Manchester-based plastics recycler Axion Polymers has reached a new milestone. The company has successfully achieved certification of its Competence Management System (CMS) from UKAS-accredited LRQA.
Axion Polymers’ Salford site refines recovered plastics from its Trafford Park facility to produce its range of locally sourced and high-quality Axpoly recycled PP and ABS engineering polymer grades. Axion Polymers’ parent company, S Norton & Co process end-of-life vehicles and WEEE, separating waste plastics for processing by Axion’s own plants and providing a secure in-feed material supply.
Competency management is a process that tests, measures, evaluates, and develops employees’ performance at the individual and organisational levels.
The Competence Management System is a scheme approved by Defra and Welsh Government that enables operators to demonstrate technically competent management of their permitted activities. To that end, a system is established and maintained that is certified by an independent and accredited third party as meeting the requirements of the standard set out in the CMS. Axion Polymers’ certification is valid for three years.
Having this management system-based Standard in place enables the company to meet the requirements for the Environment Agency’s permit for its site.
The system builds awareness of the EA permit requirements and the importance of compliance across the staff. As the entire Salford team is trained under the CMS, it removes the reliance on one individual for meeting the permit’s requirements.
“The implementation of the CMS has required comprehensive training of all site staff to ensure that they completely understand our permit and our environmental responsibilities,” said Laura Smith, Commercial Operations Manager at Axion Polymers.
Having the whole team trained in competency can reduce the risk of environmental incidents as employees can deal with environmental issues or emergency situations as they arise. Response times are reduced, and business continuity can be maintained.
“We are already seeing the benefits, despite its recent implementation, as all staff have an awareness, and they are contributing towards ensuring the site is compliant,” she added.
The CMS is applied systematically and is auditable through regular surveillance audits to ensure it remains effective. An added benefit is that it helps to identify training needs for competence in permitted operations. As the CMS can form part of the ISO14001 internationally accepted standard for environmental management, Axion Polymers’ next step will be to pursue that certification, as well.