Minister for Productivity and Labour Relations Yvonne Henderson today presented a special certificate for quality assurance to the company which operates the Gosnells Quarry, the Readymix Group.
High standards of customer service, plus excellence in extraction and processing techniques were factors which helped the Raw Materials Division of the Readymix Group win the special accreditation.
Mrs Henderson said the division supplied fine and coarse aggregates from the quarry for use in concrete and road construction materials, sand for export and local use, limestone and gravel products.
"The Readymix Group is one of more than 170 other WA companies that meet quality standards - improving productivity, containing costs and offering consistency to customers," she said.
Quality assurance in Western Australia in the mid-1980s was virtually unknown, with only a handful of companies certified.
Recognising the benefits that it could bring to a company, in terms of cost control and productivity - and the importance of quality in winning work in a variety of markets - the State Government introduced a number of initiatives to encourage the adoption of quality assurance.
Mrs Henderson said these included funding support and the adoption of a quality assurance policy for State purchasing.
The policy had contributed to Western Australia now having 177 quality-accredited business establishments, which on a per capita basis put WA well ahead of both Victoria and New South Wales.
"Many of the companies which have achieved quality assurance certification tell us the decision to adopt quality was well warranted," Mrs Henderson said.
"This is especially so, given that more and more major customers are seeking quality assurance from their suppliers, with two recent examples being the Commonwealth Government and BHP.
"I congratulate the Readymix Group for achieving their own AS 3902 Quality Assurance certificate and wish them continuing excellence."
