AUSTIN, TX, Sept. 29, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- KEMA-Registered Quality Inc., an ANSI-RAB accredited registrar, approved National Instruments's manufacturing operations for certification to the ISO 14001:1996 environmental management system (EMS) standard. By certifying to this standard, NI commits to a continual improvement system designed to increase the efficiency of the company's processes as well as the effectiveness of its environmental performance.
"National Instruments has demonstrated a positive culture of teamwork and cooperation and a clear commitment to continually improving environmental performance," said Jon Shaver, KEMA auditor. "NI has a ready understanding of the concepts of its EMS because it reflects systematic practices that have been in place for several years at its manufacturing operations."
NI has reviewed metrics on waste generation, air emissions and water effluent for years at its corporate manufacturing operations and has tracked its progress toward its environmental objectives. Now, through the ISO 14001:1996 certification, an independent organization will periodically audit the company's EMS to ensure the company is conforming to these standards.
"By conforming to the ISO 14001 standard, National Instruments has developed effective environmental processes based on metrics we have tracked and continually improved upon for years now," said Bill Ratfield, NI director of global manufacturing. "Many of these processes have been in effect and have generated positive results at our NI corporate headquarters manufacturing operations. We now have auditors that review our processes every month to ensure that we are adhering to the environmental requirements set forth for certification."
The ISO 14001:1996 standard specifies a framework of control for an EMS and the supporting audit program and applies to those environmental aspects over which the organization has control and can influence. It also is the standard against which it is currently possible to be certified by an external certification authority. NI manufacturing operations in Debrecen, Hungary, was certified to the standard in January 2003.
About National Instruments
National Instruments (www.ni.com) is a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation -- a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists in industry, government and academia approach measurement and automation. Leveraging the PC and its related technologies, virtual instrumentation increases productivity and lowers costs through easy-to-integrate software, such as the NI LabVIEW graphical development environment, and modular hardware, such as PXI modules for data acquisition, instrument control and machine vision. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 3,100 employees and direct operations in 41 countries. In 2003, the company sold products to more than 25,000 companies in 90 countries. For the past five years, FORTUNE magazine named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America.
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