Client case studies
ISO Compliance for Construction Growth
At the time of the original appointment, the client, a construction company, was bouncing back from a recent financial crisis and recession. The recession has seen their turnover fall from £80m to £44m, presenting significant challenges. However, revenues have since recovered, and the company was on track to achieve sales of £120m in the current year.
Looking ahead, the target was to get to £250m. To facilitate this ambition, they reorganised into three divisions, each led by a Managing Director (MD) with dedicated senior teams. This restructuring created a strong foundation for growth, but they needed additional solutions to reach their full potential.
The Problem
Their growth was being held back by:
- Contract risks not being properly identified prior to tendering.
- Site risks not being effectively managed.
- Poor management of sub-contractor delivery performance.
This was directly impacting their bottom line and ability to scale. Addressing these challenges was essential for ensuring ISO compliance and maintaining growth.
The Approach and Solution
Over the course of four months, Statius’s ISO consultants worked closely with the senior team to tackle these challenges. They held short workshops with the three MDs and their teams to review processes like tender adjudication, site risk management, and supplier management.
They also analysed recurring issues, looking at how often they occurred and their associated costs, and created a plan to address and eliminate them. New practices and procedures were introduced to improve risk management and ensure compliance, all while supporting the company’s goal of developing their ISO certification as best practice.
To ensure these changes were effective, comprehensive staff training sessions were held, making sure everyone understood and could implement the new processes. Finally, follow-up reviews were conducted at three and six-month intervals to assess how well the changes were working and identify areas for further improvement.
Rather than just creating processes, we built solutions that immediately improved project delivery and profitability. Within weeks, teams were using these new approaches to improve project outcomes.
Benefits
Our solutions transformed their operations with measurable results:
- Stronger Sub-Contractor Relationships: A thorough review of sub-contractors identified those with the capacity to grow alongside the company. This led to the development of a structured system categorising contractors as partnered, preferred, or authorised, improving delivery reliability and reducing costs.
- Better Risk Management: Robust sub-contractor approval processes were introduced and aligned with ISO standards. These controls improved quality management and risk assessment.
- Continuous Improvement: An end-of-job review process was implemented to capture lessons learned, feeding into supplier evaluations. This ensured the company and its partners could continuously improve.
- Smarter Use of Technology: An IT solution was deployed to monitor, assess, and share sub-contractor performance data, enhancing transparency and collaboration.
- Sub-Contractor Development: To support growth on both sides, we helped launch a Sub-Contractor Academy to train and develop key partners, creating stronger partnerships and a reliable supply chain.
Results
The initiatives brought about a transformation in the company’s supply chain management, delivering clear, measurable results. There was a shift from an adversarial culture to a more mutually beneficial approach with sub-contractors. Workload management for sub-contractors improved, helping to reduce performance issues caused by overloading.
As a result, there were fewer surprises in sub-contractor performance, leading to higher margins for both the company and its partners. Additionally, the company created documented processes that reflected the look and feel of their business processes but also aligned with ISO requirements, setting the stage for the development of their ISO certifications.
Why Choose ISO Consultants?
Statius provides tailored ISO consultancy services to help businesses implement and manage ISO standards like ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001. Our expertise includes:
- Developing quality, environmental, health and safety and integrated management systems that deliver ISO certification.
- Delivering ISO training to support staff in maintaining compliance.
- Offering ISO auditing and compliance services to ensure adherence to international standards
- Guiding businesses through the certification process, from risk assessments to management reviews.
Contact Us
If your business needs support with achieving ISO standards that enhance your operations and deliver measurable results, Statius can help.
Call us on 020 8460 3345 or email sales@statius.co.uk to learn more about our ISO consultancy services in the UK.
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