A and T Printing, Colas Group, Galway Turkeys, MAPs Ltd and the Marine Institute / Foras na Mara were among 40 private and public sector organisations to receive awards this week from the Minister of State for Small Business, Mr John Perry TD.
The leading Galway organisations joined the likes of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, Electric Ireland, National Learning Network and Danone Baby Nutrition in achieving world class levels of excellence under a range of headings including environmental management, quality management, excellence through people and food safety systems, which is the most recent addition to nsai’s impressive certification schemes.
The Minister joined Maurice Buckley, Chief Executive of NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland ) to present the awards, and to recognise the importance of standards in the current economy.
“Standards affect every aspect of our day-to-day lives and are vital in the current economic climate. Implementing them in business enables companies to improve their efficiency and competitiveness, minimise waste and reduce costs. There is a return on investment – certification to standards help to create a level playing field, allowing SMEs to compete with much larger companies, attract new customers, and access global markets,”said the Minister Perry.
A and T Printing were certified to Quality Management (ISO 9001 ), Colas Group were certified to Occupational Health and safety (OHSAS 18001 ). MAPs Ltd were certified to Quality Management (ISO 9001 ), the Marine Institute / Foras na Mara were certified to Excellence Through people (ETP ) and Galway Turkeys received certification to Quality Management (ISO 9001 ) and the newest addition to the NSAI’s library of standards Food Management Systems (22000 ) This standard will assist in offering Irish food and drink manufacturers greater scope to access international markets.
Speaking at the presentations, Maurice Buckley, NSAI Chief Executive highlighted the real business value of adopting standards:
“The decision to embrace and implement standards is a brave and commendable one, particularly for SMEs in a time when resources are tight. However, the commitment made by SMEs to standards has the potential to contribute to the wider economy. The companies present today are leading companies from various industries and sectors, and they would not be spending time and resources on achieving these standards unless they knew they had real value in the market. We are seeing a growing trend of European and international customers who expect such certified standards as entry level for doing business with them.”
In 2012, NSAI published more than 1,600 standards and sold over 12,000 publications across a broad range of sectors, bringing their library to in excess of 23,000. NSAI invites members of the business community and the general public to get involved in the development of standards by visiting Your Standards, Your Say on www.nsai.ie
