SARGENT Achieves ISO Certifications
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Offering customers unparalleled manufacturing quality and transparency in its sustainability efforts, SARGENT, an ASSA ABLOY Group company, recently attained two important industry certifications.
Both certifications, which are conferred by the International Organization for Standardization, also known as ISO (www.iso.org), require extensive and comprehensive review of manufacturing processes.
The first, ISO 14001, is one of a family of standards that help organizations minimize the environmental impact of their operations and processes; comply with applicable laws, regulations and requirements; and continually improve in both areas.
The second certification, ISO 9001, specifies requirements for a quality management system. The quality management system ensures that products and services meet customer and regulatory mandates.
SARGENT Production Services General Manager, Gary Gionet and Quality Manager, Andy Thayer, led the factory’s preparation for certification. Each certification required a qualified third party review of the factory. In addition, documentation of the facility’s policies and procedures were analyzed in areas pertaining to each standard. Finally, each standard required a week-long audit during which staff was interviewed and records were reviewed to ensure that practices align with the provided documentation. By meeting the standards of both certifications SARGENT guarantees a set level of consistency and quality control in the manufacturing process.
Bill Grambo, General Manager, SARGENT, who led the process of attaining the certification, explained that the impetus behind the effort was twofold.
“First, our customers have asked about it,” he said. “Today’s customers want to know that they’re investing in the highest degree of quality the market can offer. These certifications offer third-party validation of our environmentally sound practices as well as our manufacturing processes.”
The second driving force, he said, is SARGENT’s commitment to ongoing and continuous improvement. Both standards require that commitment. To attain ISO 14001, for example, SARGENT had to formulate plans, initiatives and programs designed to reduce harmful environmental impact year over year. There is a continuous improvement component to ISO 9001 as well.
“The ISO 14001 certification aligns directly with our ongoing initiatives to develop and maintain responsible manufacturing processes. Sustainable products start with designing and building products in a way that reflect the standards we are seeking to achieve and provide to customers. This certification reaffirms our commitment to constant improvement in this area,” stated Aaron Smith, Director of Sustainable Building Solutions, ASSA ABLOY.
“We consider these certifications imperative,” Grambo said. “To ensure that we are manufacturing products of the highest quality possible and that we are consistently good environmental stewards. We plan to have yearly audits for both certifications going forward.”
Card Readers Take a Hit, Keep on Working
Sunnyvale, Calif., USA - Guardian vandal-resistant and Gibraltar bullet-resistant contactless proximity card readers from Farpointe Data, a DORMA Group Company, are proving ideal for installations where more durability is required than with a standard proximity reader. They are becoming big hits at schools, universities, correctional institutions, housing authorities, factories, hospitals and other locales where RFID proximity and smart card readers can take a beating.
"The quality, durability and reliability of Farpointe Data’s Guardian and Gibraltar Series Readers translate into significant financial advantages," advises Scott Lindley, Farpointe Data president. "In situations that would damage conventional readers, rugged Guardian and Gibraltar Series readers keep performing. As a result, end users eliminate costly repairs or replacements and integrators avoid nuisance service calls. The bottom-line results are compelling, lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and greater return on investment (ROI) over the access control system's useful life."
Since there are many locations where standard housing is simply not enough for an RFID card reader, from standing up to a forklift in a factory, a student trying to tamper with a reader, a felon in a prison or a terrorist at a military base, the Farpointe line-up of Guardian vandal-resistant and Gibraltar bullet-resistant proximity card readers provides the protection needed to keep the access control system up and running.
In both types of hazard-resistant readers, protection is greatly enhanced because the electronics are sealed in weather-and tamper-resistant epoxy potting for both indoor and outdoor operations, not only providing an IP67 rating but protecting the electronics from water, steam, detergents, dust, sand, tools and other elements which could be used to impede data collection. In addition, the Guardian vandal-resistant readers are manufactured from thick polycarbonate material and ship standard with tamperproof screws. An anti-tamper mode is also available, providing supervision of both the reader and its cabling.
Farpointe's Gibraltar bullet-resistant proximity card readers provide the highest level of vandal resistance by featuring a virtually indestructible exterior. In addition to all the features of the Guardian readers, the Gibraltar readers are milled from a solid block of stainless steel and reinforced with a bullet-resistant ShotBLOCKER ® insert that is compliant with UL752 performance level standards of ballistic protection.
"The Guardian and Gibraltar proximity card readers set the electronic security benchmark for durability in the 125-kHz proximity reader category," adds Lindley. "They leverage proven contactless digital radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and interface with a wide range of electronic access control systems by complying with the Wiegand communication protocol. They offer value-added features such as MAXSecure™ and fleaPower™ and can be ordered to support several different 125 kHz proximity card and tag technologies, including those from Farpointe, HID and AWID. Additionally, Guardian readers can be ordered to support 13.56 MHz Delta contactless smart card technology."
The Guardian Series includes the P-403, a mullion mount reader for door or window frames, the P-405, a North American wall switch mount reader and the P-410 which mounts to a double gang wall switch box. The Gibraltar Series includes the P-400 and P-453 which mullion mount to a door or window frame and the P-455 which uses the North American single-gang mount. All models can also mount to flat surfaces, include tamperproof screws and are available for shipment.
