Northumberland-based cleaning company, NECS, has seen its ambitious growth plans come to fruition and now operates nationally after adopting a raft of management standards with the support of Absolute Quality Consultancy & Training.
The firm, which was founded in 2006 by Gary Breach, provides commercial cleaning and facilities management services and now operates from regional hubs in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh, London, throughout the South, as well as from its headquarters in Cramlington.
Putting in place business management systems and achieving accreditation for a range of ISO standards has ensured that the company established a solid risk-based strategy aligned with its strategic goals to manage its rapid growth and development.
Gary said: “Initially, I was keen to have management systems to help us win tenders and quotes, but they have become so much more. The integrated management system has given us comprehensive principles and guidelines from which we have developed strong processes to identify opportunities and threats and effectively manage and adapt to risks.”
The company, which operate in many sectors including education, healthcare, offices and retail, has seen its turnover increase by a third reaching £1.5million and has expanded its workforce from 150 to 220 members of staff over the last few years.
Gary said: “We appointed Absolute Quality Consultancy & Training around six years ago to build a bespoke management system and over this time they’ve guided us through a complex yet exciting journey to see our expansion plans succeed.
“Not only are Absolute Quality an excellent fit with us, as their dynamic work ethos and personality match ours, but the system is fit for purpose and up-to-date at all times. It’s much more than a paper exercise – we live and breathe it!”
ECS have implemented and achieved accreditation in ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, and BS OHSAS 18001:2007. They have already transitioned to the new ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards and are seeking to upgrade to ISO 45001 in place of BS OHSAS 18001:2007 within the next year.
Helen Short, managing director and founder of Absolute Quality Consultancy & Training said: “NECS has always had a vision to expand and helping them to achieve their goals by designing their bespoke integrated management systems has been enormously satisfying.
“It’s a pleasure to work with a company that is passionate about following best practice principles and I look forward to seeing them enjoy much more future success!”
Gary concluded: “The management system informs us how the business is performing so we can easily spot patterns of activity and behaviour and react accordingly. It’s an incredibly valued system that functions well, has made NECS robust and resilient, and has been the driving force behind our success.”
