24.11.2010

Lavendon achieves ISO 14001

Lavendon has announced that it has been certified as being ISO14001 compliant in the UK.

A number of other UK companies in the access and lifting world are also working towards the ISO 14001 environmental management standard. But as of the end of last week, Lavendon Access Services claimed to be the first powered access company in the country to be officially certified as compliant, following an assessment by EQA (European Quality Assurance).

We also understand that another major UK access rental company has been told that it also passed the audit process around the same time and is waiting on the official paperwork.

ISO 14001 is similar in many respects to ISO9000/90001, which became a critical standard in the access world some years back, in that it lays out the framework for companies to put together their own environmental management system and targets which they are then measured against.

The standard applies to all Lavendon Access Services depots (Nationwide Platforms, Panther and EPL Skylift) that have been modernised as part of the company’s Technical Excellence programme. The subjects covered include: energy use, waste management, recycling, noise and light pollution and the measurements include:

Systematic monitoring and assessment of all energy and water use with targets set for reducing use

Stringent waste management controls, again with targets to reduce waste

Where appropriate, the reselling of machines due for replacement rather than
scrapping them.

Regular toolbox talks on protecting the environment

Introduction of a new truck fleet using the most energy efficient vehicles and reversing warning alarms that minimise noise pollution.

Introduction of a new transport management system, called Lavendon Visibility Transport – that minimises wasted journeys and selects the most efficient routes

A new car purchasing scheme that takes account of lifetime environment impact of the vehicles

Light sensors in depots that switch off lights when not needed to minimise energy use and light pollution

Lavendon’s chief executive Kevin Appleton, said: “We are delighted to be the first powered access company in the UK to achieve the very important ISO 14001 standard. Whilst it makes strong commercial sense we also believe it reflects our determination to be a socially responsible environmentally-conscious organisation.”

“An increasing number of our clients meet ISO 14001 and want the assurance that they are doing business with companies that come up to the same standard.”

“Efficient use of energy and other resources means less waste and less cost which improves our profitability. In 2008, I set the challenge of gaining the accreditation within two years. It is a great credit to all our staff that we’ve achieved that goal.”

Those companies working on 14001 are also working 18001 the Occupational Health and Safety standard. Lavendon says that it expects to have achieved this in the UK by April 2011.

Vertikal Comment

We sense that ISO standards are making something of a comeback, the ISO 9000 quality standard and 9001 became a buzz word in the UK access rental business in the 1990’s.

A number of ‘consultants’ made a good deal of money from helping companies achieve ISO 9001 by writing their manuals and steering them through the audit process. It seemed to become a little devalued after a while as smaller companies realised that if you wrote a simple manual and had modest targets it was relatively easy to obtain.

The ISO 14000 standards, of which 14001 is one, are all environmentally related and are possibly more tangible than ISO 9001. In essence what they force a company to do is to be consistent and to set in motion a programme of constant improvement.

Once again smaller, single location, companies will find it easier to attain the standard than multi branch operations such as Lavendon. Given the importance of the environment and energy efficiency it is good to see the UK market leaders setting the pace in this area.