Sæplast receives ISO 9001:2015 quality assessment

Sæplast plant in Dalvik, Iceland

Sæplast receives ISO 9001:2015 quality assessment

Earlier this summer, Sæplast in Dalvík received a certification confirming that the quality system of the company fulfils the requirements of the international quality standard ISO 9001:2015.  The quality system covers the manufacture and sales of rotationally moulded tubs, lids, pallets and accessories, tanks, wells, sand- oil- and grease separators and custom moulding. An effort is made to ensure that the quality of the products is even and steady and in accordance with laws and regulations as well as the goals which the company has established for itself. Prior to the confirmation of the certification, an extensive evaluation was carried out of all production cycles and quality issues of Sæplast, Dalvík.

Not just a stamped document on the wall

This certification is not just a stamped document that hangs on a wall. “Our quality system helps us to ensure that the product received by the customer is according to his specific requirements”, says Elías Björnsson, plant manager of Sæplast. Elías says that certainly, some deviations can be expected in the production but in due to the production cycles covered in the ISO 9001:2015 standard, as well as the ongoing risk assessment of requirements and constant improvements of the quality system, there is much greater assurance than before that the requirements of the customer are being fulfilled. “This system gives us a good overview of quality issues in the whole manufacturing process, from the initial idea for a product until it has been produced and sent to the customer.”

Long process

According to Elías, work has been going on during the past year to introduce the system and to create a new Quality Manual for Sæplast, but in fact the process has taken much longer.  He says that this work had begun 20 years ago but it was not completed then and one of the reasons was the huge amount of paperwork that accompanied the introduction of the system at that time. Today, the adoption process has changed and documentation of every imaginable step in the manufacturing process has been replaced by regular inspections which are intended to confirm that all the individual procedures in the manufacturing process work as planned.  Even though the adoption of the standard was not completed at that time with a formal certification, Elías notes that the work that was carried out in connection with the process was very helpful to the company in all its quality work and shortened the path to a formal certification now.