Abstract: . . .  Holthuis, manager of LRQA in the Netherlands, comments: “Customers decide for themselves when to seek assessment and in every market you have front runners and followers. We are advising companies that it would be in their own interest to comply as soon as possible. Companies that make clear they are compliant will be able to deliver on time without any technical problems.” Martin Gibson, manager for the UK and Irish Republic, agrees: “Companies should also bear in mind that products currently in development may need to be designed with the requirements of the PED in mind – particularly if they are to fully recoup the resources spent in development and avoid the potential additional expense involved in a re-design.” The directive makes provision for notified bodies to assess conformity of products and/ or quality management systems. A notified body is an independent third party which is appointed by its government to carry out conformity assessments. Lloyd’s Register together with its subsidiaries LRQA and Stoomwezen BV in the Netherlands offer a comprehensive range of services for companies looking to meet the requirements of the new directive. The breadth of experience and services available within the LR Group means it has the capability to cover all aspects of the PED’s conformity assessment modules, including: • material approval • design examination • type examination • quality system approval • product inspection, test and certification • approval of joining personnel . . .
. . .  three years. Timothy O’Brien is the director of the Environmental Quality Office, based in Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. Barbara Goldsack, editor of the LRQ Review, visited Tim to learn more about Ford’s approach and to find out his personal views about the international environmental standard. F A C E T O F A C E ‘‘ ’’ Q A Q A Q A Ford Motor Company Left: Michael Rokosz of the Chemistry department carries out research into using recycled glass to replace the mineral filler component of certain plastic vehicle elements. LRQA REVIEW (September) 29/11/99 12:32 pm Page 4 Page 5 L R Q A 3 What motivated Ford to implement a company-wide environmental management system? This started in 1995 as a result of an initiative known as Ford 2000 which was Ford’s attempt to globalise the business, rather than just operating internationally. The globalisation process brought us closer to our environmental colleagues in other parts of the world, and particularly those in Europe. This made us more aware of the existence of environmental management system standards and, more specifically ISO 14001, which were more widely recognised in Europe. We also had the need, because of globalisation, to develop a systematic management system for the environmental affairs of the company. In the past these were dealt with on a plant by plant basis or, at best, on a national basis. We felt that ISO 14001 would provide us with a process for identifying and managing the environmental aspects of our . . .
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