It’s not surprising but it’s gratifying now that we’re already seeing doors opening. There are exciting times ahead for AJ Grant Group and the future looks bright. There are many companies that can assist in WHS, but Recovery Partners help you make it happen.”

Recovery Partners operate at the forefront of safety service provision in Australia. We bring decades of combined experience and constantly evolving knowledge to our partnerships with Australian businesses. With consultants spread from coast to coast, we’re well-placed to advise and assist you with your WHS/OHS needs, wherever you are. Visit www.rrp.com.au today to learn more.

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