Successful Quality Management System

Ober-Ramstadt, 2nd December 2015 (DAW) - Within the scope of the regular ISO recertification Hesse's building paints manufacturer, DAW SE, was certified – as the first company within its industrial branch – to the standards in quality and environmental management systems which were redefined in 2015. The certificate was issued by the Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems (SQS). It is valid for three years. The updated standard pays particular attention to risk and emergency management and places special value on the integration of all stakeholders. Structural adjustments were also implemented: A new feature is the high-level structure, i.e. all certifications use standardised technology and are subdivided in the same way. According to Karin Bergmann, the Quality Management Officer in the company, these factors are part of the certification to ISO 9000:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 at DAW. Another standard to which DAW is certified is OHSAS 18001:2007. Here, the focus is on occupational safety and health protection. "Our objective is to ensure consistently good working conditions for our employees," says DAW Director, Daniel Weber. "The certified management system comprises a catalogue of specifications which identifies and analyses potential hazards and thereby assesses and minimises the associated risks," explains the Safety Specialist, Alexander Döring. On this basis DAW draws up targets and programmes for improved occupational safety. Weber, who is responsible for the internal company Integrated Management System (IMS), regards this obligation towards employees also as one of the five focus areas in the supply chain strategy implemented at DAW. Weber says that sustainable supply chain management makes a substantial contribution to profitable growth and to ecological and social sustainability: "This implies targeted customer service with continuous improvements in the costs and a responsible attitude towards resources in the supply chain. And," says Daniel Weber, "we achieve this by having strongly committed employees." The latest ISO standard is ISO 50001:2011 which comprises energy management. Here, the company set itself ambitious targets in 2012. By 2015 fifteen percent of energy is to be saved (kWh based on the data of 2009). "This figure has already been far exceeded in parallel with the recertification," Dr. Guido Schermann points out, who is in charge of the DAW Quality Management Department. "This is because we accept responsibility for our actions with regard to the DAW sustainability strategy," Schermann adds. At DAW this includes the efficient use of raw materials and resources such as water, ground space and energy as well as the minimisation of emissions. The successful recertification and the results of the energy savings are important pillars in the DAW sustainability strategy. This consists of the action fields of "Sustainable Company" – "Sustainable Products" – "Sustainable Building". In 2015 DAW, as a sustainable company, was awarded the Gold Medal from the consumer organisation, Verbraucher Initiative.