International ISO recognition for QRS

Road users and customers can be rest assured that when they come into contact with QRS it's earned international recognition for its environmental, health and safety, and quality management procedures.

Last week QRS proved itself to be environmentally aware in business having been awarded its third significant certification from the International Organisation for Standardisation or ISO.

ISO is an international body that creates and distributes standards that are accepted worldwide and last week, after two years of planning and preparation, QRS earned ISO 14001: 2015 for its environmental management practices. The certification complements QRS’s earlier achievement attaining ISO 45001: 2018 (for health and safety) and ISO 9001: 2015 (for quality management systems).

QRS chief executive Nigel says the standards may have humdrum names but they are hard to earn and highly coveted in the civil contracting industry.

“Accreditation across these three areas improves the quality of this company and the work it carries out. To achieve them takes months of self-assessment of our processes. It’s about finding any areas that need ironing out and making things even better.”

Mr Pollock says national customers such as Waka Kotahi NZTA, and large infrastructure companies QRS works with like Higgins and Fulton Hogan, want to partner with companies that can demonstrate competence, reliability, and thoroughness, to earn ISO ticks of approval.

ISO environmental certification wasn’t the only achievement last week. QRS earned its annual SiteWise contractor health and safety capability pre-qualification with a one-hundred percent pass rate. Companies must grade above 75 percent to be considered capable in health and safety and before now, QRS’s highest grade was 81. QRS understands that a 100 percent pass rate is rare.

Mr Pollock credited the hard work and meticulousness of staff for earning the company’s latest qualifications. “The gruelling ISO audit processes asked us to prove that out in the field we are doing what we say we are doing on paper. It’s a credit to everyone’s adherence to our robust processes that we have earned ISO accreditation and this year’s SiteWise grade.”

Mr Pollock also paid tribute to QRS’s health and safety office Paul Eaglesome who brings a vast knowledge of legislation to the job and combines it with an inclusive way of working to ensure everyone understands the importance of the qualifications. 

17 December 2020

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