HOUSTON, Sept. 8, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Becoming the first water company in the United States to obtain dual registrations simultaneously, Veolia Water Indianapolis LLC (VWI) has been awarded with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2000 Quality Standard and 14001:1996 Environmental Standard registrations.
Issued by registrar NSF International Strategic Registrations, Ltd. (NSF-ISR), the joint registrations were awarded after a stringent 184-hour audit of VWI's operations.
"Becoming the first U.S. water company to obtain dual ISO registrations simultaneously is a major accomplishment, and I would like to express my sincere congratulations to the entire team at VWI," said Christian Lupo, general manager of NSF-ISR, (www.nsf-isr.org) a global leader in management system registrations. "Receiving both ISO registrations demonstrates their ultimate commitment to outstanding customer satisfaction, the environment and social responsibility."
ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 represent internationally recognized standards that incorporate quality management principles and practices. Together, the registrations are central to delivering superior service to customers through faster, more consistent communication and safer, more reliable service.
"VWI's ability to secure both certifications is indicative of the success of the public-private partnership we've created, which provides quality water service and stable rates while maintaining local control," said Mayor Bart Peterson. "The tremendous effort VWI has put forth to achieve these certifications demonstrates their level of service to central Indiana residents and their dedication to our overall quality of life."
To secure the registrations, NSF-ISR spent 184 hours auditing VWI operations, which included a review of more than 280 detailed procedures, work instructions, reference documents, manuals and process controls that were developed to maximize operational excellence and efficiency. Throughout the process, nearly all of VWI's 400 employees were either directly or indirectly involved in obtaining the registrations which allow the company to:
-- Further improve the company's environmental measures through expanded recycling and reuse of materials;
-- Streamline operations to prevent duplicative efforts and improve customer service; and,
-- Maximize water quality through stringent monitoring and controlling of critical processes to ensure consistent delivery of high-quality drinking water.
"Receiving ISO certification reflects our commitment to customer satisfaction, consistency and continual improvement," said Tim Hewitt, president and operations manager for VWI. "We've established the highest level of consistency in our operations to ensure quality, dependable water service to our customers in the most environmentally responsible manner."
ISO 9001 and 14001 registrations were developed by the ISO to provide universal standards that serve as a foundation for quality management and environmental responsibility.
The ISO 9001 registration ensures that operational and customer-related processes are controlled, measured and consistently reviewed. ISO 14001 registration helps companies improve overall environmental performance by addressing environmental issues on a systematic, in-depth basis. The certification also enables a company to demonstrate compliance with all local, state and federal environmental regulations and embraces policies that are conducive to the environmental health of the community.
VWI manages all operations, maintenance and customer service facets of the city's waterworks system. With a service area that encompasses parts of nine central Indiana counties, Indianapolis Water serves approximately 1.1 million people and employs more than 400 people. It includes four surface water treatment facilities with daily water production averaging 138 million gallons of water a day (MGD) and peak demand capacity in excess of 200 MGD. The city acquired the waterworks system from NiSource and VWI, a subsidiary of Veolia Water North America, began managing the system on May 1, 2002.
Veolia Water North America is the leading provider of comprehensive water and wastewater services to municipal and industrial customers, providing services to approximately 14 million people in more than 600 communities. The company is part of Veolia Water, the No. 1 water company in the world serving more than 110 million customers. Veolia Water is the Water Division of Veolia Environment, one of the largest environmental services company in the world with more than 252,000 employees in over 80 countries and annual revenues of more than $33.6 billion. Visit the North American web site at www.veoliawaterna.com and the global web site at www.veoliawater.com.
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