Ascendant Technologies Ltd

"We embarked on ISO 9001 certification in 2009 because we supply the oil and gas industry and that's what they require as a minimum. Following implementation, I soon found that it brought a great deal of value to the business itself.

"Over the following three years the business grew very rapidly and we could see how their web-based Activ would suit us better and give more functionality. Our own management system is cloud-based, so part of the rationale was that we could have a management system plus quality system accessible from anywhere in the world. This is a real bonus as we also have an office in Qatar.

"Our consultant, Mark Pendleton, has become an integral part of the company and every month he comes in and chairs our quality meetings. He's regarded as part of the team and I have no hesitation in recommending Mark and Equas to my contacts, and have done so."

Mike Wainwright, Managing Director

The company

Set up in 2003 with five staff, Ascendant Technologies supplies automation valves for oil and gas installations. It now operates across five continents with ambitious growth plans, and headcount has increased to 14.

It builds large finished assemblies, such as a butterfly valve around 1.5 metres in diameter with a hydraulic actuator and associated control gear. Equipment is bespoke to complex customer specifications, and with much of the work in the Middle East, transport and freight costs are high.

The challenge

ISO 9001 certification had initially ticked the right boxes for customers, but the business was growing quickly, getting more sophisticated, and the market had become more demanding. Sales tripled in three years and the business was struggling to keep pace.

Customer-generated non-conformance rocketed and was expensive to correct, since it meant sending an engineer to the customer site, potentially anywhere in the world. In extreme cases equipment had to be returned to base. Mistakes were being repeated, and this had become a major problem.

The approach

Equas consultant Mark Pendleton recommended migrating the quality system to the web-based Activ platform, which had features to address the non-conformance issues and would be easier to maintain. The company already ran an online materials requirement programme and was familiar with web-based systems, so Activ was a good fit.

Mark ran an in-depth audit of the existing systems and identified areas for improvement, along with new procedures to be included. More robust systems were brought in to ensure components from external suppliers arrived on schedule and orders reached customers on time. Improvement logs ensured mistakes were not repeated, and automatic version control removed the risk of out-of-date documents. Regular quality meetings were put on the agenda.

The benefits

Non-conformance is now almost zero, saving significant amounts of money. The company holds the certification it requires to operate in its market. It took time to fully develop use of the system, but the framework is now in place to support the company's growth plans.