Express Elevators Ltd

"Certification helps us demonstrate our commitment to the values and objectives contained in the standards, to our employees and customers, and also helps improve processes and procedures. As more and more companies carry out due diligence before awarding contracts, these standards are universally accepted as best practice.

"Not having implemented a system before, I have found it very reassuring to have an experienced consultant to assist and support with all aspects of certification.

"Activ is a central point to manage and organise all the documentation with traceability, giving me confidence that the administrative side of the standards is accurate and user friendly."

Alex Wilkinson, QHSE Manager

The company

Express Elevators is an independent lift company operating nationally across the UK, specialising in the maintenance and repair of all makes and types of lift equipment, the installation of new lifts, and the modernisation and refurbishment of existing ones.

Its team of trained engineers maintains over 10,000 lifts across the UK, providing 24-hour emergency cover, 365 days a year.

The company has been a member of the Lift and Escalator Industry Association for a number of years and is recognised by a growing list of organisations for meeting exacting standards.

The challenge

The trade association introduced an additional requirement for members to hold UKAS-accredited certification to a health and safety management standard as well as ISO 9001.

To retain membership, and to realise the business benefits of a robust management system, Express Elevators decided to implement health and safety and environmental management across the business.

The approach

Consultant Jo Holden was assigned the project and worked closely with the QHSE Manager to understand the business and implement a system incorporating existing and enhanced procedures.

It soon became apparent that a fully integrated management system was required, not only to meet the requirements of the new standards but to complement the existing ISO 9001 system. The company also wanted central, easily accessible document storage that would automate the strict document controls the standards demand, so Activ was introduced as the platform.

Equas and Express together generated and populated the required processes, procedures and templates, and management reviews were conducted with company directors. Legal registers and emergency plans were created, and a systematic training briefing plan was rolled out across the organisation.

Certification was achieved in June 2014, with the auditors commenting on the ease of use of the system.

The benefits

The improvement log approach guides users through root cause analysis and corrective and preventive actions, then collates the resulting data into readable graphs and reports, highlighting priorities for the coming months.

The QHSE Manager has since looked at using the platform to communicate safety bulletins, as part of a move towards equipping onsite engineers with mobile tablets and ensuring notifications are received when new documents and forms are introduced.