ISO 29001:2020 Quality Standard

A huge collective congratulation to the teams at Bryan Donkin Valves and AVK Syddal which have both achieved certification to the revised ISO 29001:2020 standard for quality management systems. Their commitment to maintaining these certifications means Donkin and Syddal can compete effectively in the global natural gas industry.

What is ISO 29001?

ISO 29001 is an Industry sector-specific quality standard for product and service supply organisations active in the petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries. These are all safety-critical sectors and customers and the general public alike demand a higher quality threshold to be met in the production process for products used in them.

Jerry Payne is Bryan Donkin’s Quality and Compliance Manager and was just one of many team members who worked collaboratively for a period of six months or more on the ISO 29001 journey to achieve certification:

‘Many people will have heard of ISO 9001. ISO 29001 builds on the core aspects of ISO 9001 and adds several supplementary activities based on risk and safety-critical issues.
ISO 29001 requires that you work very closely with both your customers and your suppliers. In effect, the standard treats suppliers as an extension of our business; they are part of the process, the problem-solving and the development of corrective actions.

The foundation stone of ISO 29001 is materials traceability; from raw materials through to delivery of the finished product. At every stage of the manufacturing process we have to be able to provide proof of traceability for the raw materials and semi-finished components involved. Running in parallel with this, at critical control points we undertake 100% product validation through testing and inspection supplemented by internal and external independent verification.

ISO 29001 assessors are very proactive and will often speak directly to those working, for example, on the production line. It is a core tenet of ISO 29001 that everybody involved has a clear understanding of their role in the process and are aware of the critical control points. Consequently, there has been an extensive training programme and ISO 29001 demands 
In order to eliminate first time failures, we have to work with colleagues, suppliers and customers to identify the root cause of any problem and to introduce and implement corrective actions. To do this we use a range of tools including 8D and 3C problem solving.’

There are many benefits ascribed to ISO 29001 certification. These include increasing the confidence of stakeholders re best business practice; improving risk management and performance; better product quality and reliability; and reduced waste.

8D Problem Solving

The 8D approach to problem solving was developed by the Ford Motor Company in the 1980s; 8D stands for 8 Disciplines. It is a detailed team-oriented approach to solving critical problems in the production process.

Ironically, given its name, it consists of nine stages!

1. Preparation and emergency responsive action
2. Create a team
3. Describe the problem
4. Develop an interim containment plan
5. Determine and verify root causes and escape points
6. Verify permanent corrections for the problem that will resolve it for the customer
7. Define and implement corrective actions
8. Prevent reoccurrence of system problems
9. Congratulate all those involved

Formal quality management certification started back in 1979 with the introduction of BS 5750. This was superseded by ISO 9001 in 1987. TS / ISO 29001 was first published in 2003.
Bryan Donkin originally achieved ISO 29001 certification in January 2017 (formerly known as TS / ISO 29001: 2011) and was certified to the revised standard in December 2022 (ISO 29001: 2020). AVK Syddal’s certification dates are February 2019 for ISO 29001: 2011 and April 2023 for ISO 29001: 2020.

Made in Britain

The 7 companies that form the AVK in the UK manufacturing group are proud to fly the flag for British made valves and fittings for water and gas industries. But it doesn't stop there, products include the world renown Bryan Donkin gas valves, BS750 underground hydrants, fittings to suit all applications, smart valves transmitting live data, penstocks, specialist valves for dams, reservoirs and hydropower, electrofusion fittings and house connection products and much more.  Take a look on the link below to read more. 

Talk to us

Contact us to talk about your project, installation, product selection and application. Our team of dedicated technical specialist are on hand to help. Don't forget that we welcome customers to visit all our factories to see how the products are made, quality processes and have hands-on training.  Talk to us. Click the email link above to write directly or call the number.