STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION
ISO 9001 – Quality Management System
Improve the quality of your products and services and consistently meet customer expectations.
Certification of your quality management system demonstrates your commitment to consistency, continuous improvement, and customer satisfaction. These are tangible business advantages that play an essential role in building resilience and sustainable business practices.
ISO 9001 provides specific requirements for a quality management system, enhancing your ability to consistently deliver products and services that meet customer, legal, and regulatory requirements.
What is ISO 9001
Applicable to all types of organizations in any industry, this standard is based on several quality management principles, including strong customer focus, management involvement, a process approach, and continuous improvement. ISO 9001 sets criteria for a quality management system focusing on process effectiveness, helping you work efficiently and reduce product failures.
It promotes a risk-based process approach, emphasizing requirements, added value, process performance and efficiency, and continuous improvement through objective measurements.
Benefits of Certification
Verifying the functionality of your system is crucial. ISO 9001 certification by an independent third party confirms that your management system is effective and demonstrates your commitment to quality management principles within your organization.
Results
- Build trust in your management system’s performance internally and externally by applying effective quality management principles within your organization.
- Implement a structured approach to continuous process improvement, focusing efforts where needed.
- Increase customer trust and satisfaction, which can lead to business growth.
- Gain a competitive advantage by meeting certification requirements that customers, suppliers, and subcontractors may demand for business partnerships.
Getting Started
To obtain certification, you must first implement an effective quality management system that complies with the standard’s requirements. QMS, Co. can assist you throughout the journey, providing ISO 9001 training, self-assessment, gap analysis, and certification services.
ISO 14001 – Environmental Management
Enhance environmental protection efforts and meet your policy obligations and goals.
Certification of your environmental management system demonstrates increased awareness of sustainable development and provides eco-conscious companies with a competitive edge in national and international markets.
ISO 14001 offers a clear management framework for reducing your environmental impact, ensuring legal compliance, and building trust with your clients and the community. This standard provides your organization with a systematic approach to planning, implementing, and managing an environmental management system.
What is ISO 14001
ISO 14001 is the most widely recognized international standard for environmental management systems, applicable worldwide. Its flexible nature allows it to apply across business sectors, sizes, and activities. It provides a framework for organizations to achieve improved environmental performance according to their environmental policy commitments. ISO 14001 specifies requirements for proactively identifying and understanding the environmental aspects of activities, products, and services, as well as their environmental impacts.
The standard helps organizations establish environmental policies and objectives and manage significant aspects through necessary controls, setting clear goals for environmental performance improvement.
Benefits of Certification
ISO 14001 offers many potential advantages, including:
- Establishing and managing an environmental management system within a clear, adaptable framework that suits business needs and expectations.
- Providing a tool to improve environmental efficiency and a means to monitor and measure environmental performance effectively.
- Facilitating pollution reduction, waste management, and unintended environmental releases, including product-related impacts considering the life cycle perspective.
- Enhancing resource management, including energy use, which may reduce operational costs.
- Meeting environmental regulatory compliance and corporate requirements.
Getting Started
To gain certification, you need to implement an effective environmental management system aligned with the standard’s requirements. QMS, Co. can guide you through the entire process, providing training and certification for your environmental management system.
OHSAS 18001/ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety
Organizations across all sectors are increasingly prioritizing workplace safety and health by managing risks and improving the positive impacts of their activities, products, and services—demonstrating this commitment to shareholders, employees, customers, and other stakeholders.
Mandatory regulations, economic policy development, human resource management, and other measures are increasingly used to encourage occupational health and safety development. Growing concerns from shareholders and other interested parties have resulted in a recommendation—and eventually a requirement—for a clear commitment to employee health and safety.
What is OHSAS 18001/ISO 45001?
OHSAS 18001/ISO 45001 is an international guideline outlining requirements that enable organizations to manage risk and improve operational performance. It allows an organization to understand and control all potential risks arising from daily activities as well as from exceptional situations.
The standard specifies requirements for managing occupational health and safety. The organization must establish, implement, and document an occupational health and safety management system. The management must define its quality policy. The organization needs procedures for identifying possible health and safety hazards in the workplace and must ensure that staff, equipment, and infrastructure are well-maintained. All records of identified health and safety hazards must be retained.
The standard requires the organization to maintain documentation consistent with this standard and current legal requirements. The organization’s management is responsible for the application of health and safety management. Management must appoint personnel to implement the health and safety management policy. Health and safety protocols should apply to the entire organization. The management must ensure that the staff receives the necessary training to implement the standard’s requirements effectively.
