As well as focusing on COVID-secure safety measures across all operations, we’ve invested heavily in enhancing our capabilities in 2020.  From expanding our UK service coverage, growing our range of non-weighing solutions to our continued focus on quality and safety via our certifications and accreditations, we round up our key milestones from 2020 that can help you achieve greater compliance and efficiencies in 2021.

UK-wide service coverage

While our UK growth plans were already gathering pace, Covid-19 helped to accelerate change with the surge in demand for weighing support from critical industries including Pharmaceuticals, Food and Beverages as well as Chemicals.  In response to the demand, we bolstered our existing team of field engineers and sales specialists by welcoming five engineers and an additional regional sales manager.

Operating from their dedicated regions, our network of engineers can provide cross-industry, UK-wide service coverage with rapid on-site support in a matter of hours*.  Therefore, ensuring optimal uptime with access to specialist weighing support at your most critical moments.

Going beyond weighing

2020 saw us extend our services beyond weighing.  As part of our one-stop ethos, we broadened our service portfolio to support customers working in laboratory and industrial environments with non-weighing calibrations, software integrations plus the sourcing of equipment and consumables.

Fully managed by Northern Balance and provided by our family of trusted partners, all non-weighing services are delivered in line with our stringent quality standards in one, fast and seamless process. So, you can rest assured of consistent quality and convenience across your supply chain.

24/7 access to non-weighing certificates

With speed and convenience in mind, 2020 saw the introduction of 24/7 access to non-weighing certificates via our online asset management system to complement our weighing offering.  Available online within 48 hours or less, any previous burden associated with misplaced certificates is a thing of the past.

As with your weighing certificates, you can search for your instrument by brand name, model or serial number and check when calibrations and tests have taken place. With options to download, save or print documentation free of charge and at your convenience, you can be sure paperwork is always readily available.

Over three decades of quality assurance

We understand that quality and consistency are paramount in all industries.  So, we’ve continued to invest in our people and processes to ensure that these elements are maintained and underpin every aspect of our Business.

In 2020, we achieved our 32nd consecutive year of collective ISO 9001:2015 certification and ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation.  The steps we’ve taken to provide you with continuous assurance include:

  • Annual assessments of calibration procedures and engineers’ technical competencies against UKAS standards
  • Ongoing monitoring of test weights that are traceable to the National Physical Laboratory (NPL)
  • Internal auditing of certification by our in-house Quality team for adherence to our rigorous quality management system, which satisfies the requirements of both ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 17025:2017.

By focusing on these areas, we can be sure we’re meeting your exacting needs while satisfying the stringent requirements of the National Measure Office (NMO) and UKAS.

A decade of SafeContractor accreditation

2020 awarded us our tenth SafeContractor accreditation and is a testament to our team’s commitment to fulfilling our health and safety responsibilities.  Our long-standing accreditation demonstrates our strong safety record as well as our knowledge and understanding of risk management and safety at work.

Through our accreditation, you can quickly assess our health and safety competence to ensure compliance with your legal obligations.  Therefore, saving you time reviewing multiple certificates/ documentation.  Plus, giving you robust confidence that we’ve been assessed independently for competence to maintain a safe working environment in both non-hazardous and hazardous environments.

Committed to serving you well

While the start to 2021 isn’t what we’d wished for, we remain wholly committed to providing our customers with a first-class service.  By continuing to review your needs and subsequently adapting and strengthening our services, we can ensure you get the best value and expert support.  If you have any questions or any suggestions on how we can further improve our services, please contact us.

*Subject to support tier.