UAE shipyard round up period of intensive auditing with new ISO certification and approval from American Petroleum Institute
Albwardy Marine Engineering and Damen Shipyards Sharjah have recently received two important quality management certifications. The first involves the new ISO 9001:2015 Management System Certificate awarded by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance (LRQA). The second is the American Petroleum Institute’s API Specification Q1.
At Albwardy Damen’s facilities in the Sharjah Hamriyah Free Zone of the United Arab Emirates, representatives from LRQA awarded the yard the ISO 9001:2015 certificate. The presentation was the result of an intensive nine man-day auditing conducted by seasoned LRQA representatives.
The accreditation represents an update from the existing 9001:2008 Standard to the new ISO 9001:2015 Standard. While there are numerous core changes to the certification, a key aspect is that the Quality Management System is now positioned in the company’s Business Assurance and Management System.
“We are pleased to see this revised ISO standard. The increased focus on risks and KPIs makes it more of a business tool. This is especially helpful in the current economic climate,” commented Lars Seistrup, managing director of Albwardy Damen. “We are very proud to receive this certification.”
The yard is one of the first organisations in the Middle East Region to achieve this certification.
The busy auditing period continued with a visit from the American Petroleum Institute (API) to review the yard’s management system which the outcome was the granting of the API Specification Q1. This verifies the yard’s quality management system regarding provision of ship repair services, shiplifting, transfer and undocking, building of new vessels and oil & gas unit repairs and conversions.