The organization must have procedures for internal communication within the organization, between all employees, and with external collaborators.
The organization must have defined procedures for identifying health and safety hazards.
The standard outlines the documentation that an organization must have, including a quality policy, a description of the management system, procedures, and records.
The organization must specify how it manages documents, who is responsible, and how documents are stored.
The organization must define how it addresses and manages identified health and safety risks. Asset management, equipment maintenance, and servicing procedures must be established.
The organization must have a procedure in place for addressing identified health and safety hazards. All health and safety measures must be monitored to ensure effectiveness.
The organization must conduct evaluations of its management system through internal audits and maintain records.
Benefits of Implementing OHSAS 18001/ISO 45001
- Reduces the potential for workplace accidents and injuries
- Promotes employee health
- Enhances employee satisfaction
- Protects employees, offering business advantages
- Ensures compliance with health and safety regulations
- Reduces liability
- Lowers insurance premiums
- Reduces costs
- Increases employee productivity
- Enhances organizational reputation
- Increases employee accountability
EN ISO 3834 Quality Requirements for Fusion Welding
Is your company involved in serial/single production, repair, or assembly related to welding? If so, the quality requirements set by ISO 3834 for fusion welding of metallic materials are relevant to you. With an ISO 3834 certificate, you gain internationally recognized proof of your welding quality capability.
What is ISO 3834?
ISO 3834 establishes quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials in a dedicated standard. This allows you to demonstrate welding quality capability in line with customer expectations using a product-specific quality standard in addition to a “core standard” such as ISO 9001.
Requirements for ISO 3834 Certification
ISO 3834 certification is generally conducted alongside certification based on a comprehensive quality management standard, such as ISO 9001. This combination minimizes additional effort and typically results in only a slight increase in audit duration.
QMS, Co. auditors possess both industry-specific experience and welding knowledge, holding European Welding Engineer (EWE) diplomas or equivalent qualifications. After successful certification, you will receive a specific ISO 3834 certificate reflecting the scope of application.
EN 1090 Technical Requirements for Steel Structures
What are EN 1090-1 and EN 1090-2?
The EN 1090 standard, created for steel and aluminum structural elements, came into force in 2014. Since then, steel and aluminum structural elements sent to EU countries must comply with this standard and carry the CE mark.
EN 1090, a European standard, comprises three parts:
- EN 1090-1: Requirements for conformity assessment for structural components (CE marking), including production control requirements and assessment conformity. The standard annex provides information on product marking requirements for CE labeling.
- EN 1090-2: Technical requirements for steel structural elements.
- EN 1090-3: Technical requirements for aluminum structural elements.
If steel and aluminum structural components are sold in the EU or fall within the scope of harmonized European standards or European Technical Assessments, they must carry the CE mark.
EN 1090-1 and EN 1090-2 Certification – Business Benefits
It is essential for businesses producing steel and aluminum structural elements to comply with the EN 1090 standard series, obtain certifications based on these standards, and mark their products with the CE label.
These standards and CE marking requirements are prerequisites for trade with EU countries. The EN 1090 certificate and CE marking prove that products meet the requirements of the Construction Products Directive in force in the EU.
EN 15085 Railway Vehicles and Components Management System
Welding processes are considered highly specific procedures whose results cannot always be tested and verified after completion. The quality of a weld cannot be ensured by testing the finished product but rather by testing the welding process itself.
This is due to the increasing quality demands on manufacturers and maintenance companies in the field of welded parts and railway vehicles. Essentially, the requirements for welded manufacturing work are incorporated within the ISO 9001:2015 standard.
Certification studies for companies producing railway vehicles and components are conducted in accordance with EN 15085-2. This standard outlines the requirements for certification and procedures to verify the suitability of companies that manufacture welded railway vehicles and components.
The EN 15085 Certificate for the Management System of Railway Vehicles and Components demonstrates the quality of companies producing railway vehicle parts, covering certification levels from CL1 to CL4.
The EN 15085 series of standards pertains to the design, manufacture, testing, and conformity evaluation of welded railway vehicles, components, and assemblies. These standards set requirements for quality systems, welding process approvals, and specifications for welding machines and equipment.
This standard consists of five parts:
- EN 15085-1 Overview
- EN 15085-2 Quality Specification and Manufacturer Certification
- EN 15085-3 Design Characteristics
- EN 15085-4 Production Rules
- EN 15085-5 Inspection, Testing, and Documentation
What is the EN 15085 Railway Vehicles and Components Management System used for?
