Clearview North April 2014 - Issue 149 | Page 87

BUSINESSNEWS DOUBLE STANDARDS - OR NO STANDARDS? There are many manufacturing companies involved in the glazing industry from extrusion companies, glass processors to window and door frame manufacturers. But at the window production level, not all are working to the same standards, says Leon Day, Universal Arches MD. “As an industry we should all be working to the same standards, yet this is often not the case,” he explains. “While start-up costs are very modest for fabricators, the time, cost and effort to adopt world-class processes and procedures are considerable - yet they do help to separate the good, the bad and the ugly.’ Leon admits that while most of the companies at the top of the supply chain carry internationally recognisable quality standards, these become more diluted towards the consumer end. “Universal Arches is the only bending and arching company to carry ISO: 9001:2008 and in its last five audits had zero non-conformities, an incredible achievement,” Leon adds. More recently at Universal Arches, both the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the local Fire Officer arrived unannou