BSI Case Study - Excellence isn't an extra for us, it's everyday

Eland Cables are the subject of a BSI Case Study as we hold our ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001 quality accreditations through them as well as holding the BSI Kitemark for Cable Testing Verification and the BSI RoHS Trusted Kitemark.

BSI interviewed Deborah Graham-Wilson, Eland Cables' Head of Marketing:

‘Excellence isn’t an extra for us, it’s everyday’
How BSI is helping Eland Cables, a global cable and cable accessories supplier, achieve its strategic goals

“BSI is the world’s foremost standards organisation — it’s important to us to work with a company that’s as committed to standards as we are.”

Excellence as standard
An expert in its industry, the company is often relied upon for extensive technical support throughout projects. Deborah Graham-Wilson sums up the Eland Cables service:

“We’re a global supplier working with consultants, contractors and electrical wholesalers to deliver quality-assured cables and accessories against agreed timelines, alongside offering technical support and experienced project management – all the elements needed to help a project run smoothly. As a privately-owned business with just over 150 employees, we’re agile enough to respond quickly to our customers’ needs.”
Product testing, quality-assurance protocols and verification are part of Eland Cables’ ‘corporate DNA’, and the company was the pilot for the BSI Kitemark for Cable Testing Verification, introduced in 2018.

“The BSI Cable Testing Verification Kitemark provides a visible mark of assurance that the cable meets the highest possible standards,” Graham-Wilson explains. “It’s a sign to the customer that excellence for us isn’t an extra, it’s standard, everyday. Through the rigorous Kitemark testing programme, testing the component layers of the cable, we can demonstrate the cable is compliant and meets the high-performance levels our customers expect.”

Working with BSI
Eland Cables also holds the Kitemark for awareness and implementation of RoHS, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, and has worked with BSI since the mid-1990s. It is certified by the company to the international quality management standards ISO 9001 (2015), ISO 14001 and ISO 18001.
Why has it chosen the company over another certification body? “It’s pretty straightforward really,” says Graham-Wilson. “BSI is the world’s foremost standards organisation; its name is widely recognised, both in the UK and internationally — the trust it engenders is universal.”

There are other benefits to working with BSI, too. “They’ve taken the time to get to know our business, and they work in partnership with us. They feed important information back to us, and they take a collaborative approach,” Graham-Wilson adds. “They’ve become an invaluable external resource.”

The future
BSI supports business growth and development, both at home and overseas. Eland Cables’ strategic goals include to be recognized as being at the forefront of cable compliance and as a trusted brand in markets around the world. “It’s about being better known and having a greater reach, and the BSI Kitemark fits into that,” Graham-Wilson says. “Quality shouldn’t come at an additional cost. The Kitemark is a highly respected third-party quality mark, and the Kitemark for Cable Testing Verification helps differentiate us in the marketplace.”

Eland Cables has no doubt its partnership with BSI will continue. They have already started to prepare to migrate to ISO 45001, the latest standard for occupational health and safety management, which replaced 18001 in 2018. “Having the latest QMS standards is part of our drive for continuous improvement,” Graham-Wilson continues. “BSI are actively engaged with us; they support our goals and ambitions, helping us underline our commitment to quality and compliance with accreditations that have widespread recognition and trust. We’re about excellence, they’re about excellence — it’s as simple as that.”