Companies that implement the EN 15085 railway vehicles and components management system start inspection work during the design phase. The main feature of this standard is to control all phases of production and repair, rather than only checking the completed work.
For example, when selecting materials for production during the design phase, the company ensures that these materials meet the required standards. Similarly, it emphasizes the training and certification of personnel involved in welded production work, with all such personnel required to be certified per the TS EN ISO 14731 standard.
This certification provides significant benefits. Firstly, businesses gain client trust and increase their commercial value. It proves the company’s capability in welded product manufacturing, welder qualifications, welding quality management, and production capacity.
Having an EN 15085 certification allows businesses to reach international markets and gain potential revenue, especially in EU countries. The EN 15085 standard guarantees the quality and performance of railway vehicle components and parts, meeting customer needs in a reliable, safe, and eco-friendly manner. In summary, the EN 15085 certificate gives a company an advantage over competitors.
Application Areas
The EN 15085 railway vehicle and component management system applies to railway vehicle manufacturers, railway vehicle maintenance companies, other railway sector entities, railway transport operators, vehicle assembly companies, railway engineering firms, and construction companies in the railway sector.
Today, neutral and independent certification bodies provide companies with essential analyses to meet EN 15085 requirements, preparation and implementation of necessary standards, criteria, and procedures, certification preparation, engineering and construction activities, material selection, consultancy, and support for welding qualification, determining allowable defects in welded joints, and establishing testing procedures. Additionally, they offer welding process qualification covering welding procedure specification and qualification record maintenance.
To ensure compliance with the EN 15085 standard, companies are required to perform various material tests, including visual inspection, fracture testing, bend testing, impact testing, magnetic particle testing, penetrant testing, ultrasonic testing, radiographic testing, and tensile testing.
PED 2014/68/EU Pressure Equipment Directive
Signed on May 15, 2014, and published on June 27, 2014, parts of Directive 2014/68/EU took effect on June 1, 2015, with full mandatory implementation starting on July 19, 2016. The Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) 2014/68/EU replaced the previous Pressure Equipment Directive 97/23/EC [2], and aims to create conditions for free trade across Europe.
The Directive harmonizes national laws in EU member states in the design, manufacturing, testing, and conformity assessment of pressure equipment, removing technical trade barriers through the harmonization of national and European laws.
AD 2000-HP0 Pressure Vessel Manufacturing and Testing
What does AD 2000-HP0 confirm?
AD 2000-HP0 is essential for companies that design and manufacture welded, pressurized, and non-pressurized equipment and structures designed according to the German AD 2000 Merkblatt Code.
It confirms that a company meets the requirements to ensure the safety and quality of welded equipment, specifically:
- Has facilities for production and inspection per applicable technical standards,
- Implements a quality system ensuring that production and inspection meet the company’s reported technical standards,
- Employs qualified supervisory and inspection staff.
CE Marking
The CE mark stands for “Conformité Européenne” (European Conformity) and signifies that a product complies with EU guidelines and the relevant European standards referenced in these guidelines.
A key and mandatory part of entering the European market is the CE mark, as free movement of goods is fundamental to the EU internal market.
The CE mark on a product signifies that the product meets essential health and safety requirements per EU guidelines and harmonized standards.
EN ISO 9712 Qualification and Certification of Personnel for NDT Testing of Welded Joints
This international standard specifies requirements for the principles of qualification and certification of personnel conducting industrial non-destructive testing (NDT). The system specified in this standard can also apply to other NDT methods or new techniques under the condition of a comprehensive certification scheme.
Certification covers skill in one or more of the following methods: a) acoustic emission testing; b) eddy current testing; c) infrared thermographic testing; d) leak testing; e) magnetic particle testing; f) penetrant testing; g) radiographic testing; h) strain gauge testing; i) ultrasonic testing; j) visual inspection.
Guidelines IAB-252r5-19 and IAB-195r4-20 Specialization in IWE/IWT/IWS
Specialization is conducted per the International Institute of Welding (IIW) guidelines (IAB-252r5-19 and IAB-195r4-20), aimed at those working with welding and seeking to deepen their knowledge in this field.
EN ISO 9606-1 Qualification Testing and Certification of Welders
This part of ISO 9606 specifies requirements for welder qualification testing in fusion welding of steel. This standard provides a set of technical rules for systematic qualification testing and provides a universally accepted qualification standard, regardless of product type, location, or testing authority.
