As a proud Hampshire-based company, we at NPT Management Systems like to do what we can to support the local community in Southampton and the surrounding area. In addition to working with numerous local businesses and helping them to achieve ISO 9001 certification, we have provided hi-vis jackets to the Hamble River Sailing Club's Junior Sailing group; we have sponsored events at the River Hamble Games; and, most recently, we lent our support to Hamble Lifeboat by sponsoring a page in their 2018 calendar.

Images from Hamble Lifeboat's Facebook page

Established in 1968, Hamble Lifeboat do great work saving lives on the Solent coast. According to their website, they attend 100 incidents per year on average, operating in an area 15 miles long and 10 miles across at its widest point. The Hamble Lifeboat team work at all hours of the day and night, 365 days a year, even in the worst weather conditions.

NPT Management Systems have sponsored the January page of this year's calendar, which is now on sale for just £5. All proceeds go towards helping Hamble Lifeboat save lives and continue their good work for years to come.

We are proud to support Hamble Lifeboat and Hampshire's thriving marine sector at large. Click here to learn more about our work with marine businesses in Southampton and across the South of England.

To purchase your Hamble Lifeboat calendar, email liam.dobbin@hamblelifeboat.co.uk. The calendar is also available to purchase from the lifeboat station in Southampton (weekends only).

We'd like to extend a hearty congratulations to our clients Imperial Car Supermarkets, who attended the 2017 Used Car Awards last week and went home with the very prestigious 'Used Car Supermarket of the Year' award.

This video (posted on the Imperial Cars Facebook page) shows the moment the company discovered they had won:

Our work with Imperial Car Supermarkets

Back in early 2016, NPT Management Systems helped Imperial Car Supermarkets to develop and implement an effective quality management system (QMS) and achieve ISO 9001 certification via a UKAS-accredited certification body. A year later, we helped them to pass their first surveillance audit. We are now helping the company to transition to ISO 9001:2015, the latest version of the standard.

It's been a real thrill to see Imperial Cars go from one achievement to another this year, and we're very pleased to have contributed to their success. Congratulations again to Imperial Car Supermarkets on this well-deserved recognition of their outstanding customer service - we hope your 2018 is every bit as good as your 2017 has been!

If you need assistance implementing a quality management system and achieving ISO 9001 certification, please contact NPT Management Systems today. Our quality management experts will be more than happy to discuss your requirements.

Recruitment agencies work with both employers and jobseekers to make sure that the right people are matched to the right roles. Recruitment is a very competitive industry with a huge number of agencies constantly vying for work, and so recruitment companies have to provide a truly high-quality service in order to be successful.

This is where ISO 9001 certification can be hugely beneficial. ISO 9001 is a universal standard for quality management systems across all sectors, and implementing an ISO 9001-compliant QMS within your recruitment company is an especially effective means of ensuring the quality of your services and the efficiency of your processes.

The benefits of ISO 9001 certification for recruitment agencies

• Enhance the quality of your offering and achieve continuous improvement
  
  
• Boost customer/client satisfaction (this can lead to additional work as people will be more likely to recommend your agency to others)
  
  
• Streamline your processes and minimise waste within your organisation

Achieving the ISO 9001 standard will also give potential clients extra peace of mind when they're considering working with your agency, as it demonstrates your organisation's commitment to quality, outstanding customer service and continuous improvement.

If you would like to achieve ISO 9001 certification, please contact NPT Management Systems to discuss your requirements. We have helped numerous UK recruitment agencies to get certified quickly and with minimal hassle.

Image courtesy of pexels.com

The UK manufacturing industry is an incredibly broad field encompassing all sorts of different organisations. Regardless of what you manufacture, however, there is a very good chance that achieving ISO 9001 certification would be a huge boon to your company.

Implementing an effective quality management system (QMS) and gaining ISO accreditation is a process that can massively benefit any business, no matter how big or small. Quality is a particularly crucial concern for manufacturing companies, and an ISO-compliant QMS will ensure that:

• The quality of your output is consistently high
• Your clients/customers get the best possible service
• Your business is continuously improving

Here at NPT Management Systems, we specialise in helping organisations to meet the requirements of ISO 9001 and get certified via UKAS-accredited awarding bodies. We have worked with numerous manufacturing companies across the South of England - here are some choice reviews from our Testimonials page:

"Cellular Developments are specialists in manufacturing components in solid and sponge rubbers. To ensure that we conform to customer requirements and continually improve our business processes, we use the help of NPT Management Systems. Their professional, can-do approach is an asset to our company."

- Terry Forster, Cellular Developments Ltd

"GT Tooling is a precision mechanical engineering company specialising in the design and manufacture of injection mould tools. NPT Management Systems helped us to implement a QMS and achieve ISO 9001 registration. We would recommend NPT to any company looking for a professional quality consultant."

- Greg Simmonds, GT Tooling Ltd

If you would like to find out more about the assistance we can provide to manufacturing companies who are seeking to gain ISO 9001 certification, please contact NPT Management Systems today.

Read more: Why is ISO 9001 Certification Important?

Image courtesy of pixabay.com

Last month, credit reporting agency Equifax reported a data breach that exposed the personal data of more than 100 million consumers. This would be worrying enough on its, but perhaps the most alarming part of this story is the fact that the attack in question reportedly began back in May, but wasn't observed until late July.

Among the information affected by security breach were people's:

• Names
• Birth dates
• Addresses
• Card details

The fallout from this incident has been catastrophic for Equifax. A number of lawsuits have been filed against the company, and Equifax shares dropped by 13% the after the news broke. The breach is still being closely followed by media outlets internationally, and the former Equifax CEO Richard Smith has even appeared in front of the United States Congress.

All of this demonstrates yet again that information security is an absolutely critical concern for businesses in the 21st century. Even small enterprises should take data security very seriously, ideally implementing a strong information security management system (ISMS) and seeking ISO 27001 certification to ensure that robust security processes are in place.

If you are looking to achieve ISO 27001 certification, please contact NPT Management Systems today for expert advice and assistance with planning and implementing your ISMS.