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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
SEPTEMBER
2015
CEMENT AND CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY
Handing over the ISO 9001:2008
certificate on 13 May 2015 at a
ceremony held in Lafarge South
Africa’s Johannesburg head office,
the Business Development Manager for the
South African Bureau of Standards (SABS),
Tony Fillmore said: “This certification is the
foundation phase of entrenching quality
management practices throughout your
organisation. Now that it is in place you can
build on it. Lafarge Readymix should now aim
for the Environmental Management System
ISO 14001 as the next step in the QMS certifi-
cation process.
“While one of the outcomes of the
successful QMS certification process is
reliable product quality, it actually embraces
everything that we do to provide quality
service to our customers, from raw material
control to delivery and invoicing,” comments
Anton Combrink, general manager of Lafarge
South Africa’s Readymix business line.
“It acknowledges that our company
structure and the hard work we put into
ensuring the effective control of all activities
which are related, either directly or indirectly,
to satisfying our customers are of a high
international standard.”
Lafarge South Africa is the local presence
of the international Lafarge Group, a world
leader in building materials. Lafarge’s
commitment to use its unparalleled tech-
nical strength to contribute products and
solutions for
Building better cities
: cities that
are more compact, have more housing, are
more durable and better connected, while
being more beautiful and desirable places for
everyone to live in.
>
ISO CERTIFICATION
Lafarge South Africa’s Readymix business line
has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification
after a two year rigorous auditing procedure.
This internationally highly-respected Quality
Management System (QMS) gives customers peace
of mind by verifying that the procedures and people
in the organisation are focused on continually
meeting or exceeding customers’ expectations.
From left: Anton Combrink (GM of the Lafarge Readymix business line); Hennis van Zyl (Lafarge
Readymix – Concrete (Cape Town)); Tony Fillmore (business development manager, SABS); and Colin
Sutcliffe (executive risk management solutions).
The core principle of the ISO 9001:2008
Quality Management System is accepting
that the success of an organisation depends
on its customers and it should focus on
working closely with them to understand
current needs, as well as anticipate how to
add value to their businesses in the future.
While traditionally being thought of as the
sales team’s job, this principle has to be
entrenched in the minds of staff at all levels
of the company and their active contribution
motivated at all times.
QMS certification is by no means a once
off exercise and requires continual vigilance,
reinforcement and innovation to establish
new and better ways of giving customer
service. To ensure the standards are
maintained at all levels of the organisation,
Lafarge Readymix has established an internal
team of auditors trained in the ISO processes
and procedures. The ongoing validity of the
ISO 9001:2008 certification is contingent
upon their diligence and effectiveness being
confirmed in spot surveillance audits by
the SABS.
“This has been a Lafarge Readymix
team effort to enhance our standing in the
marketplace and ensure continued growth
our business,” says Lafarge South Africa’s
Hennis van Zyl, area manager for concrete
(Cape Town).
“Everyone deserves congratulations for
this successful outcome from their hard work
and commitment: from the strong belief
and leadership of our management to every
member of our operating teams in ready-mix
concrete plants throughout the country. Our
appreciation also goes to our internal audit
teams as well as the SABS.”