Vista celebrates award of new ISO 45001 Health and Safety standard
Vista Engineering started 2020 on a high with the arrival in the post of a newly minted ISO 45001 certificate, the first international standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems in the workplace.
ISO 45001 is designed to encourage best–in–class risk management and the award further demonstrates Vista’s long-standing commitment to a safer working environment by making sure everyone from the shopfloor to senior management is actively involved in reducing risk.
In a series of audits and assessments spread over the best part of a year, Vista managers worked with inspectors from certifying body Alcumus ISOQAR to meet the stringent standards for certification.
Among the areas under examination were the safe operation of the machinery used to manufacture wall ties, windposts and masonry support products, the rules for safe movement of traffic onsite and safety critical briefings for 3rd party contractors.
In particular, inspectors were keen to see that Vista could demonstrate the required standards for safety training, support and awareness among staff and that workers were regularly consulted and involved in safety policy decisions.
Announcing the award in early December, Vista General Manager Andrew Ninnes said:
“This is a fantastic achievement for Vista and huge thanks are due to everyone involved – we couldn’t have done it without the hard work of our dedicated team. It’s another example of our commitment to the highest standards in every area of our operations. Not just health and safety, but also in the quality of our manufacturing processes, our customer service and our focus on continual product development.”
Vista already has BS EN 1090 for the quality of its windpost structural steel products, ISO 9001 for Quality Management and ISO 14001 for Environmental Management. The addition of ISO 45001 not only guarantees a demonstrably safer working environment but will also make integration of all three ISO standards easier, because it is based on the same management system framework.