BSI Case Study Produmax		Certification to EN 9100:2016
Quality Management Systems

Produmax is the first UK company to achieve BSI
certification to the key aerospace quality standard
EN 9100:2016“This standard is vital for ourbusiness as it provides ourcustomers with the comfort that
we deliver quality products on time,
and that we have the necessary
processes in place to manage andreduce risks.”
Jeremy Ridyard,
Managing Director, Produmax

Benefits of certification

At a glance• Meets aerospace industry
requirements for an effective, auditedquality management system

Produmax is a specialist UK
manufacturing company with expertisein high precision engineering. Operating
globally, it works in partnershipwith many of the most prestigious
aerospace manufacturers to produce
high quality machined components andassemblies. It is the first UK company
to be independently assessed by BSI toachieve certification to EN 9100:2016
Quality Management Systems –requirements for aviation, space anddefence organizations – and is also
the first organization globally to beregistered on the Online Aerospace
Supplier Information System (OASIS)
to EN 9100. Certification by BSI to thenew standard clearly demonstrates
Produmax’s commitment to quality andcustomer satisfaction.

• Ensures regulatory compliance andhelps to mitigate risk
• Improves efficiency, saving time,money and resources• Involves, engages and motivates staff• Facilitates continual improvement andmonitoring of processes• Increases market opportunities bydemonstrating excellent levels oftraceability throughout the supplychain• Boosts performance and provides acompetitive edge

Customer backgroundbusiness management, and having the latest
version would give us an advantage over ourcompetitors.”

Produmax was originally formed in 1966.
In 1997, current Managing Director Jeremy
Ridyard led a management buy-out andoversaw a move away from generalengineering into the commercial aerospaceand defence markets. Today, around 90% of its
products are exported around the world.
The company has grown to 58 employees, withcurrent turnover of over £7m and a target togrow by at least 10% per year. Expansion has
led to a recent move to a new purpose-built
manufacturing unit in Baildon, between Leeds
and Bradford.
Produmax was one of the first 40 companies
to receive funding under the UK governmentbacked Sharing in Growth programme,
enabling it to gear up fast to fulfil the needs ofits customers.

Why certification?
EN 9100 specifies the requirements forimplementing, maintaining and continuallyimproving a Quality Management System(QMS) for organizations in aviation, space anddefence. EN 9100 is the European equivalentof the internationally-recognized AS 9100 in
North America and JISQ 9100 in Japan, and isstrongly supported and adhered to by major
aeronautics manufacturers, including Airbus,Boeing, GE Aviation and Rolls-Royce.
The recently revised EN 9100:2016 builds on
the latest version of QMS standard ISO 9001,which was updated in 2015 to include a HighLevel Structure (HLS). This features terms,
definitions, headings and text common to all
management system standards, and allows foreasier integration when implementing multiple
management systems.
EN 9100:2016 represents the latest
best practice for comprehensive quality
management in the aerospace industry.
Jeremy Ridyard explains, “This revised version
goes right to the heart of our vision, mission,values, strategic objectives, market analysis
and stakeholders, in much more detail thanpreviously. It’s all-encompassing, a kind of auditon all our business processes, not just qualitymanagement.”
He continues, “EN 9100 is non-negotiable in
the aerospace industry, so we made a strategic
decision to get on with transitioning to therevised version. We could see its requirements
made for robust processes and goodTransitioning to EN 9100:2016“When we started to look at transitioning,Sharing in Growth helped to prepare us.
The scheme was critical to how robust ourinternal processes were,” says Ridyard. “All theprocesses we had to put in place for Sharing inGrowth – strategy, business management andreporting – are totally relevant to the standard.”
In the new version of EN 9100, Produmax’s
senior management also has more explicit
involvement, with the company’s leadersrequired to ensure that the management
system is fully integrated throughout theorganization.
As Mark Gjessing, Produmax’s Quality
Assurance Manager, explains, “There’s more
focus on risk management, not just quality,
and more focus on buy-in from everyone.
Although it’s a quality management standard,
it’s morphed towards more of a business
management standard.”
Produmax has a strong culture of engagingthe whole workforce in relevant processes
and decisions. “In many companies the quality
management system is treated as a ‘bolt-on’,but we decided to start from scratch to ensure
we were fully prepared for the revision,” says
Gjessing. “We held company-wide presentations
and training, and conducted very thoroughinternal audits, involving people from different
departments. It’s really important for everyone
to understand all the nuts and bolts.”

Benefits of certification
Ridyard believes EN 9100:2016 is a great
tool for any organization seeking to enhancequality, customer satisfaction, continuallyimprove operations and demonstrate
Organizational Resilience. “With supply chainsbecoming more complex, the importance ofachieving, maintaining and improving quality isvital,” he says.
He continues, “In fact, you can’t get on to atender without it. For us, the benefits of EN
9100:2016 are inextricably linked to benefitsof Sharing in Growth, for which we won top
award for the integration of all our businessprocesses. Between the two, we have noticed
an increase in business. We’ve taken on threemajor new customers and we’re seeing much
more interest.”+44 345 080 9000
certification.sales@bsigroup.com
bsigroup.com

Produmax has figures to prove it. Turnover is
up 40%, the cost of ‘non-quality’ (componentsthat are not right first time) has halved,
operational efficiency has increased 20%, andits annual employee engagement survey score
has improved by 25% to 4.08 (where a scoreabove four is considered world-class).
Ridyard expands, “Being first across the line
illustrates the robustness of our processes,
especially as we’re a lot smaller and have fewer
resources than firms that didn’t get to thesame level. Some of our major customers are
keen to learn how we did it.”

BSI’s role
BSI had given Produmax a ‘heads-up’ about therequirements for transition to EN 9100:2016
during Produmax’s previous audit. Thereafter,
BSI was ready to assist with a team of expertly
trained auditors.
“I found BSI’s two-day transition course
invaluable,” says Gjessing. “Once I’d changed
our processes and quality manual, and carriedout training, we had a ‘remote readiness
conference call’ with BSI to flag up any issues.
BSI’s support was great because, no matter
how much preparation you’ve done, there’s
always something that needs clarification.”
Ridyard adds, “I’ve always viewed BSI as very
rigorous. We wanted the certification bodythat would give us the most thorough audit
and highlight the standard as it’s supposed
to be. BSI’s competence comes out on top.
And there’s also a level of reputation as acertification body that gives us confidence in
the BSI brand.”He sums up, “This standard is vital for ourbusiness as it provides our customers with thecomfort that we deliver quality products ontime, and that we have the necessary processes
in place to manage and reduce risks. We would
encourage other companies to make thetransition as early as possible.”Call +44 (0)345 080 9000

to find out how BSI canhelp your business makeexcellence a habit.

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Certification to EN 9100:2016 Quality Management Systems© BSI Group

BSI Case Study Produmax