UNTHA secures ultimate ISO achievement

Industrial shredder specialist UNTHA UK has once again secured a hat-trick of ISO recertifications, with zero major or minor non-conformances.

The North Yorkshire headquartered business originally achieved the prestigious ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environmental) and OHSAS 18001 (health and safety) standards back in early 2014. But when newer and more stringent ISO rules were introduced in 2015, the team was given a three-year transition period to demonstrate an even greater degree of compliance excellence.

Fast-forward to July 2018 and UNTHA UK has rebuilt its entire management system to integrate all departments within the business and deliver tangible improvements that benefit the company and clients alike.

The shift came following the undertaking of a gap analysis by newly-appointed ISO consultant Stephen Lowe. With vast practitioner experience, he has supported hundreds of organisations with their ISO journeys, and was responsible for identifying the scope for further improvement at UNTHA UK.

Together with UNTHA UK’s project lead Caroline Brown, the duo have developed a suite of new fit-for-purpose business processes, introduced bi-monthly management review meetings to monitor business critical issues and opportunities, formulated weekly operational meetings, devised an annual audit schedule, embedded a continual improvement model across the entire team, and prepared meaningful company policies with measurable targets and progress tracking.

Commenting on the significant recertification achievement, Caroline said: “Whilst we’ve long been proud of our ISO certifications, our previous approach to compliance looks merely like an admin-heavy box-ticking exercise, in comparison to the efficiency and sophistication of our new compliance model!

“We’ve probably invested more than 500 operational hours and £80,000 into this transitional work over the past two years – inclusive of our IT overhaul – and it’s been so worthwhile. Every single person within the business now truly understands what ISO is, the role that they play, and what it can help UNTHA UK achieve.”

The news comes at a pivotal time in UNTHA UK’s growth. Turnover is up 20% on the previous year, and the team has recently made two senior appointments – with plans to hire another three colleagues before the end of 2018. The forward order book is strong and a new digital presence is scheduled for launch in the Autumn.

Offering a concluding thought, UNTHA UK’s managing director Marcus Brew said: “It goes without saying that I’m extremely proud of this ISO achievement – it’s evidence that we’ve really taken the business to the next level and the entire team should be phenomenally pleased with their individual contributions.

“We have to give a huge ‘shout out’ to Caroline who has steered us through this often arduous process, with glowing success. However, the entire ISO ethos surrounds continuous improvement, so we’ve naturally got an appetite for ‘what’s next’!”