McLaughlin & Harvey has secured BS 99001 certification, a British Standard tailored to the built environment that supplements the global ISO 9001 quality management framework with sector-specific requirements.

Introduced in 2022, BS 99001 builds on ISO 9001:2015 and was devised to address the construction sector’s distinct challenges, including those highlighted by the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the Hackitt Report. It emphasises areas such as competence and design to strengthen safety, sustainability and overall quality at a detailed project level.

Derek Geyer, Head of Quality at McLaughlin & Harvey, said: "This is a very proud moment for us as we have recently seen that BS 99001 is being asked for in tender submissions, PQQs and Frameworks and although it’s still to go through the official UKAS process, we didn’t want to wait to do an overhaul of our management system and to prepare for a fundamental shift in how Quality is managed in construction.

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"To be in the top three in the UK to achieve this shows our strong leadership, maturity and culture in the built environment."

The journey began with a gap analysis of BS 99001 to map the requirements of each additional clause. Collaborative sessions were held with teams across the business to align processes and practices.

Certification body NQA carried out a Stage 1 Audit of the existing quality management system, which identified actions. For Stage 2, the auditor assessed real-world implementation at the Wester Hailes High School new-build Passivhaus scheme, delivered through the SCAPE Framework for the City of Edinburgh Council, touring the site and speaking with team members about the quality controls in place.

NQA then reviewed the evidence in detail before issuing the final report and certification to McLaughlin & Harvey.

Owen Main, Lead Auditor at McLaughlin & Harvey, said: "Within McLaughlin & Harvey, we have a strong quality culture embedded in the business and this certification further reinforces our commitment to upholding the highest standards of quality management in everything we do. This certification is a result of the hard work and dedication of several departments. In reviewing our project at Wester Hailes High School, we demonstrated a clear approach to delivering quality throughout the entire project life cycle. As proud holders of BS 99001, this will provide greater assurances to our clients of the level of quality expected and maintained within McLaughlin & Harvey."