Excellent Audit Results For Techtron

We have successfully undergone a series of three audits as part of a customer’s supply chain and their drive towards sustainability and good practice. The audits were Social, Environmental and Quality.

We have previously gone through the Quality and Social audits but the environmental one was new for the Techtron Team. We were delighted to see that many of our existing processes fall in line with the Environmental requirements and that full implementation of standards will be within easy reach.

Clare Rowe, Techtron’s General Manager, says: “The three audits have been really informative for us, and we have learned a lot from the auditors, as it is an excellent collaborative process. In terms of our position in our customers’ supply chain, these audits will change each year.  The first year is an initial assessment to see where all suppliers are against standards, the second year is a grading scheme, so that suppliers can be graded.”

Techtron is reviewing audit standards for Health & Safety and for Environmental, as this allows the team to process a gap analysis. The Environmental Management System standard being implemented is ISO 14001 and this will be achieved over the next 12 months. To implement the full ISO standard, the process will include a pre-audit three months prior to the full audit.

Clare Rowe explains the benefits of achieving the ISO 14001 certification: “This certification is aimed at preserving the environment through the implementation of specific management standards. It is recognised globally and will place us positively against our competitors.

“ISO 14001 is a broad stretching certification and is focussed on our compliance with environmental legislation. It will reduce any environmental incidents, which boosts our reputation and reduces liability.  It is important for us to be well thought of with the authorities through our excellent audits, and this helps improve our employee ethics through an increased awareness in society.  The result of all these elements should be improved materials and energy cost controls.

Clare Rowe continues: “As a manufacturer using single use plastics, one thing we can control is our environmental impact. We already aim to recycle as much as possible and not send waste to landfill, using recycling options available. Everybody must do their bit. This will become a mandatory requirement for retailers in the UK, and for France the environmental impact on the product will become a feature of the product labelling requirements.”

The Social audits recently conducted at Techtron are familiar to the team. Importantly, these standards are about making sure that the welfare facilities are right for employees, and they are working in humane conditions.  The ETI base code, an ethical initiative, underpins all of our work and helps drive improvements within our own practices and our supply chain.

The auditors fed back that part of this process is about educating people about what to look for in the supply chain and that frequently inhumane conditions are reported by external visitors to site or warehouse drivers who feel that something does not look or feel right. 

There is a safe reporting channel for such circumstances and the auditor shared with the Techtron team that there are still 50 million slaves in the world and that there are still problems with modern day slavery here in the UK. The auditors provided an example which has been exposed recently where people who are part of the benefit system work their 16 hours and then the employees are paid for the remaining hours at half rate and not through the books.

Clare Rowe comments: “We are very familiar with the social audit processes and the reinforcement of the ETI base code, which is about the base level of worker’s rights, health and safety, a hygienic working environment, living wages, non-excessive working hours, inclusivity and non-discrimination, humane treatment of employees, collective bargaining and freely chosen employment of those of legal working age. It is vital that we all strive to improve the conditions of workers globally.”

Techtron’s recent quality audit is about getting into the detail of all procedures. Through ISO and BRC we already have defined processes in place to ensure that our customers’ orders are made to right specification.

Clare Rowe comments: “Because these audits have been initiated through a customer’s supply chain, we may or may not see the full report, but the results were shared by the auditors. We achieved zero non-compliance points on quality, one observation in the social audit, which was to clearly label the recycling skips. The environmental audit showed up a few minor non-conformances against the standards, but the auditor deemed this to be an excellent result as they are all very easy fixes.  We have been given clear guidance to be able to achieve zero non-conformances in the future.

“I am incredibly proud of our team to have achieved such a stellar set of results through these three audits.  We are always seeking to improve what we do and achieve the best outcomes for our customers, our employees and the environment.”