Certified by DEKRA Certification GmbH, the independent provider of auditing and certification services, GEDA has successfully extended its existing certifications in quality management (ISO 9001:2015) and environmental management (ISO 14001:2015) as part of a monitoring audit.

Furthermore, the occupational health and safety management system of the medium-sized company meets all the requirements of the internationally recognised standard ISO 45001, which from 2021 will replace the previously valid occupational safety standard, OHSAS 18001.

ISO 45001 regulates occupational health and safety
ISO 45001 is the first international certification standard to be published which defines the worldwide applicable requirements for an industrial safety management system. The central points of the new standard include the integration of industrial health and safety into all business processes and also a reinforcement of management awareness in relation to occupational health and safety. Furthermore, not only should internal company risks be determined and assessed, it is more a question of identifying and promoting opportunities for better health and safety.

GEDA's managing director, Johann Sailer, considers the positive assessment as a logical step forward for the future security of the company. “Specifically in the project business when awarding contracts, more and more customers are emphasising the importance of their suppliers meeting these requirements and being able to produce the relevant certifications. However, suppliers must act flexibly yet also ensure process safety, regulated processes, high quality and therefore worldwide customer satisfaction,” explains Sailer. GEDA already pursued the conversion to ISO 45001 as part of the recertification process in 2017, but had to wait another year as the standard had not yet been adopted.
As well as the company head office in Asbach-Bäumenheim in Bavaria, GEDA also has other German subsidiaries in Gera (Thuringia) and Bergkamen (North Rhine-Westphalia). As part of the audit process all three subsidiaries were audited in relation to their implementation of occupational health and safety measures and comprehensive quality standards in all areas of the company.

“Through the recertification of the existing certificates, we are continuing to safeguard transparent and uniform standards across all our sites and departments,” added Dirk Hoppe, head of the Integrated Management System at GEDA. The company is one of the very first companies to have completed the conversion to the new ISO 45001 standard for occupational health and safety. “This step has enabled us to focus even more closely on the health and safety of our employees,” continued Dirk Hoppe.

GEDA was successful in all three German sites and was officially presented with the corresponding certification by Mr. Robert Zizler (DEKRA) on 23.11.2018. Compliance with the specifications shall be guaranteed by DEKRA in annual monitoring audits.