Cronin & Sutton Consulting, John Cradock Ltd, King Environmental Services and David Walsh Civil Engineering were some of the engineering and construction companies among the 40 private and public sector organisations receiving awards last week (26 June) from the Minister of State for Small Business, John Perry. The leading companies joined the likes of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, Electric Ireland, National Learning Network and Danone Baby Nutrition in achieving world-class levels of excellence under a range of headings including Environmental Management, Quality Management, Excellence Through People, and Food Safety Systems, which is the most recent addition to the National Standards Authority of Ireland’s (NSAI’s) certification schemes. “Standards affect every aspect of our day-to-day lives and are vital in the current economic climate. Implementing them in business enables companies to improve their efficiency and competitiveness, minimise waste and reduce costs,” said Perry. “There’s a return on investment – certification to standards help to create a level playing field, allowing SMEs to compete with much larger companies, attract new customers, and access global markets.” Cronin & Sutton Consulting were certified to Environmental Management Systems, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, Quality Management Systems and Energy Management Systems, while John Cradock Ltd was certified to Environmental Management Systems. King Environmental Services was certified to Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems and Quality Management Systems and David Walsh Civil Engineering was accredited to Quality Management Systems. The standards awarded were: ISO 14001 – Environmental Management Systems; OHSAS 18001 – Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems; ISO 9001 – Quality Management; ETP – Excellence Through People; ISO 50001 – Energy Management; ISO 22000 – Food Management Systems. In 2012, NSAI published more than 1,600 standards and sold over 12,000 publications across a broad range of sectors, bringing their library to in excess of 23,000. NSAI invites members of the business community and the general public to get involved in the development of standards by visiting Your Standards, Your Say on www.nsai.ie.