How CCQ helped Skeljungur secure compliance in all company levels to be able to achieve ISO certifications

As Skeljungur runs a high-risk level business, it is important to have a Compliance QM system accessible to all employees, whenever they need. Ownership and publication of procedures and quality documents must be clear, so everybody uses the same version of documents.

From the management perspective, it is important to be sure that all employees have access to the QM system, so they can read and understand the published procedures and perform their tasks with safety. Analyzing and managing risk and training people to avoid risks, is an important part of Skeljungur’s daily business.

In the early beginning, the quality system at Skeljungur was based on a manual filing system, which made it difficult for managers to handle written procedures, traceability, version control and approval processes. In addition, there was a lack of information on employees´ knowledge of written procedures and other important information. Also, employees complained about difficulties in searching for and finding information.

During a six years period, Skeljungur went from a manual filing system to a modern cloud solution, adapted for all kinds of devices.

Skeljungur is an Icelandic Energy Company, and one of the largest oil suppliers in Iceland, with petrol stations and oil depots domestically and in the Faroe Islands. They store fuel locally in their tanks, and their drivers distribute to customers all over Iceland. The headquarters are in Reykjavik, and about one hundred employees work around Iceland.

Skeljungur’s path to a complete Compliance system was made in several steps

Managers realized the filing system was not the right way to become compliant and started to search for a better solution. At that time, six years ago, they implemented one of the best solutions that was available on the market, produced by a small provider called Focal. Managers were satisfied, as it included all the necessary tools for running a good quality management system. Managers had no longer worries about traceability, the approval process, published version control, and Focal even had a minor function for confirming reading. However, employees working in the field, still found difficulties in reaching information - at that time, smart devices were not introduced and there were no computers in the trucks.

Skeljungur was ready for next generation and implemented a modern tool adapted for smart devices

At this time, managers at Skeljungur realized that Focal lacked necessary functions for general employees, who sometimes met dangerous situations and environmental issues at work. At that time, the world of smart devices and cloud solutions was becoming at everyone’s disposal and management teams at Skeljungur decided that was the right track to follow.

CCQ (Cloud Compliance and Quality), a compliance management system developed at Origo was chosen to replace Focal. (To be mentioned, Focal was recently bought by Origo at that time, including the development team, so relations were already in place.)

All the files from Focal were transferred and published in CCQ. After a smooth implementation process, the results looked promising, according to Safety and Quality Manager, Aðalsteinn Árnason.

“The user interface in CCQ was so much better, and all users, regardless of position, immediately got used to it. Many of our employees read information from a mobile device”

ISO 9001 certification received without nonconformities

When Aðalsteinn Árnason started working for Skeljungur, he aimed in an early stage to build a compliance QM system to be able to become ISO certified.

“It was a natural evolvement for the organization, and of course an important step for us to be able to proof that our quality management system is compliant and contains all necessary information towards our customers and employees.”

“When I had completed the transformation from Focal to CCQ, I had to improve and develop quality documents” says Aðalsteinn, “and that was performed in the CCQ Quality Manual. CCQ Audits works next to published documents, as internal audits are mandatory before pre-audit is performed by the certification body. Another requirement before achieving ISO certification, is handling of incidents and complaints, so we implemented those three modules in an early stage.”

Then more CCQ modules were implemented, one at a time.

The benefits of having personalized logins for everyone – even auditors

One thing that simplified the whole certification process, was that auditors got direct access to CCQ. Like every employee, the auditors got a personalized dashboard and access to all files they needed. There is a view in CCQ, where published document are sorted by “reference to standards,” which is mostly used by the auditors, so they can verify that each requirement in the ISO standard has a written procedure that complies to it. Auditors also check how internal audits and non-conformities are implemented, as well as handling of incidents and complaints. Having access to CCQ gives auditors a simple overview and everything they need, gathered in one place. A modern certification auditor may perform an online pre-audit while the final audit is always made on stage.

It is rare that external auditors do not find any nonconformities or observations during audits, but with the help of CCQ, this was the case with Skeljungur. Skeljungur received an ISO 9001 certification in January 2020, for the Örfirisey terminal, and they are aiming for ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification for the Distribution department in the year 2020.

“From a management perspective, CCQ has really helped us out, and made the process of achieving ISO certification easier” says Aðalsteinn Árnason.

“Maintaining these certificates every year can also be troublesome, but with CCQ, it becomes more manageable”.

“Not to be forgotten and most important, CCQ secures that important information is reachable for our employees wherever they are - at any time”.

Fewer incidents and complaints – and a better overview

One main benefit provided by CCQ, is the personalized dashboards – for employees working in the field, as drivers or managers at the office. Regular training is mandatory for all drivers, and some of the required skills need to be reviewed every six months - a task made easy by CCQ.

The drivers, on the other hand, can fill in when they’re delivering oil and check that all necessary measures regarding quality and safety have been taken. Using the CCQ Incident and complaints module, they can also register all incidents directly on their smart device.

“We have fewer incidents and complaints now, and our aim is to learn from all incidents” says Aðalsteinn Árnason.

“Every morning, our drivers check their trucks. If something isn't performing as it should, they register this in CCQ, using their smart device. We immediately know if a truck needs to be repaired and can schedule an appointment in the workshop”.

A partnership based on trust and openness to new ideas

One of the best things about the cooperation, Aðalsteinn Árnason mentions, is the positive experience regarding the contact between the two partners.

“Origo is always open to new ideas, and if we bring suggestions to the table, they listen. If problems arise, I can always contact them”.

Skeljungur has offices all over Iceland. With CCQ, all information is gathered into one place, reachable for everyone, securing that employees always read the latest published version, wherever they are, at any time, which is presumably the highest value CCQ has brought them, according to Aðalsteinn Árnason.

Aðalsteinn Árnason is the Quality Manager for Skeljungur. He has worked for Skeljungur since 2003 but has an engineering degree and background in programming and system design as well as the food industry and retail.