ISO 9001:2015 certification – signed, sealed, and delivered!

Sales Manager Michael Jacques Lauritsen and QA Technician Heidi Frederiksen headed the certification process. Seen here with CEO Ulrik Holm (right).

We recently received our ISO 9001:2015 certificate that ensures that we operate quality management systems of the highest international standard.

Achieving this internationally recognised quality certificate is ultimate proof of the fact that Carsten Holm A/S is a business well run: We have all our processes and supply solutions under control and guarantee that they meet the highest standards.

An important milestone

For Carsten Holm A/S, certification is a milestone in our efforts to remain an attractive supplier of seals and gaskets, as an ISO 9001 certification is inestimably important to our customers, Danish and international alike. It gives them more confidence, boosts customer satisfaction and it encourages them to innovate more. Although we have worked in accordance with applicable standards for many years, certification is the icing on the cake, and on 29 June this year, we achieved ISO certification in accordance with the ISO 9001:2015 quality management standard.

Intensive, educational process

The certification process itself was an intensive and educational process. We reviewed, assessed and, where necessary, adjusted all our systems, processes, and procedures – and finally described them in detail to ensure that we are always able to document compliance with them.

At Carsten Holm, we have more than 120,000 SKUs and, as a product can be subject to many different processes between incoming goods and shipping, the certification process was comprehensive. We have described every system, process and procedure and, in order to expose and eradicate errors, we used statistical methods to calculate every error type.

The corona pandemic complicated this demanding process but by working together, we successfully completed every phase, including the final audit, which was approved at the first attempt. Everyone at the company was delighted when Norwegian/German quality assurance company, DNV GL, sent us their full approval.

Quality management is also good for business

While certification costs time and money, it is also an investment, and the benefits are already apparent. Efficient quality management is the sure way to lower costs – because waste of all kinds is minimised.