Country-wide Quality Service from Rietschle Thomas
As one of the first pump companies to achieve ISO 9001: 2000 quality certification for all UK locations - including its service centres, Rietschle Thomas can now guarantee that customers will receive the same, consistent level of product and quality service anywhere in the country.
Quality & Compliance Manager, Peter Corke, who was responsible for implementing the 12-month programme at Rietschle Thomas, found the middle stage of the process the most demanding: "We learnt a lot from our previous experience of attaining ISO 9001: 2000 certification for our two factory locations in Alton (Hants) and New Hythe (Kent): it simplified the job of developing written quality procedures for all of our service centres." Ensuring that all written procedures were adhered to, was the more demanding process, according to Corke. "With a process like this the devil, as always, is in the detail; but we were encouraged by the results of an internal audit into the consistency and improvement of working practices in the service centres."
The company's confidence in the process was endorsed by an independent external audit, carried out by SGS United Kingdom Ltd - the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. It was followed by the award this month of ISO 9001: 2000 certification for Rietschle Thomas service centres in Leeds, Tewkesbury and Cumbernauld (Scotland).
Source:Gardner Denver, Inc.
