AMP, the independent air conditioning distributor, has secured two internationally recognised accreditations for environmental and quality management.

Following an in-depth programme of implementation and compliance audits, the Toshiba distributor achieved accreditation to ISO 9001 Quality Assurance standard and ISO 14001 Environmental Management from certification body QAS International.

ISO 9001 is the international standard for Quality Management Systems, and requires a company to follow clear, documented procedures for managing its business to consistently achieve customer satisfaction.

ISO 14001 is the standard for Environmental Management, and requires detailed procedures for the formulation and maintenance of environmental policies.

Polly McConachie, AMP director, said: “We are very proud to have achieved dual accreditation. Companies often pursue one or other at a time; to secure both concurrently is a great achievement, and reflects a huge amount of work and commitment by the whole team, particularly, Tom Carter, Zuzana Reed and Tim Young who led the project.”

She added: “Accreditation gives independent validation and reassurance to customers that we operate to the highest standards. It is increasingly important in the industry, particularly in relation to large projects and government and local authority contracts.”

The accreditation process took six months from initiation to the successful compliance audits. As the work proceeded, it became apparent that many of the requirements for the standards were already in place, and simply needed documenting and formalising, says Tom Carter, AMP’s logistics manager.

Tom Carter said: “AMP is a successful business and its systems and processes are well developed, with the customer very much at the centre. The accreditation process is therefore about documenting how we deal with all aspects of the business and making sure everyone is clear about our policies and approach.”

Zuzana Reed commented: “As well as the additional credibility its gives in the eyes of customers, the standards give us a fantastic resource for briefing new members of staff when they join the company. Procedures for all departments are all clearly set out with flow charts, enabling everyone can get up to speed very quickly.”