The KHS Group’s production sites are now certified according to the new, revised ISO 9001:2015 standard. The current 2015 standard replaces the ISO 9001:2008 norm previously in widespread use. The KHS factory in Ahmedabad in India has been awarded the certificate for the first time. TÜV Rheinland Cert GmbH has now confirmed a uniform standard at all KHS production locations, giving customers of the manufacturer of filling and packaging systems the world over extra assurance.
“We’re extremely pleased about the successful expansion of the group,” says Hans-Joachim Peinemann, Head of Quality Management at KHS. “It is perfectly normal to have individual sites audited, but being certified group-wide is special.”
In addition to its German production sites in Dortmund, Bad Kreuznach, Kleve, Hamburg, and Worms, the KHS Group also manufactures its plant engineering in Ahmedabad (India), Waukesha, WI, Sarasota, FL, São Paulo (Brazil) and Zinacantepec (Mexico).
ISO 9001 stipulates the requirements made of a company-related system of quality management, the fulfilment of which acts as proof of conformity with defined standards. The practical application of these standards is verified by audits performed by an independent certification body. In the new, revised edition of the quality management standard from 2015 there is now a stronger focus on continuous improvement and process and customer orientation.
“The project proved to be quite demanding at some sites. Other non-German plants have already been certified for years,” Peinemann says. “Customers like to know for certain that they can rely on certain quality criteria. This certificate objectively confirms the KHS Group’s good system of quality management worldwide.”
Peinemann says certification as a process which takes several years. ISO 9001 confirms that high standards are applied internationally.
Employee motivation has also increased following certification, he adds. Appearing together before a German TÜV auditor has internally heightened awareness of the common aspects the group shares.
“For some of our factories it was like being presented with an award,” Peinemann says. For him, however, the standard is just one stage of many. “In the future we don’t just want to keep this standard but to build on it.”
There will be time to do just that as the current certification is valid until 2019.
The external auditors from TÜV Rheinland Cert GmbH have also attested to a uniformly high standard being upheld in energy, environmental and occupational health and safety management at all German KHS production sites. The latter are not only certified according to ISO 9001:2015 but also to ISO 14001:2015, BS OHSAS 18001:2007 and ISO 5001:2011.
