acquired

As a leading provider of highly integrated photonics solutions for optical communication products, EFFECT Photonics has acquired the globally recognized ISO 9001 certification, reaffirming the high-quality standards it adheres to across its operations. The company’s Brixham and Paignton sites were awarded the ISO 9001:2015 certification by the British Standards Institute (BSI). The scope of the certification covers the areas of design and development, including sales and marketing, and the manufacture and testing of products used in communication systems. ISO 9001 certifies that a management system, manufacturing process, service, or documentation procedure has all the requirements for standardization and quality assurance. Using ISO 9001 helps ensure that customers get consistent, good quality products and services. “The ISO certification assures that EFFECT Photonics as a company has structure and the right systems in place. This offers our customers confidence that the company can produce products that meet their requirements because that is the ultimate goal of a quality system,” says Karen Whicker, Quality Manager, EFFECT Photonics. “It also expands our potential to venture into other segments, as it is valuable within various industries, such as the automotive and the medical,” Whicker notes. Acquiring the certification process began in 2020 by preparing all the necessary documentation and setting up the right systems for the review. In a two-step process, in April and September 2021, EFFECT Photonics received all the necessary approvals. Through this procedure, the company was able to showcase its vision, mission and values, which comprise its quality policy and its future objectives. “It is these professional systems that help us boost our credibility as a value player. There is an expectation from the end-customer point of view that we are certified for having these scalable systems and that they have been put in place for future growth,” Whicker says. “One of the things that we had to do for every process was put together a map. For each of the different business processes we have, there is a document that can guide you like a map so that you can see which systems we use, which documents, and which resources are applicable. It also explains how we measure the processes to see if they’re effective.” Maintaining the certification, which lasts for three years, is an ongoing process, that involves frequent surveillance audits. Every three years the approval process is repeated and once the quality standards are assured, the certificate is reissued. Tags: acquired, certification, commitment, EFFECT Photonics, globally, highly integrated photonics solutions, ISO 9001, ISO 9001 certification, leading, operations, optical communication products, provider, quality, reaffirms, recognized