Supply-Chain Services Inc. (SSI), an electronics recycling and technology asset recovery services provider based in Lombard, Ill., has announced that it has been simultaneously certified to five standards, including the Responsible Recycling (R2) certification and the Recycling Industry Operating Standard (RIOS).
The firm also has earned the OHSAS 18001 certification for occupational health and safety management and has been recertified to the ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 standards for environmental management and quality management, respectively.
SSI also holds NAID (National Association for Information Destruction) AAA Certification for data sanitization.
“Completing five certifications in one audit represents an unprecedented undertaking in our industry,” says Jade Lee, president and CEO of SSI. “Even the auditor who conducted our certification process marveled at our audacity to take on this extraordinary challenge, which demands full integration of the five certifications in order to pass.”
Lee adds, “Our ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 certifications were up for renewal, so we made the decision to undergo five certifications in one complete audit.
She adds that SSI “did not fully realize the tremendous challenge ahead of us,” in pursuing the five certifications simultaneously.
“The respected auditing firm SGS assigned us the most demanding auditor we have ever experienced,” Lee says. “The auditor required that we show evidence we have integrated the processes for all five certifications seamlessly, which meant our management and staff needed not only to understand every standard, but also to understand the relationship between the standards and how best to incorporate them into one integrated system.”
She concludes, “Being certified does not mean a company is perfect, but the standard requirements provide a platform and foundation from which we can quickly improve and meet customer demands in an ever-changing business environment.”