We are proud to announce that Primera’s Quality and Environmental Management System has recently been certified to the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management and the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management standards respectively.

Primera achieved initial certification of our Quality Management System to the ISO 9001 standard in August of 2007. We initially pursued this endeavor in 2006 because of our belief that we would grow our business by an unwavering commitment to quality, customer satisfaction, and continual improvement. Our investment in repeatable, effective processes to enhance our services and customer experience has shaped us into the premier engineering and consulting firm that you see today.

Examples of our quality management processes and tools include an action item database to identify, track and implement corrective actions and opportunities for improvement; client specific project management plans and design checklists; a documented process for controlling preparation, review, approval, and issuance of design deliverables as well as internal templates, standards, and instructions; and quarterly internal audits to ensure our quality processes are fully deployed and effective.

With the recent update to the ISO 9001:2015 standard, we have an increased focus on identifying and managing relevant stakeholder interests, internal and external issues, and risks and opportunities to meeting client expectations as well as our own quality objectives.

New to this year as well is the addition of our environmental processes to our management system which demonstrates our contribution to the protection of the environment as it relates to our business processes. Some of the added benefits of this include protecting the environment by preventing or mitigating adverse environmental impacts and enhancing environmental performance. Through the development and implementation of a management system certified to the standard we have cemented our commitment to protect the environment from harm from our business operations and project delivery through predictable and effective processes.

Overseeing our Quality and Environmental Management System and the ISO certification process is no easy task. However, Primera understands that exceptional solutions and enhanced customer service is integral to the success of the firm. “We work extremely hard at developing our people, plans, processes, and tools in an integrated approach, and making these investments a priority,” explains Chief Strategy Officer David Tufte, PE, PMP. “Each and every day we strive to make Primera a successful organization for our employees, partners, and clients. The rigor and discipline required to meet the requirements of the standard is reflective of our core values that have made us so successful for the past 30 years.”

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 162 national standards bodies. Through its members, it brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market relevant International Standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges. ISO 9001:2015 is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement.