Tata Chemicals' (TCL) Haldia factory has been awarded the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OSHAS 18001 certifications, while its Kolkata branch has been ISO 9001 certified in the recently concluded ISO audit. This certification is one of the major achievements for the Haldia team since its induction into the TCL family.

Immediately after the merger, a long-term plan was worked out to achieve business excellence at the Haldia plant. Initiatives like Responsible Care (March 2004) and TBEM were rolled out shortly after.

The journey for ISO steamed off with a core team comprising members from Haldia and Kolkata. The consulting responsibility for ISO was given to Qualteam Consultants based in Mumbai. The task at hand at that point in time was to prepare the team for ISO awareness. The first module covered tips to core team members regarding ISO awareness, writing skills, documentation skills and other training which set the pace for the next phase.

Starting August 2004, the focus was on writing and refining the manual and other ISO formats. Later, document corrections were carried out and suggestions were incorporated after identifying the need gaps.

The next stage involved creating mass awareness, and various mechanisms were identified to create awareness among employees. Trainers were selected, they were trained so that they could cascade the basic concept of ISO right upto the workers in the plant.

In January 2005, internal auditors were identified to carry out the internal audit for all the three systems — ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. The first internal audit was conducted in January 2005, while the first management review was carried out in March 2005. The second round of internal audits was carried out in March-April 2005, while the second management review was done in May 2005.

When the system fully matured after inputs from all levels, the Haldia plant applied for the ISO adequacy audit in July 2005. External auditors have since certified TCL-Haldia with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. Getting an ISO certificate for all systems in the very first attempt has been a great achievement. Kudos to all employees of the Phosphates SBU, who have helped make this a possibility.