Unusual reaches new standards with ISO accreditations

11th February 2020

Unusual Rigging has achieved a series of compliance standards that will provide its customers with the guarantee that its products and services consistently meet their  requirements.

The Northampton based company achieved both ISO 9001 which sets out the criteria for a quality management system, and ISO 14001 which focuses on environmental systems. Unusual is currently working towards securing ISO 45001 for good health and safety practice.

 At the forefront of steering Unusual towards achieving these new standards are operations manager Lizzie Richmond and technical manager Tom Nightingale.

 Lizzie commented: “We are extremely proud to have secured these ISO standards, which, though not compulsory, demonstrate to our customers that we are leading the way with our policies and processes. When we tender for work we are increasingly being asked to demonstrate how we meet the various requirements surrounding quality, environmental impact, health and safety etc and we have always been able to provide the evidence required. Achieving the ISO standards however makes this all more official.”

 Tom added: “ISO 9001 sets out to address various aspects of quality management and contains some of ISO’s best known standards. These provide guidance and tools for companies who want to ensure that their products and services consistently meet customers’ requirements and that quality is consistently improved. In short, it formalises and documents all of the excellent processes that we at Unusual already have in place. It gives us a great tool to benchmark against and to strive for continuous improvement.”

ISO 14001 sets out the criteria for an environmental management system and can be certified to. It maps out a framework that a company or organisation can follow to set up an effective environmental management system.

 Tom Harper, director and head of circular economy at Unusual explained: “We are delighted with this formal recognition of the work we do in this area. Our design team prioritises simplicity, standardisation and utility over novelty, ‘one off’ solutions and complexity, with RFID we can trace an item’s footprint with utmost precision and predictive analytics through our bespoke asset tracking software. And, by increasing our workforce (labour is a renewable resource which enhances local economic wellbeing), we are continuously maintaining and repairing our resources, hence designing out waste.”

 He continued: “We are creating greater value to our customers/ clients by offering a continued service with all sales, therefore increasing our revenue opportunities too. Many unwanted resources taken from stripped out theatres have been repurposed and used in new settings (one person’s rubbish is another’s treasure). Meanwhile, our main warehouse decked out with 396 solar panels since 2017, represents the first giant leap towards our ambition to be 100% renewably energised by 2025. Discussions across our supply chain (up and downstream, from resource providers to resource collectors) have furthered our ambitions on designing out waste and ensuring effective resource reuse; whilst increasing transparency on longevity. This has ensured alignment to our ISO accreditations and offers the opportunity for refined collaboration within the transition to a fully circular economy. Such collaboration has ensured we have been zero waste to landfill since 2016.”

 Lizzie concluded: “We are extremely grateful to everyone at Unusual Rigging who has worked extremely hard to achieve ISO 9001 and 14001. To round it off with ISO 45001 will be the icing on the cake.”