How do ISO 9001 and VCA** make Circet a better organisation?

Ever since 2019, Circet teams have been committed to achieving ISO 9001 and VCA** certification, among other standards. Now that these standards have been reached, QHSE Manager Rudi Calcoen and Prevention Advisor Luca Vanheusden explain why they are crucial to making Circet future-proof.

Standards: anything but standard

ISO 9001, VCA**, ISO 14001 ... for many people, these codes don’t ring a bell right away. Yet, these standards impact all of us, because they are linked to the daily operations of our organisation.

“As a company, we always strive to do better: improve services, work more efficiently, provide employees and sub-contractors with better support..." Rudi Calcoen begins. “Standards like ISO 9001 and VCA** give us a framework to improve all these processes. We increase our quality, transparency and reliability levels, while bolstering our image with regard to customers, suppliers and future employees.”

“Sure, achieving such standards isn’t mandatory, but it is increasingly a requirement for our clients,” continues Prevention Advisor Luca Vanheusden. “After all, it requires serious investments that not every organisation is willing or able to make. But at Circet, we are convinced of their necessity, especially if we want to continue to grow.”

ISO9001 and VCA** in a nutshell

For more information on the requirements for each standard, please contact Rudi for ISO 9001 and Luca for VCA**. They’ve summed up the main points for you here:

Why are these standards important to Circet, employees and customers?

1. We are creating greater safety awareness: “Obviously, safety is not about obtaining a certificate,” says Rudi. “But by imposing the high demands of these quality standards on ourselves, we do ensure that our people return home safely at the end of their working day and that they are working with the right tools and protective equipment (PPE, clear instructions, adapted machines that operate correctly, etc.).”
2. We deliver higher quality: “Delivering quality means acting as you would like to be treated. Our customers appreciate that we are easy to reach, that an appointment can be made rapidly, that our technicians show up at the agreed time and come prepared on that day, that they tackle the problem quickly and efficiently... “
3. We improve our customer satisfaction: “… and our image by extension! Customers are also aware of these standards and require a certain quality level from us as partners. We also stress this aspect to potential new employees: they immediately see that things are well organised here, from safety to clear assignments and the timely and correct payment of wages.”

Visible results

It is clear that setting the bar high produces results. “We’ve reduced our number of workplace accidents from 23 (in 2021) to 6,” Rudi concludes. “Such workplace accidents are also linked to absenteeism, which has been reduced from 1398 days to 79 days. If you convert those days into time that is freed, it is equivalent to 3 full-time employees, or scheduling 3,600 additional installation or repair jobs.”